En kvinnas plats är till vänster

Sammanfattning: This essay aims to explore how women are portrayed within populist discourse. By comparing the discourses in party programs, official documents, and statements from political leaders; our intention is to explore how women are characterized within left-wing and right-wing populism. Is there a difference between left and right, or does populist rhetoric always abate women considering its primary focus, the battle between the common people and the elite. By using Chantal Mouffe and Ernesto Laulau’s theory of discourse analysis, we have investigated how the populist discourses describe the master signifier woman and the nodal points: equality, gender, family, and feminism in the political parties’ official material. Since the language plays a significant role in shaping politics, the theory is used to deconstruct the discourse. We found a difference between the two populist discourses, whereas the right-wing populist discourse connects ‘woman’ to protection, safety, child bearer, as well as the continuity of the nation. The left-wing populist discourse connects ‘woman’ to meanings like worker and citizen and describes women as equivalent to men.