Introduction (Literature Review)
When females started entering the political scene in the United States in significant numbers in the latter parts of the 20th century, they were faced with a number of predicaments. One of these predicaments centered around the language they were to use in the political arena. As members of the “other” group, women were forced, in many ways, to adopt the speech patterns of their male counterparts. As Blankenship & Robson pointed out in their research, “Once women were allowed a modest entré [sic] onto the political playing field, they either had to speak the dominant language of power and prove themselves “tough enough” or remain forever the linguistic sissy” (354). Within the past couple of decades, however, the roles of women collectively in society and politics have changed drastically, prompting some to question whether feminine political discourse still exists – and if so, to what extent.
Around the mid to late-1980s, literature on the topic of feminine discourse in politics first began to surface in abundance – possibly as a result of the Democratic Party’s nomination of Geraldine Ferraro as the first female vice presidential candidate on a major party ticket in 1984. Originally, feminine discourse was merely a speech pattern characterized by “its personal tone, references to personal experience, inductive reasoning, the use of anecdotes and examples as evidence, audience participation, and identification between the speaker and audience” (Campbell, 1989, p. 13). Since that time, however, it has evolved tremendously. In fact, Dow and Tonn (1993) asserted through their study of Texas governor Ann Richard’s speeches that this new feminine speech was an “alternative political philosophy’’ ...
... middle of paper ...
... is incredibly new and full of ambiguity. As mentioned before, there is a great deal of knowledge that has yet to be uncovered on the topic of gender and political discourse – particularly with regards to female candidates at the national level. As the scope of politics in America continues to change, and as more female politicians become figures on the national stage, the importance of research of this nature. However, through this particular study at hand, I intend to highlight the commonalities in female politicians’ performance of their feminine identities through discourse in hopes of coming to a conclusion of what “feminine” political discourse looks like in this decade. In doing so, I hope to establish the groundwork for future discussion on the evolution of discourse used by female candidates seeking political offices, a topic that is rarely discussed.
In the “Declaration of Conscience,” Margaret Chase Smith addresses the American public and the United States Senate during a time of political unrest. Communist accusations and a “national feeling of fear” has brought upon this speech. Even with an upcoming election, the Republican Party decides a freshman woman senator would speak to the public, an uncommon practice at the time . In this paper, I will argue that Margaret Chase Smith’s “Declaration of Conscience” proves her credibility as a woman politician. Smith uses a masculine tone, simple diction, and repetition to prove to Americans and the Senate that she is a strong political figure.
In 2008 the first woman was awarded the position of Speaker of the House, and Hillary Clinton ran for president. While Hillary had widespread support leading people to believe that the two different genders had reached equality, there were several that doubted whether or not a woman has what it takes to be a president. The women that came into power that was generally held by men, needed to perform a balancing act. This balancing act was between the characteristics of women and projecting the masculine strength and leadership needed to hold their position (Jenen 14). This problem in society has been continuing on for a long time. In the 1970’s women had no standing in academia. That women were no use to the department they were studying and
On May 2, 2016 Jill Filipovic wrote an article in the New York Times that addresses the topic of women in power and how women can be at a disadvantage due to the fact that they just simply are not a man. Filipovic started her article by addressing the topic of race and how Representative Donna Edwards was accused of playing the race card during her election. In todays society many women have a hard time getting hired, trusted to execute a role, or even getting paid less by companies. Due to these issues many women such as Hillary Clinton is now being accused of “playing the women card” in her debates for presidency. The purpose of this piece of rhetoric is to argue that women are not just “playing the woman card” but that discrimination
Jarratt, Susan C. “Rhetoric and Feminism: Together Again.” College English. Vol. 62. 3rd ed. National Council of Teachers of English, 2000. 390-393. Jstor. Web.
In Congress only 2 percent of members have been women in 1789. That is severely low number and part of the reason why this is so low is due to the media’s and society’s treatment of powerful women. The media is especially savage to women with their criticisms, but they are often criticism not of the policies but of their outfits and hair. The media teaches society that it is more important to focus on aa women’s pantsuit than her policies. The can be disparaging to any women wanting to run for politics. In the film they show many clips of newscasters or radio host taking about women; they comment on their outfits, their hair, their hormones, they call them sluts, and whores, they attack them. It was unbearable to watch these women who have worked so hard to become powerful women being torn down for their hair choice for the day. Its also hurts voter’s confidence in women in that “sexist media coverage results in drastic decrease of voter confidence in women candidates” (Larris, Maggio).
Gender Matters is a collection of various essays on feminist linguistic texts analysis, by Sara Mills. Mills develops methods of analyzing literary and non-literary texts, in addition to conversational analysis based on a feminist approach. The author draws on data from her collection of essays gathered over the last two decades on feminism during the 1990s. The essays focus on gender issues, the representation of gender in reading, writing, and in public speaking. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of feminists’ analysis of sexism in literature and the relation between gender and politeness. The article is informative for my research paper, as my topic is going to cover language analysis of the text and who women reading and writing differs according to the discourse analysis within linguistic, psychology, case studies audiences and surveys. The book would be helpful, particularly the last three essays that discusses gender, public speaking, the question of politeness and impoliteness in public speaking. Mills’ analysis is not complete without including the idea of global notions of both women and men, to see whether women and men write and read in the same way globally. Therefore, an update would enrich the book’s discussion section. Although, Mills addresses the class and race theme in language and public speaking, I will only look into the role of language that plays a part in doing or reducing gender in literary, non-literary texts and in conversation.
Living in a society where gender matters and is one of the main attention seeking in every aspect whether it is involved with politics, governments, and as well as individuals within a community. Men and women were created equal at birth; yet, we are brought up and nurtured by the society that we let it control our thoughts and minds, and believing that women are not equally as men. Gender was separated at birth, in order for society to tell the difference between a boy and a girl, therefore, boys often wear things that associated with the color blue and girls with pink. In a political world, gender tends to suffer a gap between male and female when it comes to voting for presidential candidates or elections. While most electable candidates want to gather as many votes as possible from both genders, women’s voting tends to deliver a bigger impact on who will win, due to the fact that the majority of women are likely to vote for female candidates, especially on political issues relating to women’s rights and movements than male candidates. Therefore, women candidates should target mostly at female voters, because they are likely to vote for their own gender and will support women candidates on political issues involving discrimination and domestic violence towards women.
Marshall, Susan E. "Who Speaks for American Women? The Future of Antifeminism." The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 515 (1991): 60.
...rms of power and source of pride in society. Emphasizing sexism in language and rising the concern with words can be a vital feminist strategy to provoke social change (Weatherall, 2002). Language can produce a false imagination and represents women and men unequally, as if members of one sex were somehow less wholly human, less complex, and has fewer rights than members of the other sex. Sexist language also characterizes serotypes of women and men, sometimes to the disadvantage of both, but more often to the disadvantage of women. (Wareing & Thomas, 2012). As a result, it is necessary that individuals have the right to define, and to redefine as their lives unfold, their own gender identities, without regard to genitalia, assigned birth sex, or initial gender role. Language about women is not a nonaligned or an insignificant issue but profoundly a political one.
Hillary Clinton spoke at the United Nation’s fourth world conference on women that was held in Beijing, China in 1995. She made a speech entitled, “Women’s Rights are Human Rights.” The speech was designed to meet the goal of women having rights are human rights. Clinton has been a women’s rights activist since the beginning of her career. She delivered the speech to one hundred and eighty countries, non-governmental organizations, and ordinary people. In the speech, some constraints of Clinton’s speech include her political background causing the audience to be suspicious of what Clinton has to say on this topic. Male audiences that have a prejudice against women and how much freedom they should be allowed because
The goal of Hillary’s speech is to persuade her audience that her ideas are valid, by using ethos, pathos, and logos. Hillary is the First Lady and Senator, she shows credibility as an influential activist for woman rights. “Over the past 25 years, I have worked persistently on issues relating to women, children, and families. Over the past two and a half years, I’ve had the opportunity to learn more about the challenges facing women in my country and around the world” (Clinton 2).
DODD, LYNDA G. "The Rhetoric Of Gender Upheaval During The Campaign For The Nineteenth Amendment." Boston University Law Review 93.3 (2013): 709-727. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
...an part of the reason why women are at unequal rights, and quoted “That the female mind is inferior to the male mind need not be assumed. There is something about it essentially different and that this difference is of a kind and degree that votes for women would constitute a political danger ought to be plain to everyone. I do not wish to see the day come when the women in my state shall trail their skirts in the muck and mire of partisan politics. These flippant girls singing “votes for women” know not the disasters they invite by this reckless movement.”
Electing more female officials into Congress and state legislature to fulfill the gender gap in the American legislation will give women more pathways to equal rights in laws and policies. Currently, women only represent twenty percent of the American national legislation, and even less in many state legislations. Furthermore, this underrepresentation in the American government leads to a gender gap and misrepresents America’s body of approximately fifty percent female population. The general belief that the overwhelming amount of men in American legislation office causes women not to participate in politics. However, according to the American University in D.C. their study showed the perceived gender gap in government prevents women for running for political office. Nevertheless, the study found that novice politicians are more likely to run for office if encouraged by a fellow incumbent politician to run for a competitive seat; thus, it only takes more encouragement to fulfill the gender gap in politics
Schell, E., & Rawson, K. (Eds.). (2010). Rhetorica in motion: Feminist rhetorical methods and methodologies. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.