Sexist lenguage in Spanish press: a study about Manuela Carmena’s one hundred first days in charge in Madrid Council

Abstract

This research analyses the discourse from the newspapers ABC, El País, La Razón y El Mundo in Manuela Carmena’s first one hundred days in charge. The main aim is to locate possible uses or sexist expressions. Throught the content analysis done in 1,306 texts about Manuela Carmena, we have found out resistances to use inclusive language in media stem from manuals of style (judge vs. women judge), a significant trend in some columnists to ridicule systematically to Carmena and undervalue her skills. Likewise, we have checked the reinforcement of gender stereotypes through voice mediation and the level of mediation of the verbs in reported speech. Furthermore, there is a clear tendency to use rhetoric forms like irony in informative texts and to hybridize genres. It contributes to deteriorate Spanish press and to polarize the public opinion.