Abstract
Electoral crises and squabbles between contestants have assumed new dimensions due to the influence of social media. Prior to Zimbabwe’s 2018 elections there were factionalist conflicts in the ruling party which resulted in Robert Mugabe’s forced resignation as there were growing fears that his wife Grace Mugabe would succeed him. Social media activity reflected misogyny against Grace whose ambitions were thought to be disgraceful because she was a woman. This chapter seeks to argue that Zimbabwean society’s misogyny which reached its climax at Grace’s rise eliminated any hopes of electoral democracy for female candidates. The chapter posits that voters, through ‘citizen-initiated campaigning’ on Twitter, fed into the politically established frames of the female disgrace narrative in discrediting women in the 2018 elections.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Atton, C. (2008). Alternative media and journalism practice. In M. Boler (Ed.), Digital media and democracy: Tactics in hard times (pp. 213–227). Cambridge: MIT Press.
Berger, P. L., & Luckman, T. (1966). The social construction of reality. London: Penguin Books.
Bruns, A., & Highfield, T. (2016). Is Habermas on Twitter? Social media and the public sphere. In A. Bruns et al. (Eds.), The Routledge companion to social media and politics (pp. 56–73). New York: Routledge.
Chitando, E. (2018). “Marujata” and “Jojina”: Celebrating women’s agency in Shona culture. Paper presented at the International Conference on gender, University of Zimbabwe, 17–19 July 2018, Harare.
Dolan, K. (2014). Gender stereotypes, candidate evaluations, and voting for women candidates: What really matters. Political Research Quarterly, 67(1), 96–107.
Dzisah, W. S. (2018). Social media and elections in Ghana: Enhancing democratic participation. African Journalism Studies, 39(1), 27–47.
Enli, G., & Skorgerbo, E. (2013). Personalised campaigns in party-centred politics: Twitter and Facebook as arenas for political communication. Information, Communication and Society, 16(5), 757–774.
Essoungou, A. (2010). A social media boom begins in Africa. Africa Renewal, 24(4), 2–22.
Gibson, R. (2015). Party change, social media and the rise of ‘citizen-initiated campaigning’. Party Politics, 21(2), 183–197.
Goode, L. (2009). Social news, citizen journalism and democracy. New Media and Society, 11(11), 1287–1305.
Loader, B. D., & Mercea, D. (2011). Networking democracy? Information, Communication and Society, 14(6), 757–769.
Madhuku, L. (2018). Constitutional provisions on dispute resolution and remedial acts during election. Paper presented at the Media and elections symposium, University of Zimbabwe, 17–18 May 2018, Harare.
Magaisa, A. T. (2017). Big Saturday Read. [Online]. Retrieved November 15, 2018, from https://www.bigsr.co.uk/single-post/2017/10/28/Big-Saturday-Read-the-sexualisation-of-women-in-Zimbabwean-politics
Mandaza, I. (2018). A history of elections in Zimbabwe. Paper presented at the Media and elections symposium, University of Zimbabwe, 17–18 May 2018, Harare.
Mano, W. (2007). Popular music as journalism in Zimbabwe. Journalism Studies, 8(1), 61–78.
Mano, W., & Mukhango, L. L. (2016). Towards alternative media as critical media in Africa. Journal of Alternative Communication, 1.
Mare, A. (2018). Politics unusual? Facebook and political campaigning during the 2013 harmonised elections in Zimbabwe. African Journalism Studies, 39(1), 90–110.
Matingwina, S. (2018). Social media, communicative action and the interplay with national security: The case of political participation in Zimbabwe. African Journalism Studies, 39(1), 48–68.
Mbembe, A. (2001). On the postcolony. Berkeley: University of California Press.
McGregor, S., & Mourao, R. R. (2016). Talking politics on Twitter: Gender, elections, and social networks. Social Media + Society, 2(3), 1–14.
Mhandara, L. (2018). The impact of electoral violence on legitimacy and national consensus. Paper presented at the Media and elections symposium, University of Zimbabwe, 17–18 May 2018, Harare.
Mhiripiri, N., & Mutsvairo, B. (2013). Social media, new ICTs and the challenges facing the Zimbabwe democratic process. In A. Olorunnisola & A. Douai (Eds.), New media influence on social and political change in Africa (pp. 402–422). Hersey: IGI Global.
Mudiwa, R. (2017). Africa is a country. [Online]. Retrieved November 15, 2018, from https://africasacountry.com/2017/11/on-grace-mugabe-coups-phalluses-and-what-is-being-defended/
Mujere, J., & Mwatwara, W. (2016). Citizen Journalism and national politics in Zimbabwe: The case of the 2008 and 2013 elections. In B. Mutsvairo (Ed.), Participatory politics and citizen journalism in a networked Africa (pp. 215–228). London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Ncube, L. (2018). General Chiwenga give us a boobs-less commander-in-chief’: Misogyny, sexism and hegemonic masculinity in Zimbabwe’s operation restore legacy. Paper presented at the International Conference on Gender, University of Zimbabwe, 17–19 July 2018: Harare.
Mwangi, W. (2013). Silence is a woman. The New Inquiry: Essays and Reviews.
Ndlela, M. (2015). Social media and elections in Kenya. In A. Bruns, E. Gunn, O. A. Larsson, & E. Skorgebo (Eds.), The Routledge companion to social media and politics. New York: Routledge.
Paterman, C. (1989). The disorder of women: Democracy, feminism and political theory. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Raftopoulous, B. (2013). The 2013 elections in Zimbabwe: The end of an era. Journal of Southern African Studies, 39(4), 971–988.
Ronning, H., & Kupe, T. (2001). The dual legacy of democracy and authoritarianism. In J. Curran & M. Park (Eds.), De-Westernising media studies (pp. 157–177). London: Routledge.
Sabao, C., & Chikara, T. O. (2018). Social media as alternative public sphere for citizen participation and protest in national politics in Zimbabwe: The case of #thisflag. In F. P. C. Endong (Ed.), Exploring the role of social media in transnational advocacy (pp. 17–35). Hershey: IGI Global.
Willems, W. (2011a). Comic strips and “the crisis”: Postcolonial laughter and coping with everyday life in Zimbabwe. Popular Communication, 9(2), 126–145.
Willems, W. (2011b). Political jokes in Zimbabwe. In J. D. H. Downing (Ed.), Encyclopedia of social movement media (pp. 410–412). Los Angeles: Sage.
Zamchiya, P. (2013). The MDC-T’s (un)seeing eye in Zimbabwe’s 2013 harmonised elections: A technical knockout. Journal of Southern African Studies, 39(4), 955–962.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mateveke, P., Chikafa-Chipiro, R. (2020). Misogyny, Social Media and Electoral Democracy in Zimbabwe’s 2018 Elections. In: Ndlela, M., Mano, W. (eds) Social Media and Elections in Africa, Volume 2. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32682-1_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32682-1_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-32681-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-32682-1
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)