Victimization as gender stereotype in image of political leader: A comparison of images of “victims” of impeachments of 2016–2017 Dilma Rousseff and Park Guen-hye

Abstract

The article attempts to contribute to the discussion on victimization presented as virtue in images of political leaders. The political science literature in the field of gender politics points to victimization as a gender stereotype sometimes utilized in campaigns, regardless of whether a male or a female politician is running. This article founds its conclusions on a comparative study of images of two female politicians, who presented themselves as “victims” of plots that resulted in their impeachment in 2016- 2017, namely Dilma Rousseff of Brazil and Park Geun-hye of South Korea. Rousseff in 1970s became a “victim” of political oppression in Brazil, including illegal imprisonment and torture — a fact that she frequently mentioned during her presidential campaign in 2010, during her (nearly) two full terms in office, as well as throughout the period of political turbulence in Brazil resulting in her impeachment. In the 1970s, Park had become a “victim” of political conspiracies as a result of which she lost both parents to assassination — a fact frequently mentioned in her numerous autobiographical writings, during her presidential campaign in 2012, during her four years in office, as well as throughout the period of political turbulence in South Korea resulting in her impeachment and imprisonment. The article concludes that both Rousseff and Park, though respectively both first female presidents of two countries quite distant from each other, utilized victimization in their campaigns in similar ways both when attempting to win the presidency and when attempting, though unsuccessfully, to present their respective impeachments as illegitimate. Refs 26.