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  • © 2021

Gendering the Everyday in the UK House of Commons

Beneath the Spectacle

Palgrave Macmillan

Authors:

  • Explores the reproduction of gender ‘beneath the spectacle’ – that is, beneath ceremonial displays of power, in the UK House of Commons

  • Conceives of the House of Commons as a workplace, as well as a representative arena

  • Examines the everyday consequences for gendered power relations that this unique environment entails, as parliamentary actors perform their careers, citizenship, and public service

Part of the book series: Gender and Politics (GAP)

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eBook USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • ISBN: 978-3-030-64239-6
  • Instant PDF download
  • Readable on all devices
  • Own it forever
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  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
Softcover Book USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Hardcover Book USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)

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Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvi
  2. Conceptualising and Researching Gendered Parliaments

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 17-17
  3. Gendering the UK House of Commons

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 103-103
    2. MPs: ‘Players’ and ‘Problems’

      • Cherry M. Miller
      Pages 121-181
    3. Beneath Mainstream Approaches

      • Cherry M. Miller
      Pages 287-318
  4. Back Matter

    Pages 319-323

About this book

This book explores the reproduction of gender ‘beneath the spectacle’ – that is, beneath ceremonial displays of power, in the UK House of Commons. Contributing to a fascinating literature on gender and parliaments, the book conceives of the House of Commons as a workplace, as well as a representative arena. It explores the everyday consequences for gendered power relations that this unique environment entails, as parliamentary actors perform their careers, citizenship, and public service.

The book firstly explores ways to conceive of and to study gender in parliaments. Parliamentary ethnography – that is, spending time observing and engaging with parliamentary actors, is presented as an unparalleled methodology to better understand gender, power, and agency. The chapters that follow provide in-depth portrayals of gender and the parliamentary workplace. The book connects multiple actors in the House of Commons: MPs, officials, parliamentary researchers, and the (in)formal rules that structure the relationships between them.

Keywords

  • British politics
  • gender regimes
  • gendered power relations
  • UK House of Commons
  • gendered parliaments
  • gender inequality
  • feminist political science
  • gender in the House of Commons
  • Feminist Discursive Institutionalism
  • parliamentary ethnography
  • parliamentary studies

Reviews

‘This reflexive, innovative, and engaging book crucially improves our understanding of how informal gendered power norms are daily reproduced in Parliament. The bridging of Judith Butler’s theory of performativity with feminist discursive institutionalism allows Cherry Miller to successfully ‘add flesh’ to discursive institutionalism, ethnographically documenting how gender is ‘done’ in parliamentary practices. Everyday gendered embodiment of power in institutional contexts becomes clear and ‘material’ in this path-breaking book that significantly advances gender and politics theories.’ 
Emanuela Lombardo, Madrid Complutense University, Spain 

‘Cherry Miller lifts the lid on the House of Commons from a new and exciting perspective. She covers a diversity of actors and issues, and gets close up to a world that is often hidden. Miller’s unique access to the world at Westminster is reflected in rich detail, anecdotes and stories that pervade this book. It provides us with new insights into how we can understand and interpret how everyday, gendered practices shape parliamentary behaviour. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in parliaments and gender.’ 
Marc Geddes, The University of Edinburgh, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  • Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland

    Cherry M. Miller

About the author

Dr. Cherry M. Miller is Postdoctoral Researcher at Tampere University, Finland. She was the winner of the 2019 European Consortium of Political Research, Joni Lovenduski PhD Prize in Gender and Politics. Her research is published in the European Journal of Politics and Gender, Parliamentary Affairs, and Political Studies Review.


Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Gendering the Everyday in the UK House of Commons

  • Book Subtitle: Beneath the Spectacle

  • Authors: Cherry M. Miller

  • Series Title: Gender and Politics

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64239-6

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Political Science and International Studies, Political Science and International Studies (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-64238-9Published: 12 March 2021

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-64241-9Published: 13 March 2022

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-64239-6Published: 11 March 2021

  • Series ISSN: 2662-5814

  • Series E-ISSN: 2662-5822

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XVI, 323

  • Number of Illustrations: 3 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Politics and Gender, European Politics, Gender Studies

Buying options

eBook USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • ISBN: 978-3-030-64239-6
  • Instant PDF download
  • Readable on all devices
  • Own it forever
  • Exclusive offer for individuals only
  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
Softcover Book USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Hardcover Book USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)