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THE RHETORIC OF PUBLIC BODIES: RESISTING THE NORM/OTHER BINARY A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE TEXAS WOMAN’S UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH, SPEECH, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES BY MAUREEN JOHNSON, B.A., M.A. DENTON, TEXAS DECEMBER 2017 Copyright © 2017 by Maureen Johnson. DEDICATION I dedicate this project to all of those who look at their bodies and wonder if society will ever accept them for who they are. May you recognize how truly beautiful you are. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are so many people who helped me on my journey to completing this dissertation. First, I must thank my committee members. To Dr. Dundee Lackey, who calmly guided me through my ups and down and always gently challenged me to push my own thought processes. You were always my cheerleader throughout this process and you helped me consider new ways of looking at my research. To Dr. Gretchen Busl for her professional and personal mentorship. You inspire me not only by pushing me in new directions but through your example of hard work and dedication to your students. To Dr. Genevieve West, who reminded me that this project is about what I have to say rather than what others have said. You also taught me so much about collegiality and professionalism and I am lucky to have you as an example of leadership. To Dr. Lou Thompson, without whom I wouldn’t even be a student at TWU. Thanks for the opportunity of a lifetime. To the Pioneer Squad, Tawny, Erika, Marie, Wylijanna, Rachael, Tori, and Amanda, every day you inspire me to be the best I can be by your shining examples of smarts and kindness as well as just being hilarious. Your support means more than I can possibly place into words and I am so lucky to call you my friends and colleagues. I aspire to become more like each of you every day. To Ted for his unrelenting kindness and generosity. Thanks for always listening to me and for every time you tell me that I iii will “own.” To Tammy, who taught me the value of friendship. You always support me and remind me to laugh at myself. You are my constant rock. To Roxanne, who encouraged me to study embodied rhetorics. You motivated me to go into a PhD program, so none of this is possible without your support. To Daisy, Maria, Katie, I was so lucky to get to write with you early in my grad career. Your work inspires me every day. And last, but certainly not least, to my family, you are the foundation for all my accomplishments. To my mother, Kathleen, you provide an example of strong womanhood that I aspire to achieve every day. I am so lucky to have your support throughout this graduate school process. To my father, Steven, you have always believed in me. Thanks for every time you tell me how proud you are of me. To my grandmothers, Frances and Doris, who showed me how to be a strong, resilient woman. To all of my siblings, Arica, Bianca, Josh, Chantel, Anthony, Chanel, who are bright, kind, wonderful people, I love you all. To my aunt Mary, whose humorous gifts helped me through some difficult times. iv ABSTRACT MAUREEN JOHNSON THE RHETORIC OF PUBLIC BODIES: RESISTING THE NORM/OTHER BINARY DECEMBER 2017 This dissertation develops a methodology to re-examine how we consider the embodiment of individuals across intersections of identity categories. This project applies a constellation of theoretical perspectives, including rhetorical, disability, Thirdspace, decolonial, and feminist/womanist theories. The methodology decolonizes the binary approach to embodiment by suggesting that we all both/and rather than defined by norm/other categories, particularly categories related to gender and size. Looking at public bodies, who are celebrities with an established ethos related to their bodies, this project applies the methodology to Chris Pratt, Peter Dinklage, Chaz Bono, Laverne Cox, Mindy Kaling, and Melissa McCarthy. Through the application of the methodology, it becomes clear that these public bodies have changed the public perception through thoughtful representation of their embodiment. Rather than fitting neatly into binaries each of these public bodies represents a both/and approach to embodiment. In our modern episteme, we look toward public bodies as forms to be emulated, thus this methodology goes beyond the parameters of public bodies and can be applicable to all bodies in an effort to decolonize the body. v TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE DEDICATION .................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ v LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... viii I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1 What is a Public Body? ............................................................................................... 8 Historical Roots ........................................................................................................ 14 Bodies in Culture ...................................................................................................... 20 Chapter Outlines ....................................................................................................... 32 II. BODIES AND THE BINARIES ................................................................................. 34 Philsophical Roots .................................................................................................... 36 Defining Normal ....................................................................................................... 46 The Creation of the Other ......................................................................................... 52 Gender Binaries ........................................................................................................ 60 Size Binaries ............................................................................................................. 65 Thirdspace and a New Space for Bodies .................................................................. 73 vi III. BODIES AND MASCULNITY ................................................................................. 80 Chris Pratt ................................................................................................................. 84 Peter Dinklage ......................................................................................................... 102 Chaz Bono ............................................................................................................... 120 IV. BODIES AND FEMININITY .................................................................................. 136 Laverne Cox ............................................................................................................ 142 Mindy Kaling .......................................................................................................... 154 Melissa McCarthy ................................................................................................... 170 V. CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................... 183 WORKS CITED AND CONSULTED ........................................................................... 195 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................ 218 A. Permissions ........................................................................................................ 218 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Graduation ...........................................................................................188 2. Bikini ..................................................................................................192 viii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The body is corporeal and epistemological. The body is material and rhetorical. The body is meaningful and metaphorical. The body is real and imagined. The body is influential and influenced. The body is a recursive, complicated form that brings together all of these ideas and more. This project recognizes a complicated view of the body that brings together both corporeality and rhetoric. It acknowledges a long rhetorical tradition of the body as a key component of rhetoric. From ancient times, the body has been the location of rhetoric; the speaker uses their body to deliver an address to another group of bodies1. This tradition continues today, as bodies are inherent in multiple forms delivery, including, but not limited to, cultural representations. The difference between ancient rhetors and modern rhetoric is that delivery is dispersed among many different cultural representations across different forms of media. This project aims to interpret representations of bodies in specific cultural situations. These interpretations are based on a methodology created specially to understand how bodies function rhetorically to influence concepts of normality and 1 This project will use they as a singular in some uses as a gender neutral pronoun. 1 otherness2. This methodology resists binary labels such as norm/other and instead recognizes the complicated constellations of