GAZING-IMAGING: VISUAL RHETORICAL CRITICISM AND CREATION, DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY, AND REPRODUCING WOMEN, A PREGNANT (TRANS)MAN, AND FAMILY by JAMIE LANDAU (Under the Direction of Celeste M. Condit) ABSTRACT This dissertation proposes a supplementary materialist theory of visual rhetoric and methodological perspective of visual rhetorical criticism and creation that I term “gazing-imaging.” I apply this theory and methodological perspective to case studies of the symbolic ideological, physical, and affective interaction between 20 women of various childbearing ages today and digital photography in general, and with four digital photographs in particular. Specifically, I rhetorically critique how the women interacted (and at times hesitated to interact) with digital photography in general in four main ways: they “captured” happy family moments and/or memories, 2) they “connected” family, 3) they “circulated” happy family digital photographs, and 4) they “changed” family digital photographs. I argue that the material reproduction of “happy family” is one major rhetorical force of gazing-imaging done by today’s women of childbearing age and digital photography. A second rhetorical force of gazing-imaging was the material reproduction and stealth subversion of “pregnant sirens” that occurred when the women interacted (and hesitated to interact) with a particular digital photograph by “cropping” and “censoring” (the skin of) (hetero)sexually- seductive and naked pregnant female models. A third rhetorical force of gazing- imaging was the comedic material reproduction and subversion of traditional male masculinity, along with the material reproduction of a “pregnant (trans)man” and “happy family” that occurred when the women interacted with two additional photographs. I close this dissertation with a rhetorical creation that recommends the reproduction of another “happy family” by “collage”-ing family digital photographs. INDEX WORDS: Visual Rhetoric; Digital Photography; Materialism; Ideology; Affect; Neurobiology; The Gaze; Audience Reception Studies; Reproduction; Pregnancy; Family; Gay and Lesbian; Transgender; Photo Editing; Photographic Realism GAZING-IMAGING: VISUAL RHETORICAL CRITICISM AND CREATION, DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY, AND REPRODUCING WOMEN, A PREGNANT (TRANS)MAN, AND FAMILY by JAMIE LANDAU B.A., Vanderbilt University, 2002 M.A., University of Georgia 2006 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2010 © 2010 Jamie Landau All Rights Reserved GAZING-IMAGING: VISUAL RHETORICAL CRITICISM AND CREATION, DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY, AND REPRODUCING WOMEN, A PREGNANT (TRANS)MAN, AND FAMILY by JAMIE LANDAU Major Professor: Celeste M. Condit Committee: Carolina Acosta-Alzuru Barbara A. Biesecker Kelly Happe Edward M. Panetta Roger Stahl Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia August 2010 iv DEDICATION This dissertation is a tribute to seeing happy families of heterosexual and lesbian women, gay men, and transgender persons everywhere. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS No scholarly pursuit is one person’s accomplishment. As a result, this dissertation would not have been possible without constant support from a number of people who I am honored to have in my life. First and foremost I wish to thank Celeste Condit who is officially the major professor of my doctoral degree and the principal investigator of my research assistantship. Importantly, however, Celeste is also a mentor, colleague, and friend of mine who I am proud to say has become family. I will strive to do for Celeste, and for others, what Celeste has done for me since I truly believe that this is one way to make the world a better place for us all. Other faculty members were fundamental to this dissertation and my success and happiness in graduate school at the University of Georgia over the years. Everyone on my doctoral committee—Carolina Acosta-Alzuru, Roger Stahl, Barbara Biesecker, Edward Panetta, and Kelly Happe—devoted their time and intelligence to me and my work. I will never forget Carolina’s compassion and caretaking when I needed it the most. In addition, I knew I could always count on Roger for a laugh, on Barb for asking me a challenging question and rebuilding our departmental community, and on Dr. Panetta and Kelly for grounding me in the traditions of rhetoric and feminism, respectively. I am further grateful to John Sloop, Bonnie Dow, and Kevin DeLuca for igniting my passion for studying mediated visual rhetoric of gender and sexuality and, even from afar, inspiring me to keep on thinking and working hard. vi I am not sure how to express the gratitude that I have for my friends, some of whom I am lucky to have as colleagues. Similar to Celeste, Marita Gronnvoll has had so many roles in my life that I now consider her family. She is my model for being a smart successful woman who breaks with conventions for the betterment of herself, other women, and society as a whole. Put simply, I look forward to a lifetime with Marita by my side. Bethany Keeley is another great friend and colleague but, like no one else, she has put up with my cat and me as her obsessive compulsively clean roommate for the past three years. Bethany is perhaps the kindest person I know and therefore I try to be more kind because of her. Additional friends in graduate school, both new and old, whom I appreciate in more ways than will ever be known are Becky Kuehl, Lisa Slawter Volkening, Laurie Markle, and Emily Winderman. Moreover, I am extremely appreciative of Katie Scullin, Jen Kovarovic, Lauren Zeranski, and my partner, James Hataway, for their endless laughter and love as we have grown older together. Last but not least, I want to thank my parents, Julian and Julia Landau, my older brother and sister-in law, Jeff and Sangeeta Landau, and other extended relatives such as my grandma, Louise Shadix, and aunt, Tina Roddenbery, who live in Atlanta. While my dissertation illustrates that biological ties are not needed to make a happy family, I have been blessed from birth with a remarkable group of people around me who valued me and my education so much more than I could have ever asked for. My parents, especially, consistently sustained these attitudes and beliefs about me and my education plus financially sacrificed a lot so that I could attend top-ranked grade schools and a premier undergraduate institution that, quite frankly, blew my mind. It is only fitting, then, to dedicate my future career as a professor in academia to my parents. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................x CHAPTER ONE DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY AND (VISUAL) MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS OF MOTHERS, PREGNANT WO(MEN), AND THE FETUS .....................................................................................................1 Introduction .................................................................................................1 Philosophies of Motherhood and Pregnancy .............................................7 (Visual) Media Representations of Mothers, Pregnant Wo(Men), and Fetuses ................................................................................................16 Visual (Medical-Media) Technologies of Reproduction ........................ 31 TWO GAZING-IMAGING: A THEORY OF VISUAL RHETORIC AND METHODOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF VISUAL RHETORICAL CRITICISM AND CREATION ...................................................................41 Introduction ...............................................................................................41 Gazing in Visual Rhetorical Criticism ......................................................44 A Theoretical Perspective of Gazing-Imaging .........................................56 A Methodological Perspective of Gazing-Imaging ..................................71 Data Collection and Analysis....................................................................77 viii THREE REPRODUCING “HAPPY FAMILY” BY CAPTURING, CONNECTING, CIRCULATING AND CHANGING FAMILY DIGITAL PHOTGRAPHS 79 Introduction ...............................................................................................80 Family (Digital) Photography ...................................................................82 Capturing Happy Family Moments and Memories ..................................88 Connecting Family ....................................................................................97 Circulating Family ..................................................................................100 Changing Family .....................................................................................106 Conclusion ..............................................................................................112 FOUR THE REPRODUCTION AND STEALTH SUBVERSION OF “PREGNANT SIREN” BY CROPPING AND CENSORING DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHS ..................................................................................... 115 Introduction .............................................................................................115 Reproducing Pregnant Siren ...................................................................117 Reproducing Pregnant Female Models ...................................................120