Rhetoric Review Jul 2003

Pretty and Therefore "Pink":Helen Gahagan Douglas and the Rhetorical Constraints of US Political Discourse

Margaret M. S. Lowry

Abstract

This article combines feminist and historical rhetorical theories to analyze the rhetoric of US Representative Helen Gahagan Douglas, who served in the House from 1944-1950 and was defeated by Richard Nixon in the 1950 race for US Senate. The article examines Gahagan Douglas's 1946 speech "My Democratic Credo" within the social and linguistic context of US political discourse of the late 1940s. Gahagan Douglas engaged in rhetorical "cross-dressing" to create a rhetorical space for herself in the male House by adopting a masculinist Enlightenment discourse to create her ethos as a rational, didactic representative.

Journal
Rhetoric Review
Published
2003-07-01
DOI
10.1207/s15327981rr2203_04
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Topics
rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument archival research gender and writing public rhetoric
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