The Rhetorical Functions of Consciousness-Raising in Third Wave Feminism
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The Rhetorical Functions of Consciousness-Raising in Third Wave Feminism By Sowards, Stacey K.; Renegar, Valerie R. | Communication Studies, Winter 2004 | The Rhetorical Functions of Consciousness- Raising in Third Wave Feminism
Sowards, Stacey K., Renegar, Valerie R., Communication Studies "Third wave" feminism is a phrase commonly used among feminist scholars today todistinguish amon g earlier periods of feminist activism. (1) As an emerging feministmovement, the third wave is still in t he process of defining itself and acknowledges that it isboth similar to and different from previous wav es of feminist thought and activity. Forexample, consciousness-raising, a rhetorical strategy utilized ex tensively by feminists in the1970s to give voice to women's experiences, remains an important part of developing feministawareness today. For many feminists and other social critics, consciousness- raising is centralto the process of creating a critical awareness of our culture. Although some studies h aveaddressed the rhetorical functions of consciousness-raising, (2) little attention has been paidto the ways in which the process of consciousness-raising has evolved and been adapted bycontemporary fe minists.
Kathie Sarachild is credited with developing feminist consciousness-raising as a small groupprocess in the early 1970s (Rosen, 2000). Although "second wave" feminists did not inventconsciousness-raising, it was a rhetorical strategy that they deliberately cultivated to enablewomen to share personal experie nces of gender discrimination in conversations and meetingsdesigned specifically for these purposes. Sarachild's (1970) original conception ofconsciousness-raising entailed women who met in small grou ps to share their experiencesthrough personal testimony in order to relate to one another and generali ze experiences.Consciousness-raising, although conducted in these informal groups, included organize rs whoencouraged each woman to contribute her own experiences. The groups then discussed formsof resisting oppression, actions, and organizing new consciousness-raisings groups (Sarachild,1970). The Redstockings Collective (1970) argued that this process was a way to unite womenso that they could u nderstand that their individual experiences were not isolated events and toeliminate self-blame. Kame n describes second wave consciousness-raising as a process wherewomen "learned to ask new questio ns about themselves, built self-esteem and a sense ofentitlement to opportunity, gave names to their c ommon experiences and discovered that theywere not alone. Consciousness-raising was a foundation f or change ..." (1991, p. 4).Consciousness-raising for women was rooted in recognizing personal oppres sion (Sarachild,1970; Rosen, 2000).
Karlyn Kohrs Campbell's 1973 groundbreaking article, "The Rhetoric of Women's Liberation:An Oxym oron," describes a consciousness-raising process designed to address affirmation "ofthe affective, of th e validity of personal experience, of the necessity for self-exposure and self-criticism, of the value of di alogue, and of the goal of autonomous, individual decision making"(1973, p. 79). Although consciousn ess-raising usually occurred in small groups, other forms ofsharing individual experiences such as essa ys, articles, and lectures also contributed to theprocess of consciousness-raising. (3) Consciousness- raising allowed women to bridge theirseparation or address the fact that their lives were often under t he control of their husbands,fathers, or male employers (Campbell, 1973). Women often had negative self-images, in partbecause of their lack of voice and subordination to men (Campbell, 1973). Further more,Campbell contends "Because oppressed groups tend to develop passive personality traits,conscio usness-raising is an attractive communication style to people working for socialchange" (1989, p. 13).
In most accounts, the rhetorical strategy of consciousness-raising has been defined as a smallgroup pr ocess. For instance, Cheseboro, Cragan, and McCullough define consciousness-raisingas "a personal, f ace-to-face interaction which appears to create new psychological orientationsfor those involved in the process.... the personal face-to-face interaction technique is selectedbecause it is consistent with the ra dical revolutionary's belief that shared personal experienceshould generate political theory and action " (1973, pp. 136-137). They explain that the processof consciousness-raising results in a group identity where "members often perceive othergroup members as 'sisters' and 'brothers' of a new 'cultural famil y' and 'community'"(Cheseboro, Cragan, & McCullough, 1973, p. 137). This group identity for feminists is oftenreferred to as sisterhood. The concept of sisterhood, however, is not without its flaws.Campbell observes that the notion of sisterhood has not appealed to all women, and has"proved false for many a nd has been attacked by those who felt excluded from much of its talk,action, and organization" (1999, p. 141).
In this essay, we argue that third wave feminist consciousness-raising has evolved in style,substance, a nd function in comparison to previous conceptions of consciousness-raising. (4)Consciousness-raising experiences and practices have been called the foundation for socialactivism and movements (Chesebo ro, Cragan, & McCullough, 1973; Gring-Pemble, 1998).Examining how consciousness-raising as a rhet orical option has changed is important forunderstanding how individuals develop a critical consciousn ess in contemporary contexts.This study of the evolution of consciousness-raising offers new insight in to the process ofsocial awareness and how individuals acquire and enact critical perspectives. Our rese archcenters on the rhetoric of third wave feminists and seeks to expand communication scholars'unde rstanding of the rhetorical function and stylistic elements of contemporary feministconsciousness- raising.
While third wave feminism continues to be an ambiguous concept, it can be generallyunderstood as an area of emerging feminist thought, often embraced by young women andmen, that is informed by pred ecessor feminisms as well as changing cultural conditions andexpectations. Heywood and Drake (1997 ) argue that, for them, third wave feminism is "agenerational perspective, gathering the voices of youn g activists struggling to come to termswith the historical specificity of our feminisms and with the time s in which we came of age(the late 1970s through the late 1980s)" (p. 2). Heywood and Drake also expl ain that thirdwave feminism is concerned with: the development of modes of thinking that can come to terms with the multiple, constantlyshifting bas es of oppression in relation to the multiple, interpenetrating axes of identity, andthe creation of a coali tion politics based on these understandings--understandings thatacknowledge the existence of oppres sion, even though it is not fashionable to say so. (1997, p.3)
Dicker and Piepmeier further illustrate what third wave feminism means to them: "We arguethat the t hird wave has less to do with a neat generational divide than with a cultural context:the third wave con sists of those of us who have developed our sense of identity in a worldshaped by technology, global ca pitalism, multiple models of sexuality, changing nationaldemographics, and declining economic vitalit y" (2003, p. 14).
To illustrate the process of third wave consciousness-raising, we examine the rhetoric of thirdwave fe minist discourse. For our purposes here, we have selected excerpts from six influentialfeminist works. The first text, Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future (2000),was written by Jennifer Ba umgardner and Amy Richards. The other five sources that we haveused are collections of personal ess ays and critical reflections on third wave feminism.
These anthologies include: To Be Real: Telling the Truth and Changing the Face of Feminism (1995)edited b y Rebecca Walker, Men Doing Feminism (1998) edited by Tom Digby, Listen Up:Voices from the Next Feminist Generation, New Expanded Edition (2001) edited by BarbaraFindlen, Colonize This!: Young Women of Color on Today's Feminism (2002) edited by DaisyHernandez and Bushra Rehman, and Ca tching a Wave: Reclaiming Feminism for the 21stCentury (2003) edited by Rory Dicker and Alison Pie pmeier. These texts represent anemerging genre of feminist thinking in which the writers identify the mselves as third wavefeminists or as members of a new generation of feminist thinkers. Furthermore, these textsare commonly recognized as constitutive of third wave feminist thinking. (5) These works w erealso selected because their writers employ a number of different consciousnessraisingapproaches a nd represent the ideas of a diverse group of women and men about the nature,scope, and functions of feminism in the twenty-first century.
As the rhetorical problems surrounding feminism have shifted over the last forty years, feminists have adapted the process of consciousness-raising to address the current rhetoricalsituation more adequately. Our study of the rhetoric of third wave consciousness-raisingbegins with a discussio n of how third wave feminists define their version of feminism. Wethen proceed with our examination in two sections: 1) the rhetorical problem and culturalcontext for third wave feminists and 2) the evolu tion of consciousness-raising as a response tocurrent rhetorical exigencies. Specifically, we aim to sho w how third wave feministconsciousness-raising instills a critical perspective that focuses on personal and socialinjustices. We argue that these rhetorical responses function as consciousness-raising in the public sphere, through mass media, popular culture, and college classrooms, fostering bothpublic and private dialogue about gender inequities and aiming at self-persuasion. Weconclude that this rhetoric seeks to increase understanding and to embrace diverse feministperspectives. Thus, from a communication perspective it provides a new framework in which to understand the rhetorical functions of consciousness-raising.
FEMINISM IN TRANSITION Third wave feminists are in the process of creating a body of work that speaks to a newgeneration of fe minists. Third wave feminists have benefited substantially from the work of their feminist predecessors, but these successes have also created a high level of expectation.Astrid He nry, in Catching a Wave, explains how young women today seem to have a moretenuous relationship with feminism: To understand feminism as something we inherit rather than create on our own hassignificant conseq uences for the ways in which we take on the cause of feminism and identifyourselves as feminists.
Because women of my generation often do not experience feminism asa process--that is, as something we actively choose or help to create--we have a much moreambivalent identification with it. Even for t hose of us who see ourselves as aligned with secondwave feminism, our sense of "owning" feminism ca n still feel tenuous. We own feminism in thesense that it is our birthright, yet in other ways it is not ou rs. It belongs to another generation,another group of women: second wave feminists. They were the on es who went through theheady experience of creating feminism; we just get to reap the benefits. (2003 , p. 219-20italics in original)
Third wave feminism, then, can be understood as an attempt by emerging feminists to makethe move ment their own. However, there appears to be no universal consensus about how thatshould happen.
Third wave feminism is an ambiguous and amorphous concept, likely because as an emergingmoveme nt, it has yet to develop any sense of collective identity (Renegar & Sowards, 2003).Third wave feminis t texts demonstrate the wide experiences that both unite and divide youngwomen and men. Although some third wave feminists actively attempt to distance themselvesfrom previous feminist waves, it is more often the case that third wave feminists seethemselves as building on the legacy of feminism (Fin dlen, 2001). Dicker and Piepmeierexplain that,
"Typically, the third wave is thought of as a younger generation's feminism, one that rejectstraditional --or stereotypical--understandings of feminism and as such is antithetical oroppositional to its suppos ed predecessor, the second wave. The feminism we claim, however,aligns itself with second wave strat egies for recognizing and addressing structuralinequalities" (2003, p. 5).
In fact, many third wave feminists do not define their ideology as a distinct, new brand offeminism, bu t rather, they acknowledge their indebtedness and connections to second wavethinking. Roxanne Har de observes "I think you would be hard-pressed to find any idea amongthird wave thinkers that is who lly unique and distinct from the second wave" (in Harde &Harde, 2003, p. 124). Third wave feminists, then, draw on the experiences of theirpredecessors and then adapt their rhetorical strategies to new sit uations and culturalcontexts.
RHETORICAL PROBLEMS AND OBSTACLES IN CONTEMPORARY CONSCIOUSNESS-RAISING Consciousness-raising was initiated by many second wave feminist groups as a way to addresswomen' s negative self-concepts, divisions between women, and counter-persuasive socialforces, such as father s and husbands resistant to ideas of feminism and women's rights(Campbell, 1973, 1999). For third wave feminists today, the rhetorical obstacles of secondwave fe minist consciousness-raising still exist, but many young feminists have a differentsense of self- concept, are no longer divided significantly from other women, and have moresupportive feminist- minded women and men in their lives. The rhetorical problem for thirdwave feminists, then, is how to address the cultural context of a society that has affordedyoung women new opportunities, but at the s ame time, created new barriers. Some of therhetorical obstacles that third wave feminists encounter in consciousness-raising include aperception that feminist successes have rectified most, if not all, gende r inequities, a lack ofrecognition of contemporary and covert gender inequities, feminist backlash and negativestereotypes of feminism, and a historical understanding of feminism as an exclusivemovemen t. These barriers mean that feminist rhetoric has to address and prove that genderinequities still exist, refute stereotypes and feminist backlash, and create greateridentification among those who call thems elves feminists.
Legal and political changes have created a different cultural context for feminist thinking andactivism. Legal changes, such as the legalization of abortion, more effective birth controlmethods, laws against s exual harassment and workplace discrimination, and Title IX havecreated greater protections for wom en (Baumgardner & Richards, 2000; Rosen, 2000).Children are raised with a sense of entitlement and empowerment because of legal, economic,political, and social protections and changing attitudes that are both different and similar towomen who were raised before second wave feminist thought was widespread. (6) Forexample, Whitney Walker, in Listen Up, explains that she was raised in an atmosp here ofequality: "I was raised on feminist children's books like Free to Be ... You and Me, and I knewbo ys weren't better than girls. I also refused to believe they were stronger. When bullies pickedon me or my friends, I hit them in the knees with my Holly Hobby lunch pail and that wasthat" (2001, p. 127). I n numerous accounts, third wave feminists note that they grew upexposed to feminist ideas and action s, but came to realize later in their lives that genderinequities still persisted (Baumgardner & Richards , 2000; Findlen, 1995). The pervasiverhetoric of equality that these contemporary feminists encounter ed growing up means thatconsciousness-raising rhetoric has to address how and why gender inequitie s continue, atheme that third wave feminists expound on continually in their work. (7)
Gender discrimination and exclusion have, in many cases, become more difficult to recognize,especiall y because of this unquestioned belief in the success of the women's movement and thepresence of gen der equality. The failure to realize that not everyone has this same set ofassumptions about equality m ay leave some people ill-equipped to deal with discriminationwhen confronted with it. Ellen Neuborne , in Listen Up, illustrates how her feminist upbringingleft her unable to recognize or address forms of gender inequity that she had beenprogrammed to ignore:
I am a daughter of the movement. How did I fall for this? I thought the battle had been won. Ithought that sexism was a remote experience, like the Depression. Gloria had taken care of allthat in the sevent ies. Imagine my surprise. And while I was blissfully unaware, theperpetrators were getting smarter. W hat my mother taught me to look for--pats on the butt,honey, sweetie, cupcake, make me some coffee --are not the methods of choice for today'ssexists. Those were just the fringes of what they were really up to. Sadly, enough of them havefigured out how to mouth the words of equality while still behaving l ike pigs. They're harder tospot. (2001, p. 183)
These more subtle forms of discrimination lure some people into thinking that there is nolonger a need for feminism or feminist consciousness-raising. This masking ultimatelyundermines a collective understanding of discrimination at all levels.
The successes of feminism have also led some people to conclude that feminism is no longernecessary. For example, in a 1998 survey, 48% of women surveyed answered that feminism isrelevant to most wo men, but only 28% of women answered that feminism today is relevant tothem personally (Bellafante, 1998). Furthermore, media portrayals have led women to regardfeminists negatively. In the same 199 8 survey, only 32% of women answered that they viewfeminists favorably, while 43% answered that th ey had an unfavorable impression (Bellafante,1998). This negative perception appears to be a relativel y recent phenomenon since earliersurveys do not reflect the same level of disdain. For instance, a 1986 Newsweek surveyindicated that, "56 percent of women consider themselves feminists; 71 percent say t hat themovement has improved their lives; only 4 percent describe themselves as antifeminist" (inRos en, 2000, p. xxxiii). Although these surveys are only limited samples of the population, thedifference i n women's perceptions about feminism between 1986 and 1998 is alarmingly clear.The backlash and p erpetuation of stereotypes of feminists undoubtedly contribute to thiscontrast. Perhaps the most prominent negative stereotypes of feminists are based on physicalappearance and ra dical personas (Bowleg, 2001; Chernik, 2001). Societal stereotypes castfeminists as hairy, man-hating, lesbian, ugly, radical, and bra-burning, despite that suchcharacteristics may challenge normative think ing. Erica Gilbert-Levin, in Listen Up, explainsher experiences with publicly declaring herself a femini st, "Students joked about it duringclasses, calling me a man-hater and warning that radical, hairy- legged feminists were going totake over the school and make all the boys their slaves" (p. 169). Althou gh these stereotypesare not new (Dow, 1999), contemporary feminists must grapple with the fact that thesestereotypes have been prevalent for so long that they have become the standard conception offem inists. Additionally, ad hominem attacks, red herrings, and hyperbole such as the mediacaricature of t he "feminazi" construct a rhetorical barrier for consciousness-raising incontemporary American societ y (Heywood & Drake, 1997). Consciousness-raising as arhetorical strategy must address these images i n order to build a space where audiences arewilling to try out feminism as an ideological construct. As Barbara Findlen, the editor of theListen Up anthology, observes, third wave feminists are aware of this rhetorical need toaddress these stereotypes: "Some young women do fear the feminist label, largely be cause ofthe stereotypes and distortions that still abound. If something or someone is appealing, fun or popular, it or she can't be feminist. Feminists are often assumed to be strident, man- hating,unattractive--and lesbian" (2001, p. xv).
Another rhetorical problem that third wave feminists address in their consciousness-raisingefforts con cerns the perceived exclusivity in second wave feminism. Second wave feminism hasbeen critiqued as a predominately white, middle-class phenomenon that failed to speak to theexperiences of women of c olor, the working class, and other marginalized individuals (Moraga& Anzuldua, 1983). Third wave fe minist texts such as To Be Real, Listen Up, and ColonizeThis! focus on diversity as a primary issue, oft en observing how feminism has failed to includewomen of color and other diverse aspects of women. F or example, Paula Austin explains herperception of what feminism has meant and why she has felt exc luded: "I have felt left out offeminism mostly because it leaves out women who looked like my mother- -traditionallyfeminine, of color, poor, powerful despite the impacts of oppression on her psyche. It lea ves noroom for women who find their power through a perceived powerlessness" (2002, p. 167). In asi milar vein, Susan Muaddi Darraj explains how her experiences with second wave feminismcreated a se nse of exclusion:
I realized then that most of the women in the class were upper-middle and middle-class whitewomen- -and I felt like a complete outsider. Perhaps they could understand Friedan becauseher brand of femin ism spoke directly to their experience. But it didn't speak to mine. I didn'tview housework as a mark of oppression. There was a certain sense of pride placed on a clean,welcoming home, and both my parent s had always placed value on it. (2002, p. 296) Although there is certainly debate about how second wave feminism excluded some andincluded other s (e.g., Moraga & Anzaldua, 1983), these writers demonstrate that how theylearn about feminism and t heir sense of cultural memory is marked by this sense of exclusion.
These rhetorical obstacles, in many ways, are similar to those that second wave feministsfaced; they u ndoubtedly encountered negative stereotypes, backlash, and a variety of otherobstacles. However, thes e rhetorical exigencies in conjunction with changes in contemporarysociety, work together to create a set of rhetorical problems that are different than whatprevious feminists encountered. The evolution o f these rhetorical problems over time demandsa rhetorical response that is adapted to this contempora ry situation. The rhetorical features oftraditional small-group conscious raising were designed to overc ome a distinct set of barriers,and as these barriers have evolved so must the consciousness-raising desi gned to addressthem.
RHETORICAL RESPONSES: FEATURES OF CONSCIOUSNESS-RAISING IN THIRD WAVEFEMINI SM Third wave feminist consciousness-raising draws heavily from the practice of consciousness-raising de veloped during the second wave. Campbell (1973) argues that the stylistic features ofsecond wave cons ciousness-raising are the result of strategic adaptation to an acute rhetoricalproblem. She claims that c onsciousness-raising is "characterized by rhetorical interactionsthat emphasize affective proofs and pe rsonal testimony, participation and dialogue, self-revelation and self-criticism, the goal of autonomou s decision making through self-persuasion,and the strategic use of techniques for 'violating the reality structure'" (1973, p. 83). Thesefeatures persist in third wave consciousness-raising, but additional feat ures have becomeapparent as feminists adapt their rhetorical responses to a changing set of problems andcultural conditions. In this section, we illustrate the rhetorical features, both stylistic andsubstanti ve, of third wave consciousness-raising which include sharing personal stories inpublic venues like bo oks and magazines, sharing experiences and reading feminist theory inclassrooms, consuming popula r culture, exploring issues of diversity and new audiences, andcreating new options for self- expression.
PERSONAL STORIES In the 1970s, personal testimony in small groups was a key feature of second waveconsciousness- raising since it allowed women to recognize the connected nature of theirpersonal experiences (Campb ell, 1973). Although third wave feminists tend not to utilize thesmall group format for consciousness- raising, personal stories continue to play an importantrole in helping people recognize that their exper iences of oppression or discrimination are notisolated. In the third wave, these stories are still very mu ch a part of consciousness-raising,except that these personal stories tend to appear in public venues li ke anthologies, books, andfeminist magazines such as Bitch and Bust. Furthermore, these stories funct ion as a majorrhetorical component of consciousness-raising due to the diversity of texts available. Wo menmay engage in conscious-raising with their female friends and colleagues, but these booksallow th eir readers to engage with a number of ideas they may not encounter in their personalor professional li ves. For example, third wave feminist anthologies contain a number of storiesabout issues such as rela tionships with one's mother or father (Austin, 2002; Lantigua, 2002;Sayeed, 2002), first experiences with sex (R. Walker, 2001), the reflections of a feministfitness instructor (Valdes, 2001), testing positi ve for HIV (Luna, 2002; Tiger, 2001),generational differences within families (Shah, 2001), being a fe minist super model (Webb &Walker, 1995), having an abortion (Muscio, 2001; Tumang, 2002), and c hoosing to become aparent (Crews, 1991).
These stories rely heavily on personal experience that often center on a moment when thewriters need ed feminism, when they came to a feminist consciousness, or when they were ableto overcome some p ersonal obstacle. For example, Aisha Hakim-Dyce shares her decision tobecome a seminude go-go dan cer:
I had never thought that my underemployed status would lead me to seriously consider a stintthat wo uld require me to shake my breasts and gyrate my hips to the catcalls, whistles, andsexually explicit su ggestions of men. I believed that my identity as a politically astute andactive woman would somehow p rotect me from exploitative situations, that having apolitically correct worldview would somehow tran slate into tangible economic benefits. Realitycheck, anyone? ... The more depressed I became because of my economic situation, the lessmanipulative such work seemed. After all, I began to reason, if silly men want to give awaytheir money in order to watch my breasts and hips jiggle, why not? (2001, p. 119 -120)
This story illustrates how personal testimony can connect the lives of individuals who sharethe same s et of circumstances or reveal personal thoughts and secretive moments to others.Similar stories allow readers to explore diverse feminist perspectives that may not be availableto them within their immedi ate circle of friends and family.
These stories often function as a cathartic mechanism for the writers who can share theprivate though ts that may have caused them anguish and agony in the course of determininghow to resist oppression , objectification, and exclusion. These stories also function to exposetheir readers to new ideas and sit uations and raise consciousness about the diversity ofwomen's experiences in the world. These stories and personal narratives are similar to those inearlier feminist anthologies, such as This Bridge Called My Back, but focus on contemporaryexperiences of life for young women in the 21st century. As Angel a Davis (1995) explains in theafterward of To Be Real, "in seeking to dismantle this status quo and bre ak free of itsstrictures, many of these writers attempt to work through their often complex relationship swith the notion of social activism as responsibility by recalling embarrassing childhoodexperiences wi th radical mothers, or by rejecting the concept of "political correctness," whichso often is assumed to b e an activist posture" (p. 281). Sharing personal stories, then, becomesan avenue of consciousness- raising not only for the audience, but also for the individuals whoshare their personal experiences of o ppression and discrimination.
CONSCIOUSNESS-RAISING IN THE CLASSROOM For third wave feminists, private sphere consciousness-raising may include unorganized andinformal conversations that take place among family, friends, and colleagues. However,consciousness-raising is not limited to the private sphere and is now much more likely to be apublic experience. For example, women's studies classes and other classes that includefeminist components are responsible for creatin g a generation well-versed in feminist theory,ideas, and activism. Third wave feminists are exposed to feminist critique and philosophy incollege, graduate school, or even sexual harassment seminars in th e work place (Baumgardner& Richards, 2000). This theme of feminist consciousness-raising in institu tional andeducational settings appears repeatedly in third wave rhetoric. (8) One woman explains how the college classroom fostered a critical perspective for her:
But during my first year of college, nothing upside downed my world as much as Women'sStudies 101. I learned that maybe I wasn't so odd after all, because maybe, just maybe,patriarchal social constructi ons had caused the various forms of discrimination I'dexperienced all my life, both as a woman and as a person of color. The other women in theclass connected with me; we had a shared understanding. I was overjoyed. I embraced my newfriend feminism. (Mody, 2002, p. 273, italics in original)
Learning feminism and participating in consciousness-raising in the classroom are uniqueexperiences and a direct result of the legacy of feminist successes in the United States, sincewomen's studies classe s and topics were not common in the 1960s and 1970s (Baumgardner &Richards, 2000).
College and high school teachers and students also have a much wider array of feminist textsto choose from, so that individuals can find texts that speak to their experience, expose themto new ideas, challe nge their notions of what feminism means, and create new ground forfeminist theory. For example, Su san Muaddi Darraj (2002) explains this diversity ofrhetorical possibilities:
I had started reading the work of Black feminists, such as bell hooks, who took on BettyFriedan full for ce. She challenged the relevance of Friedan's ideas about housewives to Blackwomen, who have always had to work. Her work led me to Gloria Anzaldua, who led me toBarbara Smith, and the list grew. I wa s heartened by the fact that Black women and otherwomen of color had the courage to carve a feminis m of their own out of the monolithic blockthat was generally accepted as "feminism." (p. 306-7)
Similarly, Cristina Tzintzun in Colonize This! explains how she personally connected withfeminist text s: "I read all of the feminist literature that I could get my hands on. They gave methe support I needed. They made me feel less alone. They made me proud to call myselffeminist and queer. Those books tau ght me more than my [high] school ever could" (2002, p.27). These texts create the possibility of defining feminism for oneself, since an individual mustdecide whic h theories explain and resonate with her own experiences, but also bridgeexperiences and connect wo men together. The wide diversity of feminist texts creates moreopportunities for identification and hel ps build on the idea that there are many different kindsof feminism and that many different kinds of p eople are feminists. In today's cultural contextof diversity, economic and social pressure, and individu alism, this flexibility is an extremelyappealing rhetorical feature of consciousness-raising.
POPULAR CULTURE AND MASS-MEDIATED CONSCIOUSNESS-RAISING Popular culture has also become a viable forum for third wave feminist consciousness-raising.Women are increasingly visible in television, film, music, and other media outlets. There aregrowing numbers of feminist role models and cultural icons that girls and women admire andrespect. Kristina Sheryl W ong (2003), in Catching a Wave, explains how popular culturefunctions for young feminists:
"The concept of feminism has become so academic that only a select few understand its newmeaning. In spite of this, feminist politics can be shared with the world if it is carefullydisguised in the mass me dia. Popular culture provides an effective vehicle to carry the self-celebrating concepts of third wave fe minism" (p. 296).
As Wong observes, popular culture female icons may speak to young women in ways thatacademic fe minism cannot. Many of these female icons represent strong, independent womenwith whom young w omen identify.
Some television shows have inspired third wave feminists through the use of empoweredfemale charac ters; audiences come to believe that women are capable of the same kinds ofaction packed adventures as men. For instance, Michele Byers explains how Buffy the VampireSlayer functions as a vehicle for fe minist consciousness-raising for its audiences:
Buffy's redefinition of girlhood and womanhood intersects with the question of feminism. Themost ex plicit link I see between Buffy and feminism as a political ideology and practice is thatboth espouse a b elief in the rights of women and, significantly, the right to equality in allthings. The series dramatizes t he struggle that many young women face to be strong,independent, articulate, ambitious, and powerfu l. And this is done without erasing women'sdesire for connection. The feminist inclination of this show also appears in its refusal to makeits female characters masculine. (2003, p. 172) Television shows and movies that include characters like Buffy expose viewers to new ideas offemale e mpowerment, and such shows are increasingly common and popular among female(and sometimes m ale) audiences.
Popular music is another form of popular culture that can serve as an avenue for feministconsciousnes s-raising. Gwendolyn Pough states that "My development as a Black woman anda Black feminist is dee ply tied to my love of hip hop" (2002, p. 86). She further explains that"Another way that hip hop helpe d me to develop a feminist consciousness was the exposure itgave me to sexual harassment and the att itude it gave me to deal with it" (2002, p. 89).Although Pough acknowledges that hip-hop and rap can have gendered and heterosexisttendencies, her ability to simultaneously enjoy and critically evaluate s uch music instilled asense of consciousness. Similarly, other third wave feminists cite Ani DiFranco, M adonna,Courtney Love, or Alanis Morissette as key feminist influences. (9) Erin Harde explains that"F or me, some women in music present the most accessible, and therefore influential, feministagenda of the third wave. Consider the lyrics of Alanis Morissette, who was probably one of thefirst women rocke rs to make me consider oppression and emancipation" (Harde & Harde,2003, p. 131). Popular culture icons have long influenced how young women and othersinvolved in social consciousness become awa re of social injustices and their own sense ofoppression, yet most academic literature has failed to addr ess the power and influence ofpopular culture in consciousness-raising. However, this examination of third wave feministtexts reveals that many young women are empowered by female role models and b ecomeaware of their own oppression and the possibilities for emancipation through theconsumption o f popular culture. More importantly, young female audiences take awaymessages of empowerment fro m popular television shows and music, even though these textsmay be problematic from other feminis t perspectives.
DIVERSE EXPERIENCES AND AUDIENCES Many third wave feminist texts deliberately seek to include diverse ethnic, social, andeconomic perspe ctives to create a sense of inclusiveness. This practice encourages many thirdwave feminists to read an d know diverse perspectives that extend beyond their own.Furthermore, much third wave literature fo cuses on traditionally marginalized perspectivesrather than more dominant or mainstream feminist p erspectives. (10) As Jee Yeun Leeexplains:
"I want to emphasize that the feminism that I and other young women come to today is onethat is at le ast sensitive to issues of exclusion. If perhaps twenty years ago charges of racism,classism, and homop hobia were not taken seriously, today they are the cause of extremeanguish and soul-searching. I am p rofoundly grateful to older feminists of color and theirwhite allies who struggled to bring U.S. feminist movements to this point" (2001, p. 70). Rory Dicker and Alison Piepmeier, the editors of Catching a Wave, also explain that "Many ofthe goals of the third wave are similar to those of the second wave, though some, such as itsinsistence on wome n's diversity, are new" (2003, p. 10). The third wave anthologies, ColonizeThis!, Listen Up, and To Be Real are predominantly about the experiences of women of colorand have made explicit efforts to incl ude a number of diverse perspectives.
Third wave feminists also seek to extend their consciousness-raising efforts to audiences thatinclude men. Hopkins (1998) suggests that feminism would be better understood as a criticalstrategy made up of a set of beliefs, actions, goals, and positions concerning gender oppressionin our culture rather than a movement for and about women. A group of third wave feministsoffers a similar definition, "A third wave feminist politics is more properly a politics of gender,which involves critiquing and reevaluating both male and female social roles so that bothgenders may live in peace with one another" (Cox, et al., 1997, p. 199). (11) These definitions offeminism shift the focus from women's oppression to the harm t hat patriarchal oppressiondoes to all people. For many third wave feminists, these inclusive definition s of feminism moreclosely resonate with their personal experience in a patriarchal culture, the import ance oftheir relationships with men, and the desire to create more inclusive feminisms.
Although consciousness-raising is a difficult process, young men are increasingly joining thefeminist r anks. Katz (2001) laments that there is very little consciousness-raising leadershipamong men since s peaking out against other men's sexism or violence toward women iscontrary to the traditional socializ ation of men. Two feminist texts, Men Doing Feminism andTo Be Real, where men share their person al experiences with feminism, seek to expand therealm of feminism. Schmitt (1998) explains that an i mportant rhetorical barrier to feministconsciousness for men is the aversion to relationships that men are taught throughout theirlives. Their quest to appear independent and self-sufficient inhibits their a bility to share thekinds of personal experiences that lead to a consciousness shift. Like third wave wom en, somemen indicate that they came to consciousness as an undergraduate or graduate student inwo men's studies classes or other classes that utilized feminist perspectives. (12) Additionally,feminism in creasingly plays an important role in their intellectual formation (Awkward,1998). Young men are also more likely to have been raised in a feminist household. Men whohave a feminist consciousness, or wh o identify themselves as feminists, are then in a positionto encourage other men to rethink their habits and behaviors (Schultz, 1995). Julia Woodsuggests that "one rhetorical strategy used by profeminist m en is performing a traitorousidentity, in which a member of a group criticizes particular attitudes and actions that arecommon and accepted among members of that group" (2005, p. 84). In fact, this supp ortnetwork is critical since social change happens and feminist consciousness develops when menare c hallenged by a caring, compassionate community (Cornish, 1999).
OPTIONS FOR SELF EXPRESSION Consciousness-raising creates numerous options for self-expression. Elements ofconsciousness- raising found in popular culture, the classroom, or books and magazines allowindividuals to take what they want from the emerging feminist theory and leave what is notuseful. These rhetorical functions of consciousness-raising also create new possibilities forvoice. Lee explains that her experiences with con sciousness-raising allowed her to expressherself in new ways: "For the first time I found people who ar ticulated those murky half-formed feelings that I could previously only express incoherently as 'But th at's not fair!' ... Soto come to a class that addressed these issues directly and gave me the words for all t hosepent-up feelings and frustrations was a tremendously affirming and empowering experience"(200 1, p. 68). In a more specific example, Kiini Ibura Salaam explains how feminisminfluenced her conscio usness:
"Today I can identify exactly what catcalling is and how it functions in women's lives. At itsmost basic l evel catcalling is sexual harassment. Verbal assaults, invitations and complimentsare opportunities for men to demonstrate who is predator and who is prey. One catcall yanks awoman out of the category of human being and places her firmly in the position of sexualobject" (2002, p. 340).
These women observe that a feminist consciousness enabled them to build a new set ofvocabularies th at originated from their critical consciousness that then fostered consciousnessor critical thought in ot her areas. Lisa Weiner- Mahfuz similarly explains her connection toconsciousness and expression: "I did not have the languag e to articulate why these feelingswere so personal to me until I started exploring feminism. Feminism awakened mycommitment to fighting injustice. Feminism challenged me to see how deeply I hadinter nalized my own assimilation" (2002, p. 33). Not only does feminist consciousness-raisingprovide wom en and men with a vocabulary to describe their experiences, but it also helpsilluminate the interconne cted nature of oppression and inculcate a more critical perspectiveon the world. Lourdes-marie Proph ete describes this kind of experience:
I get a lot of the "aha" factor when I think about how gender roles and sexism framed my lifeand my m om's. The "aha" factor is when you have always felt something but couldn'tarticulate it until someone gives you a naming system that allows you to point at all the pieces.While in Gambia a couple of years after college, I was criticized at a market by a femalemerchant for being too aggressive when I negotiat ed the price. She said I acted like a man andI should remember that I am just a girl. I felt horrible and wondered if I had been rude when Irealized her criticism that "I wasn't acting like a girl" came from he r acceptance of genderroles and male privilege. By analyzing the incident this way, I was also creating a mental worldwhere things can be different. (2002, p. 178) Critical consciousness, then, not only leads to more avenues of self-expression but may alsospur perso nal activism because once something has been named and described, it can becomethe target of social change.
IMPLICATIONS OF THIRD WAVE FEMINIST CONSCIOUSNESS-RAISING AS ARHETORICAL OPT ION In this essay, we argue that third wave feminists have employed consciousness-raising in waysboth si milar and different to the feminist consciousness-raising groups of the 1960s and1970s. In essence, thi rd wave feminists still use consciousness-raising for the same reasonsthat Campbell (1973) and Chese boro, Cragan, and McCullough (1973) have identified, yet thirdwave feminists have also used consciou sness-raising to address new demands and haveemployed different rhetorical features of consciousnes s-raising, both in terms of style andsubstance. While third wave feminists may encounter a different se t of rhetorical problems, itremains to be seen if their use of stories, popular culture, and version of fem inism willsuccessfully address these rhetorical problems. As an emerging movement, third wavefemini sm is still in the process of determining its rhetorical character and its rhetorical needs.Third wave fe minist consciousness-raising, then, provides an expanding framework forunderstanding the functions of consciousness-raising as a rhetorical option. Third waveconsciousness-raising rarely occurs in the o rganized, small group setting that was often thehallmark of consciousness-raising groups in the 1960s and 1970s that Campbell (1973)describes. Instead, consciousness-raising has changed, expanded, and adapted to new socialcontexts.
One of the ways in which third wave consciousness-raising has adapted to the changingcultural climat e is that it seeks to address larger and more public audiences. In addition totraditional private sphere s ettings, consciousness-raising now occurs in semi-public settings,such as classrooms, or in mass medi a venues, such as anthologies and books that are widelyavailable. Third wave feminists have responde d to the rhetorical exigencies of their timethrough writing and story telling, as a way to explain how fe minism has succeeded in creatinggreater opportunities for women, but also observing that gender ine quities still exist. Theyalso have used these public venues and mass media outlets to address diversity i ssues withinfeminism, which would not be possible in the same way within a small group of people wh oshare a particular geographic proximity. In a small group consciousness-raising session, alimited nu mber of people participate in consciousness-raising activities for a limited amountof time. However, c onsciousness-raising in books and popular culture can provide a widerarray of perspectives than any o ne small group. The books and anthologies that we examinedin this essay contain essays from writers who differ across a range of identity categoriesincluding social and economic class, ethnicity, geograph ical location, sexual orientation, andgender. Third wave consciousness-raising also resists the demand s of a structured time forconsciousness-raising, and instead allows individuals to read stories, watch m ovies, orparticipate in popular culture whenever and wherever it is convenient for them. This increase sthe flexibility of consciousness-raising and emphasizes the individual nature of consciousnessshifts. The expanding forms of third wave feminist consciousness-raising also create new avenues toan indivi dual's own consciousness-raising because a person may engage in self-dialogue andpersuasion to a gre ater extent than if she were participating in a small group consciousness-raising session. In small grou p consciousness-raising, individuals share their experiencesinteractively with personal revelations, qu estions, answers, and group discussion (Cheseboro,Cragan, & McCullough, 1973). When individuals re ad third wave anthologies or consumepopular culture, consciousness-raising is produced via internal dialogue rather than a smallgroup interaction. For example, reading essays is a process of conversing with the writers ofthose texts, but the writers cannot actively respond to the reader's questions and ide as.Instead, readers must engage in their own self-dialogue and self-persuasion that may lead tobuildin g one's self-esteem, recognizing gender inequities, or developing a critical perspective.Similarly, in con suming popular culture, a viewer may converse with other audience memberswhile watching a show o r listening to music, but ultimately must engage in internal dialoguesthat may be either subconscious or conscious forms of self-persuasion. For instance, anindividual might watch Buffy the Vampire Slaye r and have a conscious internal dialogueabout Buffy's strength and independence or women's empowe rment. Conversely, this sameindividual may seek to emulate the characters in the show without ever c onsciously decidingthat there are certain characteristics she wants to embrace for feminist reasons. Th ird wavefeminism enacted in popular culture and through the mass media serves to raiseconsciousnes s by allowing individuals to engage in moments of identification and privatereflection, even when thes e texts are consumed in public settings. Furthermore, many of thesefeminist-minded audiences are ab le to focus on messages of empowerment, whilesimultaneously rejecting messages of sexualization or objectification. Consciousness-raising,then, provides a critical framework where audiences problemati ze texts rather than passivelyaccept their messages.
A better understanding of third wave feminist consciousness-raising rhetoric also contributesto resear ch on rhetorical movements because this third wave rhetoric is both self- and other-directed. Richard Gregg (1971) discusses how the ego-function of social protest rhetoricrevolves around the self-directed need to affirm one's ego and sense of self. Charles Stewart(1999) identifies several features of this self- directed rhetoric, where individuals realizeoppression, establish self-esteem, search for new identities, and locate social standing andstatus. Sharing and relating to experiences found in third wave antholog ies or in women'sstudies classrooms create space for individuals to develop self-esteem and fulfill this ego-function of rhetoric. Third wave texts are self-directed in that they are cathartic for thewriters, but they are also other-directed because readers learn about new experiences or relateto the writers' exper iences. Stewart, using animal rights activists as an example, observes thatother-directed rhetoric that addresses disenfranchised groups is also possible. According toStewart, these individuals seek self- affirmation, location of status, and development of self-identity, but these goals are part of helping oth ers rather than helping themselves; theseindividuals are not marked by despair or a sense of inferiorit y. Third wave feminist rhetoricalso reflects this other-directed focus because these feminists are focus ed on the oppression ofall people, as their emphasis on diverse audiences indicates. Their rhetoric em ploys both selfand other-directed motives. In essence, the rhetorical practices of third wave feministco nsciousness-raising blur the distinctions between the self and other-directed ego functionsthat Gregg ( 1971) and Stewart (1999) outline.
A final implication of third wave consciousness-raising rhetoric is that it does not directly seekto gener ate social activism, protest, sisterhood, confrontation, or movement. Third wavefeminist consciousnes s-raising may have this effect, but that is not the primary goal. Rather,third wave feminists share their stories, listen to others' stories, consume popular culture inways that they find empowering, and creat e new vocabularies to enhance their own lives, butthese activities do not necessarily lead to social activ ism in its traditional forms. While manythird wave feminists openly embrace various forms of activis m, they do not want to forceindividuals to take an activist stance or assume that certain forms of activi sm are appropriatefor all people (Baumgardner & Richards, 2000). In contrast to Cheseboro, Cragan, andMcCullough's (1973) definition of consciousness-raising and Campbell's (1973) description ofseco nd wave consciousness-raising, third wave feminists offer their stories and experiences,but do not nec essarily expect a social movement to develop as a result. This offering ofperspectives without the dema nd of audience action or change embodies what Foss andGriffin (1995) term "invitational rhetoric." In fact, this feature of third wave feminist rhetoricmay be precisely what is so confounding to those attem pting to understand the third wave bymeasuring it against traditional notions of feminism and feminis t consciousness-raising. Theabsence of a shared feminist agenda, set of goals, or well-defined purposes makes interpretingthird wave feminist rhetoric all the more difficult. Yet, in many ways, this is precise ly theirobjective. The writers present their ideas and let the audience decide what to do with them,rath er than overtly building a platform for social movement.
In essence, third wave feminist rhetoric creates space for sharing experiences, reading stories, and developing a critical perspective. Third wave consciousness-raising rhetoricsimultaneously reache s a large, public audience, but also sparks private, internal dialogue andself-persuasion. Campbell sug gests that second wave feminism employed oxymoronic rhetoricin that it was "a genre without a rheto r, a rhetoric in search of an audience, that transformstraditional argumentation into confrontation, th at 'persuades' by 'violating the realitystructure' but that presumes a consubstantiality so radical that it permits the most intimateof identifications" (1973, p. 86). Third wave feminist rhetoric can also be des cribed asoxymoronic for many of the same reasons, but new oxymorons continue to emerge asconscio usness-raising rhetoric is adapted over time to respond to shifting rhetoricalsituations. For instance, n ew oxymorons might include public rhetoric that is designed forprivate reflection rather than public m ovement, and a growing number of individuals who areunited in name but who do not have a shared a genda for change. Third wave consciousness-raising rhetoric, like the second wave rhetoric that Camp bell (1973) describes, resistsexplanation by traditional rhetorical standards because it is persuasive, bu t it is not aimed atany particular outcome. Rhetorical scholars should strive to better understand the ways in which rhetorical problemsand situat ions both persist and shift over time. Many of the aspects of the rhetorical problemof feminist advocac y that Campbell identified over thirty years ago are still present today, butthere have also been substan tial changes in that rhetorical situation as it currently exists. Wehave examined some of the ways that t hird wave feminists have adapted traditionalconsciousness-raising techniques to reach a wider, more public, and more diverse audience.Other social movements that have rhetoric designed to overcome a particular set of exigenciesmay be well served by a careful examination of the ways that these exigenci es have changed inlight of emerging cultural conditions. Consciousness-raising that takes into account theevolving nature of rhetorical problems and the audience it is designed to reach will certainlybe mor e effective than strategies that have become outdated or obsolete. NOTES
(1) Feminist activism is often discussed as a series of "waves." The first wave is thought tobegin in 184 8 at the women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York and culminated onor about 1920 with th e passage of the Nineteenth Amendment (Dicker & Piepmeier, 2003).Dicker and Peipemier explain th at "the central goal of this wave was gaining a legal identityfor women that included the right to own p roperty, to sue, to form contracts, and to vote"(2003, p. 9). The term "second wave" is used to describe the resurgence in feminist awarenessmad activism that occurred ill the 1960s and 1970s. This wave te nded to focus on "gaining fullhuman rights for women: some of its central demands were equal opport unities inemployment and education, access to child care and abortion, the eradication of violenceagai nst women, and the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment" (Dicker & Piepmeier, 2003,p. 9). The te rm "third wave" feminism first appeared in 1992 in an essay by Rebecca Walker inMs. magazine, and was used to describe a new kind of feminism that was born out of thesecond wave but also adapted to t he needs of a new generation of feminists. Dicker andPiepmeier explain, "Third wave feminism repres ents a reinvigorated feminist movementemerging from a late twentieth century world. Many of the goa ls of the third wave are similarto those of the second wave, though some, such as its insistence on wom en's diversity are new"(2003, p. 10).
(2) See, for example, Campbell, 1973; Campbell, 1989; Campbell, 1999; Campbell, 2001;Cheseboro, Cr agan, & McCullough, 1973; Gring-Pemble, 1998; and Hogeland, 2001.
(3) See Campbell, 1989; Hanische, 1970; Rosen, 2000; and Sarachild, 1970.
(4) The purpose of this essay is not to distinguish third wave feminism as a distinct entity orwave, but rather to explore how third wave feminists are using consciousness-raising insimilar and different way s to how rhetorical scholars have defined consciousness raising (e.g.,Campbell, 1973; Campbell, 1989; Campbell, 1999; Campbell, 2001; Cheseboro, Cragan, &McCullough, 1973; Gring Pemble, 1998; Hogel and, 2001). We recognize that third wavefeminism is a controversial term, but we use the term to refle ct a growing number of feministswho self-identify as third wave feminists (Findlen, 2001; Walker, 199 5). A number of essayshave explored at length the similarities and differences between the "waves" of f eminism (e.g.,see 1997 special issue of Hypatia). Because our argument centers around the rhetoricalp ractices of consciousness raising rather than the distinct qualities of the third wave, we donot address the contentious issues surrounding definitions of third wave feminism.
(5) For example, see Howry & Wood, 2001, for a discussion of Listen Up. (6) See Allyn, 1995; Bartky, 1998; Baumgardner & Richards, 2000; DiMarco, 2001; Findlen,2001; Neu borne, 2001; W. Walker, 2001; and Webb, 1995.
(7) For instance, Baumgardner & Richards, 2000; Findlen, 2001; and Hernandez & Rehman,2002.
(8) See Dicker & Piepmeier, 2003; Lee, 2001; Brooks, 2002; Martinez, 2002; Austin, 2002;Mody, 200 2; Hurdis, 2002; and Jones, 2002.
(9) See Erin Harde in Harde & Harde, 2003; and Rehman & Hernandez, 2002.
(10) See Baumgardner & Richards, 2000; Dicker & Piepmeier, 2003; Findlen, 2001;Hernandez & Reh man 2002; and Walker, 1995.
(11) See also May, 1998; and Trujillo, 1991.
(12) See Cox et al., 1997; and Hopkins, 1998.
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Stacey K. Sowards (Ph.D., University of Kansas, 2001) is an Assistant Professor in theDepartment of Communic ation at the University of Texas at El Paso. Valerie R. Renegar(Ph.D., University of Kansas, 2000) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Communicationat San Diego State University. The authors wish to express their gratit ude to the threeanonymous reviewers, Jim Query, Jr., Peter Bobkowski and the other editorial assistants fortheir effort in improving this essay. A version of this article was presented at the biennialconference of the Rhetoric So ciety of America, Austin, TX, May 2004. This work is acollaborative effort and the authors' names appear in no p articular order.
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