Performing Gender in View of the Outbreak

The project focuses on the political and cultural implications of SARS-CoV-2 and responds to the paradoxical (in)visibility that women are currently confronted with in the face of the current crisis. On the one hand, women play an extremely dominant role as "system maintainers" and "everyday heroines" within the discursive staging of the current health and economic crisis. On the other hand, they are remarkably underrepresented as politicians and experts at the moment. Based on this observation, Silke Felber examines the performance of the Austrian federal government with regard to COVID-19 and asks which gender-specific role models and stereotypes are implemented or reactualized in this context. The results of this dramaturgical and discourse-analytical, thus transdisciplinary study are placed in a historical and global context together with international cooperation partners.

This research project examined how politicians performed responsibility and care during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic - and how these performances reflected different forms of political masculinity. It focused on the Austrian government under Sebastian Kurz during the spring 2020 lockdown and compared it to speeches by Angela Merkel, Mette Frederiksen, and Jacinda Ardern. The main finding: While Sebastian Kurz presented himself as a commanding leader using war-like metaphors and a rhetoric of performance and discipline, communication around social issues and care was delegated almost exclusively to female ministers. In contrast, Merkel, Ardern, and Frederiksen incorporated themes like solidarity, empathy, and creative support into their speeches and actively addressed vulnerable or marginalized groups such as migrants, unemployed people, and care workers. The project has revealed that political masculinity is not only constructed through language but also through visual staging and symbolic exclusion. Female ministers in Austria were less visible and often assigned so-called "soft" topics, reflecting persistent gender hierarchies in political representation - especially in times of crisis. This research shows how gendered expectations shape political communication, visibility, and access to power. In health-related crises, leadership is particularly challenged to balance decisiveness with empathy. The findings highlight the need for more inclusive, responsible, and emotionally intelligent political communication. Practically, this work contributes to a deeper understanding of how traditional gender roles influence pandemic response and public leadership. It encourages a broader definition of masculinity - one that includes care, vulnerability, and solidarity as key values. It also stresses the importance of acknowledging and addressing gender-specific burdens in crisis contexts, particularly the often invisible and unpaid care work carried out predominantly by women.