Is the “Presidential Image” Reserved for Males? Sex-Role Stereotypes and the 1984 Presidential Election

Abstract

With the selection of Geraldine Ferraro as a vice presidential candidate and the emergence of the “gender gap” issue in the campaign, the 1984 U.S. presidential election provided a unique opportunity for assessment of the effect of gender on preferences for presidential leadership and perceptions of candidates. 277 college students (Mdn age: 20 yr.) described a Good President, Good Vice-president, Ronald Reagan, Walter Mondale, George Bush, or Ferraro on the revised Bern Sex-role Inventory shortly before the election. The Good President, Good Vice-president, and all candidates except Mondale were seen as more masculine than feminine. In that Reagan was seen as higher in masculinity and lower in femininity than Mondale, results were confirmed by the outcome of the election. However, Ferraro was the only candidate who fitted the Good President profile in both masculinity and femininity. Men and women differed in their perceptions of Reagan and Mondale, supporting the gender-gap hypothesis.