University of Colorado, Boulder CU Scholar Undergraduate Honors Theses Honors Program Spring 2014 Rebelling Against Femininity: A Rhetorical Critique on the Nerf Rebelle Campaign Whitney Johnson University of Colorado Boulder Follow this and additional works at: http://scholar.colorado.edu/honr_theses Recommended Citation Johnson, Whitney, "Rebelling Against Femininity: A Rhetorical Critique on the Nerf Rebelle Campaign" (2014). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 125. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Honors Program at CU Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of CU Scholar. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. REBELLING AGAINST FEMININITY 1 REBELLING AGAINST FEMININITY: A Rhetorical Critique on the Nerf Rebelle Campaign By: Whitney Johnson A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for graduation with DEPARTMENTAL HONORS From the department of COMMUNICATION Examining Committee: Marlia Banning, Thesis Advisor Communication Jamie Skerski, Member Communication John Henderson, Member Assistant Director of Residence Life/ Leadership RAP UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER APRIL 2014 REBELLING AGAINST FEMININITY 2 Abstract While there has been extensive research that has examined the pressure young girls feel to fit into social norms (Paetcher, & Lafky & Duffy), this study is unique because it investigates society’s anxiety in response to the threat young girls pose to dominant masculinity. Through a feminist critique