Substantive Representation
Thus far, the readings and our candidates have shown that descriptive representation can mean substantive representation, but not always. For this week, I referenced Karen Celis’ article “Constituting Women’s Interests Through Representative Claims” and Mala Htun’s “Is Gender like Ethnicity? The Political Prepresentation of Identity Groups.” I found these to be most relevant because Chappelle-Nadal is not an LGBT representative, but I could compare her experience as an African American woman representative to the findings in the readings.
Htun’s article explained group representation policies internationally, which is evidence to me that in developed democracies it is a priority to have descriptive representation in some way. In over 30 states from this study there are quota policies implemented to ensure that women candidates are nominated, and in over 20 states, there are reservations in the legislature for ethnic minorities. The policies for ethnicity and gender differ because gender “crosscuts partisan divisions” while ethnicity generally “coincides with party divisions.” While this is true, it is not without limitation. That is to say, ethnicity mainly coincides with party divisions for ethnic minorities. For example, in the United States, white people are not overwhelmingly more republican than democratic, or vice versa, but people of color are much more likely to vote democrat than republican. I found this relevant to Chappelle-Nadal because as a Black woman representative, to the black community and women in District 14, she is providing descriptive representation with gender, race, and party affiliation as both groups have a larger presence in the democratic party.
Celis’ article provided helpful insight into how we define representation. She cites Michael Saward’s statement that “claims to speak for also speak about” and therefore, framing elected representative as “artist, portrayer of the represented.” For Chappelle-Nadal, I can definitely say that this view is supported. Even before Mike Brown’s shooting and the subsequent protests, Chappelle-Nadal had been a member of the Government Responsiveness committee, a topic which is of the utmost concern for her district right now. This is a strong example of substantive representation because her politics reflects the needs of her constituents and shows that her relationship with her constituents is that of a representative directly responding to the mandates of the represented without her own individual agenda. However, representation is more nuanced than that. Though she strongly embodies the concerns of the Ferguson community right now, it is hard to say whether or not she represents the interests and needs of women on a larger scale within her district. As the article states, although there is commonality across the experience of women, other identities, geography, age, class, and political context make it impossible to simplify womanhood into just one thing.