Decoding discourse: Gendered heckling in German Bundestag debates (1949–2021)

This paper investigates the gendered dynamics of parliamentary interruptions in the German Bundestag across 19 legislative periods (1949–2021). Motivated by anecdotal and journalistic reports of sexist heckling, the study examines whether female politicians face more frequent interruptions and, if so, under which conditions. Using a newly constructed dyadic dataset that links over 200,000 interruptions to individual speeches, the analysis explores how gender, ideology, and institutional position shape patterns of adversarial behavior. The findings reveal that in earlier decades, female MPs were not primarily interrupted by men, while since the late 1980s such a gendered pattern has become observable. In addition, heckling of female MPs often originates from opposing ideological camps or parliamentary blocs. These results nuance existing theories of gender bias in political discourse by highlighting how ideological conflict and inter-gender competition shape communicative power in parliamentary settings.