Funny in a Man's World: Women Comedians' Use of Political Satire at the White House Correspondents' Dinner Jessica M
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South Dakota State University Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange Theses and Dissertations 2017 Funny in a Man's World: Women Comedians' Use of Political Satire at the White House Correspondents' Dinner Jessica M. Peterson South Dakota State University Follow this and additional works at: http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd Part of the Communication Commons, and the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Peterson, Jessica M., "Funny in a Man's World: Women Comedians' Use of Political Satire at the White House Correspondents' Dinner" (2017). Theses and Dissertations. 1176. http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/1176 This Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FUNNY IN A MAN’S WORLD: WOMEN COMEDIANS’ USE OF POLITICAL SATIRE AT THE WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER BY JESSICA M. PETERSON A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Science Major in Communication Studies and Journalism Specialization in Communication Studies South Dakota State University 2017 iii Dedicated in memory to the women who taught me education was the most valuable asset you could have. My mother, Dr. Denise Marie Peterson, for teaching me the best education comes from learning about the world around me. My grandmother, Rita Ann Rens, for teaching me the smartest people in the room aren’t always the loudest. I love and miss you both immensely. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I truly never believed I would be capable of achieving a graduate degree. I know I did not accomplish this on my own. There are many people to thank for their enthusiasm, motivation, and belief in my abilities even when I didn’t believe in myself. To my Department: Thank you for accepting this USD Coyote into the Jackrabbit family. Specifically, Dr. Joshua Westwick-- thank you for seeing in me what I never saw in myself. Andrea Carlile- thank you for always listening to me and encouraging me to go for ‘it,' whatever ‘it' may be. Dr. Jenn Anderson- thank you for academically challenging me, I would not be the scholar I am today without you. To my committee: you challenged me in ways I never knew. I was more nervous presenting my ideas to you during my proposal than walking on a stage during a pageant. Hearing brilliant minds talking about how my research can be taken further in the future fills me with joy. Dr. Rebecca A. Kuehl, thank you for your guidance and comments. Dr. Karla Hunter, thank you for your wealth of knowledge about political satire. Dr. Erin Cortus, thank you for seeing the application of my research outside of the communication discipline. To my fellow Graduate Teaching Assistants: Thank you for listening to me drone on and on about my research. Thank you for being willing to engage in academic dialogue about anything and everything. I have learned unique views and issues because of you all. Growing beside you has been a pleasure, and I wish you the best. To my friends and family: thank you for encouraging and supporting me through this whole journey. I wouldn’t be where I am today without you. v CONTENT ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………….vii I. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………1 Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………..4 Background of the Problem………………....……………………….…………..8 Definition of Terms…………………………………………………....……….13 Justification……………………………………………………………….……15 II. LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………………………………..19 Rhetors…………………………………………………………………………19 Audiences……………………………………………………………...……….23 Subject and Purpose……………………………………………………………28 III. CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE…………………………………………………………36 Feminist Standpoint Theory…………………………………………………....36 Rhetorical Citizenship………………………………………...………………..40 Rhetorical and Political Agency………………………………………………..43 IV. RHETORICAL ANALYSIS………………………………………………………...50 Feminist Standpoint Analysis………………………………..…………………51 Rhetorical Citizenship Analysis…………………………….………………….69 Rhetorical and Political Agency Analysis……………………………..……….74 V. DISCUSSION………………………………………………………………….........86 Review of Texts and Research Questions……………………………..……….86 Conclusions and Implications………………………………………...………..87 Limitations of the Study…………………………………………………….…96 Future Studies………………………………………………………………….99 vi Summary……………………………………………………………………..100 VI. APPENDIX………………………………………………………………………....101 Appendix A………………………………………………………………..…101 Appendix B………………………………………………………..………….107 Appendix C………………………………………………………………...…115 References……………………………………………………………....……116 vii ABSTRACT FUNNY IN A MAN’S WORLD: WOMEN COMEDIANS’ USE OF POLITICAL SATIRE AT THE WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER JESSICA M. PETERSON 2017 Satire and politics are typically considered masculine fields within the societal constructs of the United States. Wanda Sykes and Cecily Strong both navigate these male-dominated worlds with their addresses at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. This analysis views these addresses through three rhetorical lenses: feminist standpoint theory, rhetorical citizenship, and rhetorical and political agency. This study explores the way women’s issues in society exposed to various audiences through Sykes’ and Strong’s satirical addresses. Communication scholars have not previously considered both of these addresses; this analysis furthers our understanding of feminist viewpoints being shared to audiences and encouraging audiences to take civic action on issues facing today’s American society. 1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SATIRE AND THE WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS' DINNER In 2016, the Democratic Party nominated Hillary Clinton for President of the United States (Democratic National Convention, 2016). In 2016, Amy Schumer headlined Madison Square Garden (Runcie, 2016). In 2016, government officials argued about women's health issues (Gass, 2016b); the United States had a gender pay gap (Peck, 2016); and sexual offenders received three months of punishment (Bever & Wang, 2016). While glass ceilings are being shattered every day in American society, there are areas of concern for women in today's society. The intersection of politics, comedy, and women's issues is an important aspect of U.S. society and needs to be studied. For centuries, men have been able to take part in politics and comedy while women have been the homemakers (Campbell, 1973). While women have advanced into joining men in politics and comedy, this advancement has not happened without criticism. Instead of making fluff jokes about characters, women comedians have branched out into commenting about political issues. Funny women like Amy Schumer, Cecily Strong, Wanda Sykes, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler have used their positions in society to address issues like women's portrayal in the media, sexual harassment and assault, and gun violence (Gass, 2016a). In this thesis, I introduce the topic of women and political satire, specifically within the White House Correspondents' Dinner (WHCD), and the ways these women have used persuasive rhetorical strategies to influence their audiences. This first chapter introduces the White House Correspondents' Dinner (WHCD) and the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA). Then, I address the statement of the problem, 2 which leads into the background of the problem. I define key terms before, finally, justifying this study's rationale and its importance to communication research and, specifically, rhetorical studies. Introduction to the White House Correspondents' Dinner (WHCD) In May 1921, the first White House Correspondents' Dinner (WHCD) was held at the Arlington Hotel in Washington, D.C. Fifty men attended the event, which honors the media who work within the White House (White House Correspondents' Association, 2015). Until Helen Thomas participated in 1962, women were not permitted to attend the WHCD even though they were members of the WHCA and paid membership dues (Thomas, 1999). The WHCD has grown throughout the years; attendance is up to 2,600 guests annually (WHCA, 2015). Events that are attended by the President attract mass amounts of media coverage. Events like the National Prayer Breakfast and the WHCD allow the President to interact on a more personal level (Fabry, 2016; Waisanen, 2015). Rhetorical studies of the National Prayer Breakfast are also largely underdeveloped (Johnson, 2012), like the WHCD. Similarly, the National Prayer Breakfast is closely related to the WHCD in the attendance and occasion, as Congress invites individuals to the event (Johnson, 2012); whereas, the media invites celebrities and politicians to the WHCD. C-SPAN televises the National Prayer Breakfast, and it garners similar media attention as the WHCD (Johnson, 2012). The focus of studies on the National Prayer Breakfast (Johnson, 2012; Ofulue, 2002) is the persuasion tactics used by Presidents to push their agendas. The National Prayer Breakfast is a place in which the President has the designated rhetorical space to share about his faith and how his policies relate to his faith (Johnson, 2012). The 3 National Prayer Breakfast mirrors the study of women comedians at the WHCD because space for them to share their messages is already in place through the keynote address at this ceremonial occasion. Since 1993,