Journal of Business and Technical Communication Oct 1991

Feminist Theory and the Redefinition of Technical Communication

MARY M. LAY

Abstract

To study the possible impact of feminist theory on technical communication, this article discusses six common characteristics of feminist theory: (a) celebration of difference, (b) impact on social change, (c) acknowledgment of scholars' backgrounds and values, (d) inclusion of women's experience, (e) study of gaps and silences in traditional scholarship, and (f) new female sources of knowledge. Three debates within feminist theory spring out of these common characteristics: whether to stress similarity or difference between the sexes, whether differences come from biological or social forces, and whether feminist scholars can avoid reinforcing binary opposition. The article then traces the impact of these characteristics of feminist theory and debates within feminist theory on the redefinition of technical communication in terms of the myth of scientific objectivity, the new interest in ethnographic studies of workplace communication, and the recent focus on collaborative writing.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
1991-10-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651991005004002
Open Access
Closed
Topics
technical communication professional writing race and writing

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (24)

  1. Mallette (2024)
    Listening, Reflecting, and Learning: A Methodology for Engineering Communicatio…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Hopton et al. (2023)
    Critical Approaches to Climate Justice, Technology, and Technical Communication…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Stambler (2022)
    “An Excelent Good Remedi”: Medical Recipes as Ethos-Building Tactical Technical…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Petersen et al. (2020)
    “Speaking so that We are Heard:” A Zulu Comic Book as Women’s Social Action in …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Shelton (2020)
    Shifting Out of Neutral: Centering Difference, Bias, and Social Justice in a Bu…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Show all 24 →
  1. Jones et al. (2016)
    Disrupting the Past to Disrupt the Future: An Antenarrative of Technical Commun…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Jones (2016)
    The Technical Communicator as Advocate
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Moeller et al. (2016)
    Food Fights: Cookbook Rhetorics, Monolithic Constructions of Womanhood, and Fie…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Rohrer-Vanzo et al. (2016)
    Technical Communication in Assembly Instructions
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  5. Frost (2016)
    Apparent Feminism as a Methodology for Technical Communication and Rhetoric
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  6. Zdenek (2007)
    “Just Roll Your Mouse Over Me”: Designing Virtual Women for Customer Service on…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  7. Bridgeford (2006)
    REVIEW
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  8. Thompson et al. (2006)
    Women and Feminism in Technical Communication—An Update
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  9. Thompson (2004)
    Sex Differences in Technical Communication: A Perspective from Social Role Theory
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  10. Aschauer (1999)
    Tinkering with technological skill: An examination of the gendered uses of tech…
    Computers and Composition
  11. Longo (1998)
    An approach for applying cultural study theory to technical writing research
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  12. Charney (1998)
    From logocentrism to ethocentrism: Historicizing critiques of writing research
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  13. Haller (1997)
    Revaluing Women's Work: Report Writing in the North Carolina Canning Clubs, 1912-1916
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  14. Rehling (1996)
    Writing Together: Gender's Effect on Collaboration
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  15. Henry (1995)
    Teaching technical authorship
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  16. Dombrowski (1995)
    Post‐modernism as the resurgence of humanism in technical communication studies
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  17. Allen (1994)
    Women and authority in business/technical communication scholarship: An analysi…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  18. Bosley (1994)
    Feminist theory, audience analysis, and verbal and visual representation in a t…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  19. LaDuc et al. (1994)
    The critical eye, the gendered lens, and “situated”; insights—feminist contribu…
    Technical Communication Quarterly

Cites in this index (7)

  1. Karis (1989)
    Conflict in collaboration: A burkean perspective
    Rhetoric Review
  2. BRODKEY (1987)
    Writing Ethnographic Narratives
    Written Communication
  3. DOHENY-FARINA (1986)
    Writing in an Emerging Organization
    Written Communication
  4. Samuels (1985)
    Technical Writing and the Recreation of Reality
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Kant et al. (1981)
    Research in Context: Ethnographic Studies in English Education
    Research in the Teaching of English
Show all 7 →
  1. Halloran (1978)
    Technical Writing and the Rhetoric of Science
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Harris (1978)
    On Expanding the Definition of Technical Writing
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Also cites 12 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.1080/00335637609383331
     ↗
  2. 10.2307/377329
     ↗
  3. 10.2307/376723
     ↗
  4. 10.3102/0013189X016007016
     ↗
  5. 10.2307/3177468
     ↗
  6. 10.1017/CBO9780511605901.002
     ↗
  7. 10.3102/0013189X017008010
     ↗
  8. 10.1080/03637758009376036
     ↗
  9. 10.2307/375964
     ↗
  10. 10.1177/002194368602300205
     ↗
  11. 10.1177/002194368802500402
     ↗
  12. 10.1080/01463378309369495
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 41 View in citation network →

Related Articles

  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2021
    “Subjects” in and of Research: Decolonizing Oppressive Rhetorical Practices in Technical Communication Research ↗
    Godwin Y. Agboka
    technical communication professional writing race and writing
  2. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2015
    Eleanor McElwee and the Formation of IEEE PCS ↗
    Edward A. Malone
    technical communication professional writing race and writing
  3. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jul 2008
    Contextualize Technical Writing Assessment to Better Prepare Students for Workplace Writing: Student-Centered Assessment Instruments ↗
    Han Yu
    assessment technical communication professional writing race and writing multilingual writers
  4. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Mar 2026
    “It's Hard to Show ROI When You’re Preventing Things from Happening”: How Impact Storytelling Frames Community Health Initiatives for Executive Audiences ↗
    Margaret Hsiao
    qualitative research multimodality technical communication professional writing multilingual writers
  5. Technical Communication Quarterly Jan 2026
    Evolving Information Design: Insights from Senior Experts in Technical and Professional Communication ↗
    Jason Tham
    multimodality technical communication professional writing