The president of the United States traditionally serves as a symbol of power, virtue, ability, dominance, popularity, and patriarchy. In recent years, however, the high-profile candidacies of Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, and Michelle Bachmann have provoked new interest in gendered popular culture and how it influences Americans' perceptions of the country's highest political office. In this timely volume, editors Justin S. Vaughn and Lilly J. Goren lead a team of scholars in examining how the president and the first lady exist as a function of public expectations and cultural gender roles. The authors investigate how the candidates' messages are conveyed, altered, and interpreted in "hard" and "soft" media forums, from the nightly news to daytime talk shows, and from tabloids to the blogosphere. They also address the portrayal of the presidency in film and television productions such as Kisses for My President (1964), Air Force One (1997), and Commander in Chief (2005). With its strong, multidisciplinary approach, Women and the White House commences a wider discussion about the possibility of a female president in the United States, the ways in which popular perceptions of gender will impact her leadership, and the cultural challenges she will face.

The Mechanized Gaze: Gender, Popular Culture, and the Presidency
Puritan or Pit Bull: The Framing of Female Candidates at the National Level
Colbert Nation: Gender, Late Night Television, and Candidate Humanization
Soccer Moms, Hockey Moms, National Security Moms: Reality vs. Fiction and the Female Voter
Fact or Fiction: The Reality of Race and Gender in Reaching the White House
Gendering the Presidency without Gender in the Presidency
It's a Man's World: Manhood and Masculinity in Popular Culture Portrayals of the American Presidency
Sitting with Oprah, Dancing with Ellen: Presidents, Daytime Television, and Soft News
The Checkout Line Perspective: Tabloids, Entertainment Publications, and the Integration of Presidential Politics into Celebrity Popular Culture
Viral Videos: Reinforcing Stereotypes of Female Candidates for President
High Culture, Popular Culture, and the Modern First Ladies
The First Family: Transforming the American Ideal
The Presidential Partnership: Masculine President, Feminine Spouse