Political wives and scandal: Reading agency in silence at press conferences

Seven press conferences in the United States were analysed in order to understand the gender construction of political wives at these media events. Press conferences where male politicians address sexual impropriety are a regular news occurrence in the United States. The male politician’s wife can often be seen standing next to her husband, although she rarely says anything at these carefully orchestrated public events. Through a textual analysis of the husband-politicians’ remarks at their press conferences, this study examines how these events reflect gender norms. Findings indicate that the political wife is a complicated part of the ‘scandal script’ because she is read by the researcher as a symbol of support and shame in relation to her husband-politician.