The Rhetoric Surrounding Mary Cain

Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research Volume 8 Article 5 2020 The Rhetoric Surrounding Mary Cain Katie O'Malley Pepperdine University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/pjcr Part of the Communication Commons Recommended Citation O'Malley, Katie (2020) "The Rhetoric Surrounding Mary Cain," Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research: Vol. 8 , Article 5. Available at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/pjcr/vol8/iss1/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Communication at Pepperdine Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research by an authorized editor of Pepperdine Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. 35 The Rhetoric Surrounding Mary Cain Katie O’Malley Written for: ENG 418: Rhetoric and eory (Dr. David Holmes) e Rhetoric Surrounding Mary Cain For the purposes o a rhetorical study, Ambitious, bread-winner, strong, and it is important to discuss rhetoric in the emotionally-controlled. ese are adjectives context o this societal problem. Rhetoric can that typically allude to the image o a male. be dened on a smaller scale as “the study o Whereas: attractive, nurturing, personable, eective speaking and writing, the art o and home-maker are adjectives typically persuasion” (e Forest o Rhetoric, 2016). On associated with females. is is because a larger scale rhetoric is “the entire range o gender, dierent from sex, is an outward resources that human beings possess to performance (Halberstam, 2019) while sex is produce eects on others” (Lipson and the physiological assignment o a person Binkley, 2009), and is appearing everywhere, (Fixmer-Oraiz and Wood, 2019). Although it “ubiuitous” (Mailloux, 2008). ere are many is arbitrary to conne these performances and dierent facets through which rhetoric can be personal attributes to one gender, society used for persuasion, and one prevalent tends to construct distinct images o example in this study is the practice o rituals. masculinity and femininity. For example, rough his analysis o rituals carried out in strength is oen associated with masculinity, Ancient Near East civilizations, professor o causing female athletes to experience conict Religion at Syracuse University, James Watts, between their biological sex and gender denes ritual rhetoric as statements that performance. is is why female athletes are invoke repeated behaviors that become oen characterized by their female common practice and yield powers to masculinity, a term coined for women who dominant institutions (Watts in Lipson and naturally embody strength and other Binkley, 2009). is is important in the sports masculine attributes without intentionally realm, as there exist common practices that trying to imitate maleness (Sloop, 2004). In cycle power back to males. Furthermore, the case o professional runner Mary Cain, rhetorician, Mari Lee Mifsud considers the art her own female masculinity, caused her to o rhetoric through storytelling and claims function as an aberration from society, thus rhetoric to be epistemic, thus having the falling into what Judith Butler calls “gender power to create realities that shape how trouble”, or irregularity in gender people view the world (Misfud in Lipson and performance (1999). Cain’s conicting Binkley, 2009). is is important to this identity as both female and athlete caused her specic case, as rhetoric was used to empower to suer under a masculine power structure. dominant systems and hide the realities o Her story is important as it highlights a subordinate groups. present strule that many female athletes Finally, it is essential to consider the face. rhetorical refusal, or rhetoric that intentionally deviates from the norm (Schilb, 2007). As seen in this study, the rhetorical Terminology and Background 36 refusal becomes an essential part o taking important for the case o Mary Cain because down dominant power groups. the female athlete is in a system that is rough ritual rhetoric, it is evident structured for and dominated by men. that rhetoric can bolster a power cycle. However, it is important to note that Similarly, doxa, from the Greek term hegemonic masculinity is not synonymous doxastic, oen functions to perpetuate with misogyny, which is active hatred o dominant powers as well. In his rhetorical women (Wood, Fixmer-Oraiz, 2017). In the study, Disciplining Gender, communication case o Mary Cain, the coaches do not hate scholar, John Sloop, denes doxa as the public her, but they still use rhetoric in a way that opinion or common sense as created through diminishes her. the public discourse (2004). In his study on how gender is talked about, Sloop discovered e Story through his analysis o media that doxa On November seventh o 2019, Mary typically supports the gender binary system, Cain shared her story. Cain was a hence supporting the existing, dominant long-distance running prodigy. At seventeen, structure. All forms o media (news, social she was the youngest athlete (out o both media outlets, television, etc.) play an males and females) to ever make a important role in society because they world-championship track meet. Her skill function to decide and transmit what is awarded her attention from Alberto Salazar, valuable (McChesney, 2015). An example o coach o the world-famous Nike Oregon the importance o media is seen through the Project track team. In 2013, she joined #MeToo movement, a social media movement Salazar’s team not only with loy personal in which women were able to share their aspirations, but with high expectations from sexual assault experiences with the #MeToo those in the track and eld community. (Taylor, 2019). e #MeToo movement serves However, aer failing to meet the as a precursor and event for comparison to expectations, Cain fell o the grid. On the movement surrounding Mary Cain. e November 7 th o 2019, she shared her strule way in which the community surrounds each with the world via e New York Times. In movement is similar in response and style. the article titled, “I Was the Fastest Girl in Finally, it is important to understand America, Until I Joined Nike”, Cain details the concept o hegemony, which is the power the pressure she endured in the o one group to dominate over all others “win-at-all-costs” culture to be constantly (Messerschmidt, 2019). Mike Donaldson, losing weight. Coach Alberto Salazar always professor from University o Wollongong in made her feel inadeuate and ashamed o her Australia, explains that i hegemony is a body. He blamed all o her losses on her dominant group demonstrating superiority weight, and no one stood up to help her in over a subordinate group, then hegemonic this strule. Cain details that she began to masculinity is the objectication, belittling, cut hersel and have suicidal thoughts during and sexualization o females by males, thus her time training with Nike. She explains that diminishing the power and presence o she told colleagues about these harmful females and making the male ideology actions and thoughts, but no one did anything ubiuitous (2019). University o Sydney to help her. Aer years o this torment and Australia professor, R.W. Connell calls it any self-injury, Cain walked away from the Nike practices that legitimize and maintain Oregon Project. She is now sharing her story masculine dominance (2005). is is 37 with the rest o the world, and nding that H egemonic Masculinity and Ritual Practices many other female athletes can relate. Sports are a specic setting in which Nike did issue a response in which masculine practices have always ourished. they apologized for the way that Cain felt she Being that the initial participants in sports had been treated. However, in their apology were all males and that males have Nike addressed that Cain asked to come back traditionally been at the forefront o athletics and train with the Oregon Project again, thus (through media, news, and other forms o proving that the conditions she faced could doxa) this is a setting in which hegemonic not have been as bad as her story says. Other masculinity can thrive (Connell, 2005). is is athletes, such as Tianna Bartoletta, were exemplied in Mary Cain’s article when she uick to harp on Nike’s response, arguing that discusses the athletic standards for women it was not an apology. Bartoletta is also a that are based on male development, “A big professional track and eld athlete in the long part o this problem is that women and girls jump. She keeps a blog and wrote a response are being forced to meet athletic standards to Cain’s story titled, “Being Mary Cain”. In that are based on how men and boys develop. this, Bartoletta thoroughly outlines the cycle I you try to make a girl t a boy’s o abuse, being a domestic abuse victim development timeline, her body is at risk o herself. She points out that Cain’s desire to breaking down” (2019). Cain’s statement return to the Oregon Project is a natural part demonstrates that before even getting to the o the cycle o abuse in which victims oen root o the problem o weight and return to the perpetrator. body-shaming, the athletic system is already Overall, Cain’s story received a isolating females by pushing an agenda plethora o responses and support, centered around males. particularly from other athletes, but also from On top o an already awed system, fans and social media users. Her story is a there are three ritual practices that Cain powerful rhetorical movement against an discusses in her article. e rst is the ritual abusive culture. o weighing teammates in front o each other. As part o his regimen, head coach, Alberto Hypotheses and Research ðuestions Salazar, routinely made his athletes stand on a is study explores two hypotheses scale to be weighed in front o their and two research uestions.

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