Written Communication Apr 1993

Regrinding the Lens of Gender: Problematizing “Writing as a Woman”

HEATHER BRODIE GRAVES

Abstract

Recent trends in gender and writing research avoid or ignore the issue of essentialism while attempting to formulate a theory of “composing as a woman” that might rely on essentialist assumptions. Codifying the characteristics of “writing like a woman” or “writing like a man” can result in a limited—and limiting—conception of gender and its effect on writing. To illustrate this argument, this article uses as an example of I'écriture féminine the writing of Kenneth Burke and as an example of writing like a man the prose of Julia Kristeva. It argues for conceptualizing and studying gender as a secondary factor affecting writing rather than the principal factor.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
1993-04-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088393010002001
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
modern rhetorical theory gender and writing
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (26) · 3 in this index

  1. Belanger et al. (1990)
    Gender and writing: Biblio(bio)graphical stories
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  2. Belenky, M. F.
    Women's ways of knowing: The development of self, voice, and mind
  3. 10.1037/h0036215
     ↗
  4. Burke, K.
    Language as symbolic action: Essays of life, literature, and method
  5. Burke, K.
    A rhetoric of motives
Show all 26 →
  1. Burke, K.
    A grammar of motives
  2. Chodorow, N.
    The reproduction of mothering: Psychoanalysis and the sociology of gender
  3. Cixous, H.
    New French feminisms: An anthology
  4. Cixous, H.
    Reading with Clarice Lispector
  5. Derrida, J.
    Writing and difference
  6. English, T.
    Conference on College Composition and Communication
  7. 10.2307/357697
     ↗
  8. Freud, S.
    The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud
  9. Gilligan, C.
    In a different voice: Psychological theory and women's development
  10. Kohlberg, L.
    The philosophy of moral development
  11. Kristeva, J.
    How does one speak to literature? Desire in language: A semiotic approach to literature and art
  12. Kristeva, J.
    Histoires d'amours
  13. Kristeva, J.
    The rhetorical tradition: Readings from classical times to the present
  14. 10.2307/357535
     ↗
  15. Moi, T.
    Sexual/textual politics: Feminist literary theory
  16. Perry, W.
    Forms of intellectual and ethical development in the college years
  17. 10.2307/358197
     ↗
  18. Phelps, L. W.
    Composition as a human science: Contributions to the self-understanding of a discipline
  19. Rose (1990)
    Reading representative anecdotes of literacy practice; or “see Dick and Jane re…
    Rhetoric Review
  20. Simons, H. W.
    The legacy of Kenneth Burke
  21. Zawacki (1992)
    Recomposing as a Woman. An Essay in Different Voices
    College Composition and Communication
CrossRef global citation count: 1 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Peitho Jan 2026
    The Diasporic Cookbook as Chronotope, a Review of Kitchens of Hope: Immigrants Share Stories of Resilience and Recipes from Home ↗
    Marcella Prokop
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory gender and writing book reviews
  2. Pedagogy Oct 2025
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory cultural rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy advanced composition creative writing writing across the curriculum graduate education two-year college service learning teacher development technical communication professional writing labor and working conditions archival research multimodality artificial intelligence literacy studies race and writing gender and writing disability studies literary studies editorial matter
  3. Philosophy & Rhetoric Apr 2025
    Introduction: On the Desirability of Speaking to Others ↗
    Nirvana Tanoukhi; Nicholas Dunn
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument social media race and writing gender and writing disability studies public rhetoric literary studies editorial matter
  4. Pedagogy Apr 2025
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism african american rhetorics cultural rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy basic writing graduate education two-year college teacher development writing centers technical communication professional writing labor and working conditions digital rhetoric multimodality social media literacy studies race and writing gender and writing community literacy literary studies editorial matter
  5. Philosophy & Rhetoric Sep 2024
    Style: A Queer Cosmology ↗
    Joe Edward Hatfield
    classical rhetoric modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism teacher development race and writing gender and writing literary studies editorial matter