Abstract
This thesis empirically examines the manner in which gender shaped the media coverage of the 2016 United States Presidential Election through the news frames that were employed to discuss Hillary Rodham Clinton and her historical candidacy. This is examined by exploring gender stereotypes and how these stereotypes can influence the success of women seeking positions of high power, before analyzing the major news stories surrounding Clinton and her campaign according to this theory. The results show that Clinton was judged for different issues than her male colleagues had been in the past, and that the frames employed to discuss Clinton were influenced by gender stereotypes and Clinton’s previous violations of them. Most importantly, the analysis shows that gender did matter in the 2016 election, and that stereotypes do disadvantage women when they run for high-level office.