TEXTS OF EMPOWERMENT: A FUNCTIONAL RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF MS. MAGAZINE IN THE FIRST FIVE YEARS BY C 2009 Sarah Taylor Partlow Lefevre Submitted to the graduate degree program in Communication Studies and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy __________________________ Chairperson __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ Date defended: ___________________ The Dissertation Committee for Sarah Taylor PartlowLefevre certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: TEXTS OF EMPOWERMENT: A FUNCTIONAL RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF MS. MAGAZINE IN THE FIRST FIVE YEARS Committee: __________________________ Chairperson __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ Date approved: ____________________ 2 TEXTS OF EMPOWERMENT: A FUNCTIONAL RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF MS. MAGAZINE IN THE FIRST FIVE YEARS Sarah Taylor Partlow Lefevre Abstract Ms. was the first mass mediated feminist magazine in the United States and has often been identified as an icon of the feminist movement. This study examines three rhetorical sites in the magazine during the first five years of publication including the relationship between the readers and the magazine as developed in letters to the editor, the rhetorical depictions of men and the rhetorical depictions of women as portrayed in the letters, the articles, the editorial content and the covers. From a functional perspective, each chapter examines the messages in Ms. in relation to their intended function for the readers. Chapter one introduces the magazine and justifies its importance as a rhetorical artifact. Chapter two examines the letters to the editor arguing that the treatment of the letters in Ms. created a consciousness-raising forum in the magazine which included the most effective aspects of second wave consciousness-raising and broadened the method in a mediated forum. Chapter three examines the depiction of men in the magazine focusing on the use of Kenneth Burke’s concept of secular redemption to create a new vision of masculinity. Chapter four analyzes the rhetorical process of conversion to feminist ideals and the promotion of the new woman in Ms. Chapter five suggests that Ms. was rhetorically effective in creating mediated consciousness-raising forum, redefining masculinity to carve out room from sympathetic men in mainstream feminism and mapping a process for women to recognize and fight gendered oppression. 3 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my family. My husband Nicolas Lefevre has been an enormous support both emotionally and practically. He took on many hours of practical duties that we normally share in order to give me time to write. My son Benjamin makes me laugh and gives the best snuggles in the whole world. My father Dr. Lester Partlow has always supported and inspired me in all my pursuits. A special note of thanks should be reserved for my mother Marjorie Partlow. She helped by researching, editing, doing the dishes, taking care of my son and offering unwavering emotional support. Thanks to my friends Charlotte Osborn-Bensaada and Sandra Lisonbee who were excited and engaged readers. I would like to thank Dr. Rowland for his patience, his encouragement and for believing in me when I did not believe in myself. Dr. Rowland’s mentorship and kindness have been wonderful and have gone far above and beyond the call of duty. I would also like to thank Dr. Parson for always challenging me and Dr. Harris for being a great teacher and friend. 4 Table of Contents Table of Contents 5 Table of Figures 7 Chapter 1: Why Study Ms.? 8 Introduction 8 Justification 9 Literature Review 12 Methodology 40 Summary of Chapters 52 Conclusion 53 Chapter 2: Letters to Ms., Mediated Consciousness-Raising 54 Introduction 54 Second Wave Theories of Consciousness-Raising 57 Limitations of Small Group Consciousness-Raising 60 Mediated Consciousness-Raising: An Emergent Theory 67 Conclusion 116 Chapter 3: Men and Masculinities in Ms. 119 Introduction 119 Secular Redemption 121 Feminism & Masculinity 123 Burke’s Concept of Secular Redemption 126 Secular Redemption in Ms. 131 Constructing an Enemy: Traditional Masculinity as a Devil Term 132 Inspiring Guilt: Undermining the Social and Biological Bases of Traditional Gender Roles 143 Presenting a God Term: Equality as the Ultimate Order 160 Redemption: Confession, Mortification and the Will to Change 166 Extending the Redemptive Metaphor: Forgiveness as Entrée to a New Social Order 174 5 Competing Systems of Order: Refusal to Seek Redemption & Victimage 179 Conclusion 182 Chapter 4: Picturing the Many Faces of Feminism in Ms. 184 Introduction 184 Snapshot One: The Problem 187 Snapshot Two: Examining the Source of Gender Differences and Social Role Construction 206 Snapshot Three: Solutions 219 Conclusion 264 Chapter 5 266 Introduction 266 Summary of Chapters 266 Limitations and Suggestions for Future Study 271 Conclusions 274 Appendix: Copyright Approval 278 Works Cited 279 6 Table of Figures Figure 1. The Fathering Instinct portrayed a father embracing his baby daughter. 173 Figure 2. Ms. was the first national magazine to depict domestic violence on its cover. 198 Figure 3. One of several covers depicting women participating in sports. 228 Figure 4. Wonder Woman For President. 237 Figure 5. The fifth anniversary cover depicted a feminist tree of life. 242 Figure 6. The preview issue depicted an oppressed and overwhelmed housewife. 252 7 Chapter 1: Why Study Ms.? Introduction A few years ago, I traveled to New York City to attend the Ms. Millennium Conference sponsored by Ms. magazine. As a student preparing to write my dissertation on Ms. and the rhetoric of the second wave of the feminist movement, I felt the trip was necessary for research and was interested in seeing both those responsible for the production of the magazine and those who read it and cared enough to journey to New York City without an ulterior academic motive. Through my research, I knew that the preview issue of Ms. generated massive reader response when it first appeared on newsstands. I had read the first regular issue’s editorial report which explained “letters came pouring into our office: more than 20,000 long, literate, simple, disparate, funny, tragic, and very personal letters from women all over the country. They . generally spoke of Ms. as ‘our’ magazine” (Ms., 1972a). However, I wondered whether levels of reader involvement with the magazine might have waned during the ensuing 28 years. I expected to find myself among New York insiders, personal friends of Gloria Steinem and the current editor, Marcia Ann Gillespie, and women who successfully have made feminism the focus of their academic careers. However, when I walked into the ballroom at the Grand Hyatt, I began to understand the immensity of the reader involvement in and commitment to the magazine. Ordinary women from all over the country were the primary conference participants. Some had traveled farther than I, spending their own money to pay tribute to a magazine, 8 which, for many of them, represents the movement. Loyalty to the magazine appeared to be as strong as ever as I watched ordinary subscribers engage in passionate debates about everything from the goals of the feminist movement to the definition of the term itself. The famous feminist attendees such as Robin Morgan, Kate Millet, Gloria Steinem, Marcia Ann Gillespie, and Maya Angelou were inundated with requests for pictures, autographs, and sometimes merely a handshake as the readers sought a connection with people they knew solely through the pages of Ms. Justification My experience in New York furthered my belief that Ms. is an important artifact that should be analyzed in order to understand the rhetoric of the modern feminist movement. Ms. is uniquely suited for such an analysis for several reasons: (1) Ms. is representative of the modern feminist movement to both feminists and the mainstream public; (2) Ms. represents a broad range of feminist theoretical and literary voices; (3) Ms. is a contested rhetorical site; (4) Ms. provides every day, non- professional feminists a forum for discussion in their letters to the editor. First, Ms. has been referred to as “one of the most successful architects of women’s social, economic, and political agendas” (PR Newswire, 1997), an “icon of feminism” (Hopkins, 1997), “the first periodical to treat women like people” (Skenazy, 1997, p. 31), and the “mouthpiece of the American feminist movement” (Krum, 1998, p. 7) among other descriptions which have suggested the magazine is “synonymous, for many Americans, with the movement itself” (Farrell, 1998, p. 1). 9 Scholars have touted the immense levels of reader involvement as a singular phenomenon, not replicated by any other mass marketed periodical in the United States (Farrell, 1998; Thom, 1997). Ms. was originally lauded as widening the voice of the feminist movement by displacing the “stars of the women’s lib movement” and representing “the movement’s larger constituency” (Christian Science Monitor, 1972, p. 16). Additionally, for many outside the movement, Ms. has been synonymous with feminism in America since Ms. has also appeared as the representative of the feminist voice in non-feminist popular culture (Thom, 1997, p. 179). In fact, Ms. editors saw the publication as a chance to expand the Women’s movement. This effort was a success. In 1973, “82 percent of Ms.' audience was unaffiliated with women’s liberation groups” (Mather, 1975b, p. 23). This provided a large audience of potential converts for the magazine. As they continued to publish, Ms. came to symbolize second wave American feminism to feminists and non-feminists alike. Second, Ms. is representative of a broad variety of feminist writers and perspectives ranging from traditional liberal feminism to more radical perspectives. “Ms. does not depend upon a stable of professional writers, a policy which has resulted in several excellent 'first publications' for women” (Mather, 1975b, p. 22).