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Article published In: The Mediated Communication of Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Politics
Edited by Angela Smith and Michael Higgins
[Journal of Language and Politics 19:1] 2020
► pp. 160–179

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“You are not normal, you are against nature”

Mediated representations of far-right talk on same-sex child fostering in Greek parliamentary discourse

 | Hellenic Military Academy
Published online: 15 January 2020
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https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.19088.pat
Abstract
This paper examines the media representations of scandalous parliamentary talk on same-sex child fostering in the discourses of representatives of the radical-right Golden Dawn party in Greece, but also by an MP of the conservative ANEL party of the SYRIZA-ANEL joint government at the time. Through discourse- and conversation analysis of online articles and a broadcast interview, it is shown that the media framing of populist statements is negotiated. Moreover, the interview enacts a subtly achieved interactional synergy between the interviewer and the politician, thus failing to address the issues through substantive public dialogue. It is argued that the process of (re)mediating racist or homophobic talk has the potential to serve as a publicity tool creating increased visibility for right-wing populist politicians, their core ideologies and policy platforms. This creates a challenge for practitioners of journalism who must balance disparate concerns in reporting on scandalous talk.
Article outline
  • 1.Scandalous talk, right-wing populism, gender and sexuality
    • 1.1Talk scandals and the mediatization of political discourse
  • 2.Method and data
  • 3.Media framing of scandalous talk on child fostering by same sex-couples in Greece
  • 4.Conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
References (32)
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