The notion of a feminine rhetoric is somewhat buried in the male-dominated tradition. That is not to say that a ‘female’ voice does not emerge at certain critical moments within the rhetorical tradition, but a separate feminine tradition is unable to continuously exist throughout the history of rhetoric. By first glancing at the suppression of the voice of Aspasia (and the inability for her voice to be strictly feminine), a comparison between her, Christine Pizan, and Hélène Cixous will be greatly facilitated. As well, the common concerns that emerge in Pizan’s The Book of the City of Ladies and Cixous’ “The Laugh of the Medusa” will be compared with one another, as each woman is representative of a critical moment within the rhetorical tradition. Here I will explore each woman’s role as a female within a patriarchal tradition to reveal that though a feminine voice does emerge at critical moments, a separate feminine rhetorical tradition cannot exist throughout history.
Due to the lack of primary sources compared to the abundant secondary source material on Aspasia, incorporating her into the discussion on “female” rhetoric - questioning the influence she had on it and if her influence is peculiarly female - is problematic. Having said this, a significant amount of feminist scholars offer their opinions and as well, and interesting debate has arisen. Xin Liu Gale, Assistant Professor of Writing and Rhetoric at Syracuse University, has written an article in response to the feminist remodeling of Aspasia’s voice. In her article, “Historical Studies and Postmodernism: Rereading Aspasia of Miletus,” Gale questions the historical arguments of three feminist historians, Susan C. Jarratt, Rory Ong, and Cheryl Glenn. Gale describes that ...
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...entieth century. We knew we were not the first, but few would have expected to find the arguments so fully and powerfully stated in fifteenth-century France. Yet here they are again; or rather here they were all the time [my emphasis] (694).
This female ‘voice’ can exist to us now but cannot have existed in the history following Pizan’s lifetime. The notion of a separate feminine tradition as existing continuously throughout the history of rhetoric is near impossible because of this. Though some may argue that the ‘female’ voice existed whether it was widely known or not, my argument lies in the fact that an unheard voice has little influence on a discourse and thus, cannot actually exist. Therefore, a separate feminine rhetorical tradition cannot truly exist throughout history and, when glancing at both Aspasia and now Christine de Pizan, this is even more evident.
Within Hon. Shirley Chisholm’s well known speech, Equal Rights for Women, which she presented on May 21, 1969, she discusses in detail the ideology of woman’s rights before the United States House of Representatives. She touches base on her own experience with discrimination, how society has prejudice against women, and introduces the Equal rights act, in which she states “that has been before every Congress for the last 40 years and that sooner or later must become part of the basic law of the land.” With her speech, Hon. Shirley Chisholm makes a substantial argument about women’s rights. With her use of anecdotes, counter arguments, and statistics, her speech obtains great value.
Ulrich had a well explanation for her slogan on "well-behaved women." She supports her slogan by bringing up certain women stereotypes that have been going on throughout history. She uses these stereotypes to explain how certain people view on women.
In the debate between Christine and Reason, Christine represents the misogynistic notions that are embedded in each citizen’s mind. For instance, a commonly accepted misconception of the time was that “women are by nature fearful creatures, having weak, frail bodies and lacking in physical strength” (De Pizan 33). Reason refutes Christine’s widely accepted viewpoint by arguing that “it doesn’t necessarily follow that a fine, strong body makes for a courageous heart” (De Pizan 34). Such a didactic exchange allows De Pizan to directly communicate with the women reading her book. Subsequently, as Reason gradually disproves the sexist arguments of Christine, the prejudice that exists in the readers’ minds is also logically deconstructed. The ultimate purpose of the didactic dialects is to encourage readers to initiate an acceptance for the novel feminist doctrine that De Pizan is presenting in the creation of the City of Ladies because it is not based on passion nor emotions alone, but logic and
Men and women both drive cars, it’s a simple necessity to be able go to work for most people, however, from the commercials on television, one would assume that men are the primary purchasers of cars. In Steve Craig’s essay, Men’s Men and Women’s Women, he analyzes four commercials to illustrate how advertisers strategically targets the viewers. Craig argues that advertisers will grasp the attention of the viewer by the gender ideals that both men and women have of each other. Not only do advertisers pick a target audience demographic, but they also will target the audience at specific time to air their commercials. By analyzing an Audi and Bud Light commercial, one can see that Craig arguments are true to an extent but it appears that commercials have gone from an idealized world to a more realistic and relatable stance. for are still [true, however it seems that commercials may have altered to appear more realistic.] [relevant to an extent. This is to say, it appears that advertisers may have altered their commercial tactics. ]
The plays Susan Glaspell’s Trifles and Sophocles’ Antigone, examine the contrast between the roles of women versus the roles of men in a male dominated society. Women are often viewed as inferior to men. The women in Trifles are second class citizens, who are to follow the beliefs and commands of man, whereas Antigone is a headstrong and defiant woman, who doesn’t mind challenging a man’s authority. In both these plays, the women showed great courage and bravery by going against cultural conventions and defying the rules of man.
Scholars and historians of rhetoric consider the Greek philosopher, Aristotle, one of the great contributors to our present understanding of this art which, since its early origins and until present, has been a controversial field of study because of its association with persuasion and influence. However, readings of the many ancient and contemporary texts and analyses of the origins and the developments of this ancient art marginalized the role of the Sophists, who were the first to introduce rhetoric to Greece, and usually associated them with the bad reputation rhetoric has acquired over the years. Undoubtedly, Aristotle developed rhetoric in a more comprehensive and systemized explanation than what the Sophists offered, but an examination of how this great philosopher reached his findings, and what elements formed his theory on rhetoric points out that the Sophists, who initiated this art, deserve a re-evaluation of their role and an explanation of their “unethical” perspectives. In this essay, I consider the Aristotelian rhetoric to be a progression of the Sophists’ nascent teachings in rhetoric. Arguably, the “disdained” Sophists introduced a novel field of study that constituted a base for Aristotle’s theory. My argument is based on a chronological reading of the origins and development of rhetoric and recent studies on the Sophists and their discredited achievements almost since the great philosopher, Plato, staged his battle against them. I also regard the platonic versus sophistic approach to the definition of rhetoric, its goals and purposes, and its relation with the public as consequential factors of development of this art. Accordingly, I assume that this rivaling situation could not have existed without the sophisti...
...e, although the Renaissance was considered a revolutionary time period that sprung immense developments throughout Europe, this era however did not bring change to the identity and power of Renaissance women. As a result of analyzing the prejudiced regulations of female versus male sexuality, the misogynistic ideologies of society as conferred through literature and philosophy and the life of notable female Renaissance figures, it is evident that women failed to attain an era of rebirth, therefore delaying the development of female strive and liberty. The advances in the Renaissance have only served to mold the female gender even deeper into their ladylike roles; the wraths of men. Ultimately, with the fear to battle against injustice, the vision for absolute equality and strive for full feminine potential have failed to be accomplished in the shaping of our today.
The question of women’s agency, in moving history holds a long history dating back to the ancients, then turning away from that in small degrees during the Renaissance. Most notable in this change comes from the capital of education, the Italianate states. Home to rife differences in attitudes towards women, it also hosts the origins of the discussion around women’s purpose. The current field largely finds inspiration from writers during the American 1970s women’s rights movement, and it shows in the modern origins and their influence. However, the field’s creation date loom farther back than such a recent movement, easily dating back to Plato and Aristotle. Beginning with a negative view of the female sex as inferiority, the study of women and their rights progressed to Giovanni Boccaccio’s creation of female biography in 1374, and further developed with a female voice in 1405 under the pen of Christine de Pizan. Clearly, none of the prestigious scholars could have predicted the alterations and growth of the discussion surrounding a people group often considered subhuman.
There is no doubt that the literary written by men and women is different. One source of difference is the sex. A woman is born a woman in the same sense as a man is born a man. Certainly one source of difference is biological, by virtue of which we are male and female. “A woman´s writing is always femenine” says Virginia Woolf
`Plays and Poetry by early modern women are primarily concerned with negotiating a position from which women could speak. A concern for ideas of gender, language and silence is, therefore, central, though its expression is sometimes open, sometimes covert.' Discuss with reference to Aemilia Lanyer and / or Elizabeth Cary.
Erera, I. Pauline. “What is a Family?” Writing in the Disciplines: A Reader and Rhetoric
Through the society imaginations of genders, the society character can be depicted and captured in this imagery. This virtual representation, the study of an enduring public attitude deceptive in the widespread images of a gender and the ways of representing gender, has proved a productive and enlightening field of research. The stylistic dynamics at work in the genesis and propagating of gender images in the linguistic discourses, and their explicit function, and how they are received is a crucial source in forming a base for the female status in any society. Simone De Beauvoir (2011) addresses the ambiguous imagined femininity by saying “to be considered [as women] she must share in that mysterious and threatened reality known as femininity”. Such ‘mysterious and threatened reality’ is indeed independent of facts as this paper shall revel, and they neither mirror the female reality nor provide a truthful reflection of the female, but purely part of the cultural imagination.
On September 5, 1995, Hillary Clinton delivered an influential speech at The Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. Clinton expresses general concern over escalating violence toward women, in other word’s gendercide. “Gendercide refers to the systematic elimination of a specific gender group, normally female. It’s most common in India, China, and other regions in Southeast Asia” (GirlsKind Foundation). Crimes, such as bride trafficking, infanticide, abandonment, and dowry related murder; often take place within private households, going unnoticed and not even acknowledged. “Tragically, women are most often the ones whose human rights are violated. Even now, in the late 20th century, the rape of women continues to be used as an instrument of armed conflict Women and children make up a large majority of the world’s refugees” (Clinton 3). By addressing her speech in Beijing, where gendercide is prevalent, Hillary expressed her objective effectively not just the United Nations, but to audiences across the world. Clinton effectively delivered her speech by portraying her purpose for women to achieve equality and better opportunities, with ethical appeals, emotional appeals, and logical appeals.
Rhetoric is the art of effective speaking or writing, and persuasion. Most people use rhetoric numerous of times in their everyday life without their concern or knowing.
Evaluate and respond to the presentations of women in the Romantic period. Feel free to discuss presentations of women, by women (such as Austen’s Persuasion) as well as presentations of women by men (such as the “she” in Byron’s “She Walks in Beauty”). Consider the following questions: are these presentations problematic? What do they tell us about the values and briefs of the Romantic Period? Do any of these presentations subvert (complicate, or call into questions) the time’s notions of femininity?