Time and the Shape of History. By Penelope J.

ABSTRACT

In the interwar period, women formed an ever-growing share of the press market. They were an increasingly important target for advertisers, and newspapers were intent on securing the maximum number of women readers. The press turned its spotlight on female politicians in an attempt to attract women readers. Some politicians, such as the Labour MP Ellen Wilkinson, collaborated with the press to increase their media exposure and promote an image of themselves as political ‘celebrities'. In so doing, they simultaneously perpetuated and destabilized assumptions about women as frivolous, superficial and uninterested in serious political debate. Wilkinson was ultimately able to turn her celebrity to political advantage, using the press as a pulpit to expound her progressive political agenda. However, her successful manipulation of her public platform should not obscure the gendered assumptions behind the press coverage that helped to propel her to political stardom.