Conceptions of political leadership in the United States value qualities considered traditionally masculine and largely reject qualities that are considered feminine. To what extent does the media play a role in the maintenance of this gender hierarchy, where masculinity is the norm-and preference-in American politics? Meredith Conroy's analysis of presidential election media coverage finds that the media often uses gender conflict framing to create narratives in which a more masculine candidate is in conflict with a more feminine candidate, regardless of a candidate's sex. Furthermore, she finds this discourse maintains a preference for traits associated with masculinity in US politics.