Southern Illinois University Carbondale OpenSIUC Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 5-1-2012 YOU CAN BREASTFEED BUT . : A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF IMAGES AND COMMENTARY ON BREASTFEEDING Jonna Ziniel Southern Illinois University Carbondale, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations Recommended Citation Ziniel, Jonna, "YOU CAN BREASTFEED BUT . : A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF IMAGES AND COMMENTARY ON BREASTFEEDING" (2012). Dissertations. Paper 519. This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at OpenSIUC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of OpenSIUC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. YOU CAN BREASTFEED BUT . : A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF IMAGES AND COMMENTARY ON BREASTFEEDING by Jonna Jo Ziniel B.A., North Dakota State University, 1999 M.A., North Dakota State University, 2001 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree Department of Speech Communication in the Graduate School Southern Illinois University Carbondale May 2012 Copyright by Jonna Jo Ziniel, 2012 All Rights Reserved DISSERTATION APPROVAL YOU CAN BREASTFEED BUT . : A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF IMAGES AND COMMENTARY ON BREASTFEEDING By Jonna Jo Ziniel A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Philosophy of Doctor in the field of Speech Communication Approved by: Suzanne M. Daughton, Chair Bryan Crow Rachel A. Griffin Kathy Hytten Ross B. Singer Graduate School Southern Illinois University Carbondale March 9, 2012 ! AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF JONNA JO ZINIEL, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in SPEECH COMMUNICATION, presented on March 9, 2012, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: YOU CAN BREASTFEED BUT . : A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF IMAGES AND COMMENTARY ON BREASTFEEDING MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Suzanne M. Daughton This dissertation is a study of breastfeeding images and the commentary about those images, from a rhetorical perspective. Specifically, I use a feminist lens in order to analyze images of breastfeeding in both magazine and online environments, as well as online commentary about the images. I examine both celebrity and non-celebrity images of breastfeeding from popular pregnancy and parenting magazines, non-traditional parenting magazines, company web sites, and online articles and blog sites. Chapter one presents a statement of purpose, research questions, and an examination of the current literature pertinent to the study including sections on breastfeeding benefits, the sexualized woman’s body and desexualized mother, and visual rhetoric. Chapter two explains the method for analysis of the study, namely, a feminist rhetorical critique of popular culture images of breastfeeding, informed by my own experiences as a nursing mother. Chapter three is the first chapter of analysis. For this chapter, I collected images of breastfeeding across a six-month time period from the popular magazines: American Baby, Baby Talk, Fit Pregnancy, and Pregnancy. I also examined images from the same time span from magazines that had lower circulation rates, but focused on natural "! ! ! parenting: Mothering and New Beginnings. Finally, I examined several online websites that sold nursing bras and breast pumps. Major categories of investigation included location of the mother and child, race, and the amount of breast displayed in the images. In chapter four, I looked at images of celebrity women breastfeeding, specifically Miranda Kerr, Angelina Jolie, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Julie Bowen, and Salma Hayek. I performed searches for key terms for each of these images and analyzed articles and comments that reacted to the images. Included in this chapter is a discussion of what an audience of breastfeeding sees as “public” and “private,” as well as how images of celebrities can assist in encouraging breastfeeding. In chapter five I examined images of non-celebrity mothers breastfeeding, analyzing images and reactions to three YouTube videos. The chapter also included analysis of images of a nurse-in at an Arizona McDonald’s, as well as articles and online comments about the event. The chapter’s analysis includes an examination of how non-celebrity images differ from the celebrity images. Chapter six includes implications of the study, limitations, and suggestions for future studies. ""! ! ! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Taking on a project like a dissertation can be an extremely daunting task for anyone. I took a very long road to completion, and an almost 10 year project is touched and influenced by many people. I hope to mention and acknowledge them all, but if I forget anyone, please know that it does not mean I am not grateful for your presence! First and foremost, I would not have completed this dissertation without the assistance of my advisor. I am incredibly blessed to have someone like Dr. Suzanne Daughton in my life, and overseeing my work. For nearly a decade, she never gave up on me and always believed in me. She has been a true inspiration, not only to this project, but in my life as well. Thank you for the many, many talks and for the always wonderful, insightful, and patient advice. I credit you not only with this dissertation, but for setting me on the right paths even though I tried to choose the wrong ones. Thank you to my dissertation committee for reading early drafts and giving feedback on how to make my project stronger and more expansive. Your advice took my ideas and allowed them to grow and flourish. Dr. Bryan Crow, Dr. Rachel Griffin, Dr. Ross Singer, and Dr. Kathy Hytten: you have been wonderful and meaningful influences! Thank you to my exam committee, who read an early draft of my ideas and gave me initial directions. Thank you to my amazing husband, who has stood by me through this entire process. Thank you for reading all of my drafts, for listening to my endless talks about breastfeeding, and for saving countless numbers of unsaved work. I could not ask for a better partner to live this life with. """! ! ! To my daughter Aurora. You served as the initial inspiration for this work, and I thank you for constantly making me a better person. Thank you also for constantly running to the printer and for giving me wonderful feedback on all of my drafts and images. To my son Kyle who has given me insight on being a wonderful, and never perfect, mom. And to my daughter Zoey. Thank you for providing fresh insight and experiences! The three of you are my world, and without my experiences being your mother, and breastfeeding all of you, I would not be the person I am today. Thank you to my sister, Brittani, for being a source of support and encouragement. Thank you to my mom, Barb, for never understanding what I do or what I am writing about . but always believing that it is something real and something good. To my cousin Heather for nodding your head at me at all of the appropriate moments. Thank you to my friends and colleagues at VCSU for supporting me through this process. A special thanks to Dr. Shannon VanHorn, for helping me every step of the way. I truly could not have completed this without you. To my other office mates: Jennifer Jenness and Rob Walsh, thank you for putting up with the screams of anguish and the cheers of victory. To my division chair, Julee Russell, thank you for your advice and your patience while I complete. And last, but not least, to my students, for inspiring me every day. I am blessed to work with such an amazing student body! To the wonderful faculty and staff at SIUC. You all inspire me to write better, work harder, and research more deeply. I am constantly amazed at the incredible scholars I have had the opportunity to have inspiration from. Thank you to my friends, colleagues, and friends who are like family, both here in North Dakota and in the many other states I have had the opportunity to call home. Thank you "#! ! ! classmates, for encouraging thoughtful discussions, for cheering me on, and for giving me endless amounts of advice. A special thanks to Bonnie Cooper who assisted me with editing. Thank you for always having exactly what I need in that magic purse of yours! Thank you Dr. Deanna Sellnow. Almost 15 years ago you took a very confused and unmotivated graduate student under your wing. You guided me to teaching (even though I was kicking and screaming the whole way), and you taught me how to not only teach, but to love teaching. And then you asked the ultimate question while I dithered with what to do after my Master’s, “What else do you have to do for the next five years?” Thank you for finding “me” and believing in me during the times I did not believe in myself. Thank you to the following people and companies who allowed me to reprint their images within this dissertation: Bella Materna, Boppy, Mothering, New Beginnings, Pregnancy, La Leche League International, Expressiva Nursingwaer, Miranda Kerr, and Jennie. A special thanks to the editorial staff at New Beginnings for all of their assistance. Last, but not least, thank you Judy Masucci (owener of A Mother’s Boutique) for all of her help in finding contacts, information, and most of all for supporting me during my breastfeeding adventures! Finally, a special thank you to my aunt, Evonne, who I lost during my journey to complete this project. I know you are looking down on me during this time and smiling and cheering me on. Thank you for your wisdom, guidance, and love. #! ! ! TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................ iii LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... vii CHAPTERS CHAPTER 1 – Purpose, Scope, and Rationale ..............................................................................