Analysis: the construction of Irish political life as a 'masculine' sphere has contributed to gender inequality in the Oireachtas and beyond
By Tim Ellis-Dale, Teesside University
In the recent US presidential election, 53% of female voters voted for another woman, Kamala Harris; while 55% of men voted for another man and eventual winner, Donald Trump. It is worth adding that Trump is a man who has a history of making sexist statements about women and has also been the subject of multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. Not only that, but one of the central issues of the campaign was abortion and the debate over the regulation and control over women's bodies.
It may seem at first glance that Irish politics is more enlightened when it comes to gender. After all, the electorate voted by a significant margin to legalise abortion six years ago and Ireland has had two female Presidents to date. However, if opinion polls are to be borne out, the gender of the Taoiseach is unlikely to change on this occasion. Earlier this year, the electorate (for what were, admittedly, complex reasons) voted to retain an article in the Constitution which declared that 'by her life within the home, woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be achieved.’
The history of women in Irish politics, their oppression and their resistance to that oppression has attracted some much-needed attention in recent years. The activities of the recent ‘decade of centenaries’ has for instance, shed new light on the activism of figures like Constance Markievicz and Hanna Sheehy Skeffington.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's History Show, Lindie Naughton on the life and times of Constance Markievicz
But to understand the role gender plays in Irish politics, we also need to acknowledge the role that masculinity has played. To talk of the role that men have played in Irish politics is to explicitly acknowledge that the construction of Irish political life as a ‘masculine’ sphere, as well as the exclusion of women, has contributed to gender inequality in the Oireachtas and beyond.
Despite the significant role women have played in Irish nationalism, political life has been both regarded and depicted as a masculine space from the earliest days of the state. Effective politicians were presented as masculine, while political opponents were mocked as feminine.
During the Civil War, pro-Treaty politicians lambasted their opponents as the ‘Women and Childers Party’ (a reference to Erskine Childers, a prominent anti-Treaty politician, and the large number of female politicians on the anti-Treaty side). In her own acerbic cartoons Constance Markievicz depicted the likes of WT Cosgrave, Desmond FitzGerald and Richard Mulcahy as ‘Free-State freaks’- that is to say, as weak, effeminate and degraded parodies of manhood.
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From RTÉ's Fake News and Irish Freedom podcast, Erskine Childers, enemies of the state and fake news
For anti-Treaty politicians seeking to find a way out of the political wilderness after 1923, political power and masculinity went hand in hand. In 1922, the humorous journal, Dublin Opinion, depicted Éamon de Valera as a weakened, emaciated and somewhat effeminate figure. Yet 16 years later, following a stunning victory in the 1938 General Election and the adoption of a new Constitution (which demarcated the home as the rightful place for Irish women), the same journal depicted de Valera as being incredibly muscular and athletic.
De Valera's own political legitimacy was regarded by many as masculine. At the apotheosis of his political career, in May 1945, following a universally applauded rebuke to a comment made by Winston Churchill on Irish neutrality, de Valera received numerous letters of praise from the Irish at home and abroad. One congratulated him 'for your manly and dignified reply to the British Prime Minister.'
While both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have differed somewhat on questions of foreign policy, the constitution and the economy, it is noteworthy that both political parties shared a socially conservative consensus for much of the 20th century. This envisaged women as apolitical beings, confined to the domestic space, to be regulated and ordered by male politicians. Ever the astute observer of political life, Dublin Opinion depicted the Dáil as a cross between a pub and golf club, a masculine realm in which women were excluded.
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From RTÉ Archives, Éamon de Valera's 1945 reply to Winston Churchill
Throughout the history of the state, male politicians have been able to work with opponents, but have proven less capable of working with women. While it is true that, in recent years, the number of female TDs has increased considerably, masculinity continues to be regarded as a high desirable characteristic among political leaders.
Physical prowess and sporting achievement in the GAA remains a valuable entry on one’s CV, as the careers of Jack Lynch and Sean Kelly have demonstrated (other politicians, like de Valera, have preferred rugby). In the 1980s, Charles Haughey openly presented himself as a forceful, aggressive and ostentatious ‘man in a mohair suit’; perhaps a prototype for international figures like Silvio Berlusconi and Trump to imitate. While Dublin Opinion could depict itself as a something akin to a golf club, this parody anticipated events almost a century later. In 2020, the Golfgate scandal broke out involving the (mostly male) attendees of the Oireachtas Golf Society dinner.
Gender inequality in politics remains an issue in almost societies today, though the extent of this issue varies and Ireland is one of the top-performing nations when it comes to gender equality. Yet this does not mean Ireland has full gender equality; far from it, in fact. While tackling the issue of gender equality should rightly necessitate addressing and responding to women’s experiences of oppression, we should also encourage male politicians to reflect on and respond to their stake in this system of oppression.
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Dr Tim Ellis-Dale is a Senior Lecturer in History in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities & Law at Teesside University.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
