Ita Buttrose, Dulcie Boling, and Nene King: The Construction of ‘Idealised Feminine Leadership’ in the Australian Media, 1972–1999
Publication Name
Australian Feminist Studies
Abstract
Ita Buttrose, Dulcie Boling, and Nene King were three of the most influential women leaders in the Australian media from the 1970s through to the turn of the twenty-first century. They were all editors of some of Australia’s most popular women’s magazines, including Cleo, Woman’s Day, New Idea and the Australian Women’s Weekly, and were all appointed to positions on the boards of Australia’s top media companies. This article historicises the careers of Buttrose, Boling, and King, positing that the way that their careers were constructed in the media, by themselves and others, reinforced gendered assumptions regarding women’s leadership capabilities. These constructions evidence a nascent postfeminist conception of women in power in Australia from the 1970s through to the 1990s. The article suggests that the ability (or not) of Buttrose, Boling, and King to conform to idealised ‘feminine’ leadership ideals reinforced (rather than challenged) the highly gendered nature of Australian corporate media leadership and governance.
Open Access Status
This publication is not available as open access