Speaking as a Woman: Descriptive Presentation and Representation in Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly

Using a content analysis of all floor speeches from 2001 to 2007, this article systematically analyzes how female and male legislators in the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly descriptively represent their constituents. Female legislators can descriptively represent women by “speaking as” women by using words or phrases that invoke their own gender. This form of descriptive representation is referred to as descriptive presentation. The analysis finds significant differences in how men and women and representatives of parties of the left and right undertake descriptive presentation. Female legislators also “speak as” women even when they are not discussing women’s issues.