AlyssaHilfiker.pptx

Margaret Thatcher: Changing the Face of British Politics
Alyssa Hilfiker

Background

Most commonly found was that Thatcher was not widely liked by those who she governed over or even who followed her actions while she was in government (Cloarec, 2018).
She held the ideals of the past and worked to create a united nation that was based on tradition and greatness (Jackie, 2011).
“Thatcher has long been a source of fascination, arousing extreme feelings among people who continue either to love or loathe her in equal measure” (Cloarec, 2018).

Margaret Thatcher and Gender

Rationale

Global politics has had an ever increasing discussion pertaining to the alarmingly low rate of women in elevated positions in government.

https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/07/17/women-in-politics-60-years-of-milestones.html

Thesis Statement

Margaret Thatcher played an important role in changing the way women are viewed in politics.

https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/british-prime-minister-margaret-thatcher-at-her-desk-in-her-news-photo/618251278

Aim

This literary review presentation seeks to provide perspectives on the impact Margaret Thatcher had on British Politics.

https://scotchwhisky.com/magazine/famous-whisky-drinkers/12970/margaret-thatcher/

Main Points

This literary review will explore the topic in areas of gender, personality, and social constructs.

https://www.ndi.org/publications/no-party-violence-analyzing-violence-against-women-political-parties

Gender

Margaret Thatcher battled sexism and did not let the opinions of others slow her down, she fought against the hurdles in her way
“experts who saw her gender as her “trump card” rather than an impediment” (Cloarec, 2018, p. 11).

She used the opinions and views of those around her to shape the way that she led and was viewed as a leader
“contradictions in Thatcher’s gender that combined so powerfully to form the force of her political image” (Stacey, 2010, p. 8).

Margaret Thatcher: A Different Sort of Legacy…

Gender

Politics in Britain were dominated by male figures, because of “specific constraints and sacrifices the character had to pay due to her gender, leading her to behave in what is construed as a masculine manner—uncompromisingly” (Cloarec, 2018, p. 9).
This led to much of her criticisms for not behaving in a way typically viewed as appropriate for women

The FP Survey: Women in Politics

Personality
Thatcher faced criticism for a leadership style that is typically accepted in men
“all Britons can remember the infamous puppet… that portrayed her as an overbearing virago wearing a man’s suit, using gent’s urinals, and bullying her cabinet when she was not having private conversations with Adolf Hitler (Cloarec, 2018, p. 2).

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/04/margaret-thatcher-jewel-frocked-siren-sea-grey-suits

Personality
Thatcher was someone who knew what she wanted and had an inner strength to make it happen, but this personality in government is something that can lead to conflict between an individual and those they govern
“unbending will soon turns into overbearing obduracy verging on tyrannical arrogance, and how this inflexibility precipitated her downfall” (Cloarec, 2018, p. 16).

Margaret Thatcher Set History In Motion at the Aspen Institute

Personality
A lot of the sources studied show the same idea in different ways. Thatcher was strong willed and sure of herself, something not comfortably seen in women of power
“She is also very high on degree of involvement and has a Demanding/Dominating style of involvement” (Genovese,, 2009, p. 2).

This style of personality made her unique from other leaders in the sense that she addressed and handled challenges differently
“she was prepared to face down established institutions if they opposed her” (Garnett, 2007, p.2).

Margaret Thatcher RIP

Social Constructs
Margaret Thatcher may have garnered mixed emotions in those she governed but her impact was more than just what she accomplished while in office
“Twenty years ago, so unusual was it to have a woman head a national government that one could literally name all the women across the globe who led governments” (Genovese, 2009, p. 1).

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-22079683

Social Constructs

Thatcher faced a lot of blame when it came to anything that went wrong during her time in office
“Those who now decry Thatcher’s achievements mostly fail to understand the poor state the country had reached by 1979” (Nicoll, 2013, p.3).

Thatcher was someone who took pride in her history and worked to bring back the benefits that she found in it
“Mrs. Thatcher was part of a proud tradition” ( Walker, 1993-1994, p. 1-2).

https://www.history.com/topics/british-history/margaret-thatcher

Social Constructs
Margaret Thatcher was the type of leader to try to look out for everyone, regardless of socioeconomic status or any other factor
“Thatcher understood the importance of property owners as the base of Conservative Party support. But beyond that, she felt a special duty to protect lower middle class homeowners, with whom she most closely identified” (Cutler, 2020, p. 7).

https://www.antiquestradegazette.com/news/2019/final-margaret-thatcher-auction-is-a-white-glove-affair-at-christie-s/

Conclusion

Margaret Thatcher’s role in politics was instrumental in changing the way that women’s role in politics is viewed. She shaped the way that gender is discussed, as well as ended the comparison of men and women in regards of personality and social constructs.

Margaret Thatcher: Portrait of the Iron Lady

Implications

The ideas discussed show the beginning to a radical change in the prevalence of women in politics. These ideas continue to gain traction by breaking down the barriers that women face when entering a political role.

Future research would be beneficial for looking at how these main ideas continue to shift and adjust to allow for women to play an active role in politics. It is important to look at more recent examples of women in leadership to further the research presented.

https://womenlovetech.com/why-are-theres-so-few-female-leaders/

References
Cloarec, N. (2018). Recasting the Iron Lady into flesh and blood: Gender performance and politics in three Thatcher biopics. Biography: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly, 41(3), 630–653. DOI 10.1353/bio.2018.0063:
Cutler, J. (2020). The parallel head taxes of Margaret Thatcher and Barack Obama: Economics as morality and its populist rejection. Southern California Interdisciplinary Journal, 29(2), 251–291.
Garnett, M. (2007). Banality in politics: Margaret Thatcher and the biographers. Political Studies Review, 5(2), 172–182. DOI 10.1111/j.1478-9299.2007.00127.x

References
Genovese, M. A. (2009). Women in power: The personalities and leadership styles of Indira Gandhi, Golda Meir, and Margaret Thatcher – By Blema S. Steinberg. Political , 30(2), 327–329. DOI 10.1111/j.1467-9221.2008.00696.x
Nicoll, A. (2013). Thatcher, still personal. Survival (00396338), 55(3), 221–228. DOI 10.1080/00396338.2013.802863
Stacey, J. (2010). Ravishing Maggie: Thatcher thirty years on. New Formations, 70, 132–151. DOI 10.3898/NEWF.70.08.2010
Walker, M. (1993). What Thatcher really did. World Policy Journal, 10(4), 101.