2022 Theses Bachelor's

Tweet it and Weep: Incivility in Congress Members’ Twitter Conversations

Michael, Shelly

This research aims to answer the question: does incivility that addresses Congress members differ depending on the legislator’s gender? Additionally, I sought to identify whether differences in sexist treatment of Congress members increased between the 114th and 116th and whether Twitter conversations adopted an increasingly Trump-like vernacular. My research finds that, on average, Congressmen received more incivility on Twitter, with Democratic Congressmen being the most afflicted group. I also find statistically significant evidence that both sexist and Trump-like incivility have increased on Twitter between the 114th and the 116th Congress. Additionally, I find no correlation to indicate that there are higher rates of Trump-like incivility in Republican conversations. Within my case studies, I identify a compelling pattern; Congressmen are likely to be affiliated with sexist insults in order to be emasculated and delegitimize.