Technical Communication Quarterly Jan 2021

The Rhetoric of Online Exclusive Pumping Communities: Tactical Technical Communication as Eschewing Judgment

Jessica McCaughey George Washington University

Abstract

ABSTRACT “Exclusive Pumping” straddles the most common infant-feeding methods: breastfeeding and bottle feeding. Exclusive pumpers express milk and feed with bottles. Yet experts rarely recommend exclusive pumping, creating a need for information outside of formal communication outlets. This article argues that exclusive pumping forums are sites of tactical technical communication – operating as “anti-institutional” – and explores these forums as places of inspiration and support, as well as spaces where mothers seek to solve technical feeding problems while avoiding institutional judgment.

Journal
Technical Communication Quarterly
Published
2021-01-02
DOI
10.1080/10572252.2020.1823485
Open Access
Closed
Topics
technical communication

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (6)

  1. Shirley et al. (2025)
    Farm to Forum: Exploring Agritourism as a Site for Tactical Technical Communication
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Sparby (2025)
    A Memetic Pandemic: COVID-19 Memes As Tactical Risk Communication
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Gallagher et al. (2024)
    Emojination Facilitates Inclusive Emoji Design Through Technical Writing: Fitti…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Campeau (2023)
    Unofficial Vaccine Advocates: Technical Communication, Localization, and Care b…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Campeau (2022)
    Vaccination Double Bind: A Study of Pregnancy and COVID-19 Vaccine Decision-Making
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Show all 6 →
  1. Randall (2022)
    Taking the Tactical Out of Technical: A Reassessment of Tactical Technical Comm…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

Cites in this index (12)

  1. Edenfield et al. (2019)
    Queering Tactical Technical Communication: DIY HRT
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Colton et al. (2017)
    From NoobGuides to #OpKKK: Ethics of Anonymous’ Tactical Technical Communication
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Holladay (2017)
    Classified Conversations: Psychiatry and Tactical Technical Communication in On…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Kimball (2017)
    Tactical Technical Communication
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Pflugfelder (2017)
    Reddit’s “Explain Like I’m Five”: Technical Descriptions in the Wild
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Show all 12 →
  1. Peter (2017)
    “Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom”: Jihadist Tactical Technical Communica…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Jones (2016)
    Found Things: Genre, Narrative, and Identification in a Networked Activist Orga…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Jack (2016)
    Leviathan and the Breast Pump: Toward an Embodied Rhetoric of Wearable Technology
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  4. Bellwoar (2012)
    Everyday Matters: Reception and Use as Productive Design of Health-Related Texts
    Technical Communication Quarterly
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    Rhetorics of Alternative Media in an Emerging Epidemic: SARS, Censorship, and E…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
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    Technical Communication Quarterly
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    Rhetorical Agency, Resistance, and the Disciplinary Rhetorics of Breastfeeding
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Also cites 11 works outside this index ↓
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CrossRef global citation count: 13 View in citation network →

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