The Feminine Mistake: Burkean Frames in Phyllis Schlafly’s Equal Rights Amendment Speeches Kayla J. Hastrup Thesis submitted to the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts In Communication Jim A. Kuypers, Chair Robert E. Denton, Jr. Rachel L. Holloway April 29, 2015 Blacksburg, Virginia Keywords: Phyllis Schlafly, Equal Rights Amendment, Burkean frames, feminism The Feminine Mistake: Burkean Frames in Phyllis Schlafly’s Equal Rights Amendment Speeches Kayla J. Hastrup ABSTRACT Situated within the larger scholarship on the women’s liberation movement of the 1970s exists a body of literature that analyzes the rhetorical functions of pro- and anti- Equal Rights Amendment messages in relation to communication studies. Although limited in scope, this literature acknowledges the tremendous impact of Phyllis Schlafly’s STOP ERA campaign in the prevention of the ratification and unratification of states. However, with the exception of a few theses and dissertations, a lion’s share of published articles proclaim the STOP ERA and Schlafly herself to be predominantly negative and serve solely as prevailing threats to the women’s movement. As a result, heterogeneous scholarship grounded in communication theory proves limited when applied to critical rhetorical analyses of anti-feminist rhetoric. Using Kenneth Burke’s frames of acceptance and rejection as a perspective for rhetorical criticism, this thesis demonstrates how Schlafly’s conservative ideals functioned rhetorically through acceptance-based frames in the past, and through rejection-based frames after the failed ERA ratification in 1982. In doing so, I provide today’s scholars with an important body of knowledge to further examine the ERA debate and its influence on contemporary feminism. Until rhetoric is fully explored within the cultural and historical conditions distinctive to Schlafly’s main speeches during the ERA debate, meaningful debate about the women’s movement and feminism’s current state is subject to remain truncated. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my thesis committee members for their continued patience and support of my project. First, I wish to thank Dr. Jim Kuypers for providing the encouragement and guidance needed to facilitate my growth as a communication scholar. Since my very first semester as a Master’s student, you have challenged me to be a better researcher, writer, and critical thinker. Because of that, I am confident and excited to continue my path as an academic and life-long learner. I would also like to thank Dr. Bob Denton and Dr. Rachel Holloway for lending their significant expertise and wonderful insights to help create a research project that I am proud of and value. The support I received from each of you in developing this thesis has been invaluable. Thank you. I also wish to thank several faculty members in the department of communication at Virginia Tech for their unreserved and continued support of my academic and teaching career, including Dr. Jimmy Ivory, Dr. John Tedesco, Dr. Buddy Howell, and Brandi Quesenberry. I only hope that one day I can be half as good a teacher as all of you. I would be remiss if I did not mention how much I appreciate Dr. Beth Waggenspack for providing constant encouragement since day one, and for helping me through some very difficult times. I could not have made it through without you, and for that I am eternally thankful. Finally, I wish to thank my friends and classmates for always willing to be my sounding board. And, of course, my family for always being there and supporting me with whatever I chose to do. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ iv Chapter 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2. Review of Literature ........................................................................................ 6 Phyllis Schlafly ..................................................................................................... 6 Equal Rights Amendment ..................................................................................... 7 STOP ERA ................................................................................................ 9 Equal Rights and Feminism in Scholarship ........................................................ 12 Burkean Frames of Reference ............................................................................. 15 Frames of Acceptance ............................................................................. 17 Frames of Rejection ................................................................................ 19 Chapter 3. Description of Artifact and Method .............................................................. 23 Applying Burkean Frames for Criticism ............................................................. 23 Criticism as a Method ......................................................................................... 24 Schlafly’s ERA Speeches ................................................................................... 25 Potential Problems and Pitfalls ........................................................................... 27 Chapter 4. Analysis 1 ...................................................................................................... 29 Speech 1—1975 .................................................................................................. 29 Speech 2—1977 .................................................................................................. 36 Chapter 5. Analysis 2 ...................................................................................................... 40 Speech 3—1984 .................................................................................................. 40 Speech 4—2002 .................................................................................................. 44 Speech 5—2007 .................................................................................................. 49 Chapter 6. Discussion and Conclusions .......................................................................... 57 Summary ............................................................................................................. 57 Analysis 1 ................................................................................................ 57 Analysis 2 ................................................................................................ 60 Theoretical Implications ..................................................................................... 61 Practical Implications .......................................................................................... 63 Third Wave Feminism ............................................................................ 64 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 66 iv Appendix A. Speech 1 Transcript ................................................................................... 68 Appendix B. Speech 2 Transcript ................................................................................... 89 Appendix C. Speech 3 Transcript ................................................................................... 91 Appendix D. Speech 4 Transcript ................................................................................... 99 Appendix E. Speech 5 Transcript .................................................................................. 118 Notes .............................................................................................................................. 129 v CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION In a September 2008 issue of In These Times, a politically progressive democratic magazine of news and opinion articles, Susan Douglas, a feminist academic in communication studies and a cultural critic, criticized Sarah Palin for her use of feminism to repudiate feminist causes.1 In this article, “Feminism Without Feminism,” Douglas briefly made a comparison between Palin and Phyllis Schlafly. When asked if she thought this was an apt comparison during the interview with representatives of Journal of Communication Inquiry (JCI), Douglas replied with a surprising admiration for Schlafly’s intellect: She’s [Palin] benefited from feminism, which she has done everything in her politics, appearance, and her manner to destroy. That’s why she’s worse than Schlafly. … I disagree fundamentally and profoundly with her politics, but Phyllis Schlafly was an incredibly hard- working, smart, shrewd woman. She pretty much single-handedly defeated the ERA. She has support, help, and a network, but she was very smart. And that’s what her strength was.2 Douglas’s response represents a seemingly undisputed view by Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) activists and historians concerning Schlafly. Love her or loathe her, Schlafly was the most recognized leader in opposition to the liberal side of the women’s liberation movement. She spearheaded the successful grassroots campaigns against the ERA with the STOP ERA, a group mobilized in 1972 to defeat ratification of the ERA. However, little critical research has examined her effectively persuasive