Candidate emergence in times of threatening rhetoric: a critical race analysis of the lived experiences of women of immigrant origin
Year: 2022
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Historical patterns of the intersecting systems of oppression of women have been \nwoven into the U.S. social fabric. For decades, the manifestation of those patterns have also \nbeen present in both the feminist and anti-racism movements. Women of Color have often been \nleft without the representation of their intersectional needs and have been denied the \nrecognition of their work in both movements. Women of immigrant origin have also been \nrendered invisible throughout history, but their involvement in community-based organizations \nhas created increasing opportunities for them to claim their political voice; this has been no \neasy feat given the obstacles they continue to face due to their immigrant, gendered, and \nracial/ethnic identities. Nevertheless, women of immigrant origin have taken the reins to find \nsolutions to the troubling political environment their communities have faced following the \ncandidacy and Presidency of President Trump. \nPast studies have focused on the motivation of specific groups such as women or \nimmigrants in running for political office, but there is a lack of research concentrating directly \non women who migrated to the United States or daughters of immigrants to the U.S. In \nparticular, few have examined candidate emergence of women while applying an intersectional \nanalytical lens. Building on prior research which has mostly taken a quantitative analysis \nthrough large scale surveys, this study focuses on a qualitative methodology in analyzing \nwomen’s narratives to help fill in the gaps of understanding how immigration experiences, \nrace/ethnicity, and gender are at play for women of immigrant origin as they emerge as political \ncandidates. \nTaking a closer look at women of immigrant origin living in the Northwest U.S. state \nof Oregon, this thesis will analyze the following research question: In the post-2016 era, what are the narratives of women of immigrant origin as they emerged as political candidates in the \nUnited States? Sub-questions include: \n1.) What are the discourses of immigrant, racial/ethnic, and gendered experiences of \nwomen in the United States that have marked their lives? and \n2.) What are the immigrant, racial/ethnic and gendered discourses behind women’s \nmotivation to run for elected political office post-2016? \nThrough in-person qualitative interviews, findings reveal how immigrant history, \nrace/ethnicity, and gender drive motivations to run for political office during times when \npolitical rhetoric targets candidates’ identity groups. In the post-2016 political environment, in \nwhich racial discrimination, xenophobic rhetoric, and threats to women’s rights were \npervasive, women of immigrant origin believed that the cost of not running for office \noutweighed the race-, immigrant- and gender-based obstacles to attaining office. \nThis dissertation is taking up the call to give voice to a small but growing elected group \nof leaders who are defying the odds of winning their elected seats. It challenges readers to \nreexamine the candidate emergence process in the United States by evaluating the immigrant \nexperience within an intersectional framework. Thus, incorporating an intersectional analysis \nwill reveal a broader understanding of the candidate emergence process for women of \nimmigrant origin.
Author: Rodríguez Montegna, Jessica
Language: English
Subfield: Gender Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6999042143