THE ECOFEMINIST MOVEMENT: THE POWER OF INVITATIONAL RHETORIC by WILLIAM A. EDWARDS, B.A. A THESIS IN COMMUNICATION STUDIES Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS Approved August, 2001 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The writing of this text would not have been possible were it not for some very special people. These people lent support when it was needed, criticism when necessary, and had the knowledge to distinguish which was appropriate at the time. It is necessary to mention some of these people here. I would first like to thank my committee members. They deserve a large credit for the finished product of this document. Dr. Williams has remained a mentor and friend for many years now. His ability to point one in the right direction while still allowing one to explore with adequate autonomy has proven invaluable to my educational experience. Dr. Bliese first introduced me to the study the environmental movement. Though we diverge on the methodological approaches we employ, he aroused my interest in many academic areas of which I would have otherwise been ignorant. Dr. Hughes, while a late addition, provided some excellent insight and further directions for the present study. Thanks to all of you. I only hope that you realize how profound the impact is that you have on your students. Please keep doing what you are doing. I would also like to thank my family for their love and support (especially financially). My parents, Don and Mary, are wonderful. I love you both. Thanks to my brother as well for making me a stronger person. Thanks to the rest of my family for your smiles, your kindness, and most importantly your love. I would also like to thank my fellow graduate students. Too often we forget that most of our education comes from the other students around us. You all have been great and I hope that I have given you only a portion of what you have given me. Finally, I would like to thank my wife for being the most wonderful person in the world. Your love, support, and your brilliance made this possible. Every day I think I am more understanding and compassionate because of you. This text is written about those who attempt to make this world a better place. I wish to applaud all those who try to make positive changes in this world. Without them I 11 would be lost. Because of them I find myself simply inspired and in awe of their achievements. I can't imagine not having such love. Thanks to all of you! ill CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii CHAPTER L INTRODUCTION 1 n. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 5 Ecofeminism 6 The Ecofeminist, Environmental, and Feminist Movements 9 Power 13 m. INVFTATIONAL RHETORIC AND POWER 23 The Artifact 23 Invitational Rhetoric 29 Foucaultian Power 46 The Present Study 53 rV. RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE ECOFEMINIST MOVEMENT 54 Critique of Dualisms 54 Embracing a New Spirituality 63 Reweaving Narratives 71 Ecofeminist Rhetoric as Power 80 V. DISCUSSION 90 Ecofeminism 90 Invitational Rhetoric 94 Power 97 Limitations of the Study 99 REFERENCES 102 IV CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION In her essay, "Evolution of 'The New Frontier' in Alien and Aliens: Patriarchal Co-optation of the Feminine Archetype," Rushing (1989) concludes that the "old heroic myth...simply cannot accommodate feminine consciousness without corrupdng it." She argues that it is time to construct a "new myth for humankind," which "needs to be a quest, not a conquest; its purpose, to search rather than to search and destroy" (p. 508). Rushing's essay highlights the necessity to reconceptualize our reality to allow the inclusion of feminist ideals. The dominant culture has too often ignored the feminine perspective in favor of the masculine. How can this culture be changed and a new understanding formulated which accounts for both masculine and feminine ideals? The answer is certainly not simple. Any chance of altering the dominant culture requires a complete overhaul, one that alters not just minor details, but that changes the very fabric that the culture is built around. At the core of any such transcendence is the issue of power. In terms of gender relations, power has become convoluted across a myriad of academic fields and finding any concrete answers has seemed to elude most researchers. Current accounts of power exclude one particular facet or another and never fully attain a comprehensive theoretical account of what power is. It may be the case that power is not one thing, but that it is multiple things in a multitude of forms. Foss (1996) argues that women, in particular, experience the world in a distinctly different manner than men. Foss explains, "this experience, along with the knowledge and discourse it generates, is submerged, devalued, and generally not heard in the male-dominated culture" (p. 205), The manner in which oppressed groups seek empowerment must start with the abandonment of the current discursive structure and lead to the formation of a new discursive structure around their own experiences. In the field of communication, this abandonment of the current discursive structure is made explicit by Foss and Griffin (1995) with their call for a reconceptualization of rhetorical theory to include invitational rhetoric as an alternative to the predominant view of rhetoric as persuasion. "Invitational rhetoric is an invitadon to understanding as a means to create a relationship rooted in equality, immanent value, and self-determination" (Foss & Griffin, 1995, p. 5). In contrast to the view that rhetoric is the art of persuasion or influence, Foss and Griffin contend that the current view is patriarchal and fails to account for the feminine perspective. Instead, they offer invitational rhetoric as a means of understanding rather than influencing. This new form of rhetoric does not entail the complete abandonment of the old, but rather a reformulation of rhetoric to be inclusive of invitational rhetoric as an effective means of communication. Accepting invitational rhetoric as a viable means of communication will begin to tip the scale so that one day masculine and feminine ideals are valued equally. Invitational rhetoric is best illustrated in the rhetoric of ecofeminism. Ecofeminism is a blending of the feminist and environmental movements. At the core of ecofeminist thought is the belief that all forms of oppression are interconnected and in order to liberate any marginalized group or thing, all marginalized groups and things must be liberated. Thus, aU oppression is linked and one form cannot end undl all other forms end (Kheel, 1993). Ecofeminism began as a philosophical movement, but is starting to formulate its own empowerment group based on the philosophy of ecofeminist thinkers and writers (Spretnak & Capra, 1986; Somma & Tolleson-Rinehart, 1997). Within empowerment groups the issues of power and legitimacy become paramount (Foss & Griffin, 1992). In any given society the dominant institutions can possess one of many forms of power and empowerment groups, in order to achieve their goals, must attempt to access their own form of power (Stewart, Smith, & Denton, 1994). Viewing an empowerment group from a power perspective involves examining their discourse to understand how the movement attempts to reformulate social reality. The present study will examine the way that power functions in the discourse of the ecofeminist movement as an example of invitational rhetoric. The task of the feminist and environmental movements as well as other oppressed groups has been to overthrow the dominant structure and to empower marginalized voices. Invitational rhetoric could be a means to that end for oppressed groups. Discovering the potential of invitational rhetoric could provide a mechanism for marginalized voices to be heard and to alter the underlying structure of the social fabric. Communication studies as a field has largely ignored the ecofeminist movement and has only recently explored invitational rhetoric. While there has been theorizing, no one has used invitational rhetoric as a means for conducting a rhetorical analysis. The current study attempts to break this void and hopefully offer new direction for the study of power, rhetoric, and ecofeminism. Using invitational rhetoric as outlined by Foss and Griffin (1995) to provide a theoretical framework for the analysis, the present study hopes to generate themes from ecofeminist texts that illustrate the power potential of invitational rhetoric and its ability to foster a new communicative environment for movements of emancipation to thrive in. This initial introduction provides an adequate background for the present study. The second chapter will offer a review of the literature that will explore ecofeminism and power. The third chapter will present the methodology by examining the use of invitational rhetoric as a conception of power. The fourth chapter will present the analysis of ecofeminism. Finally, the fifth chapter will offer a discussion and will hopefully draw out promising conclusions as well as some thought for future study into the areas at hand. The present study contends that invitational rhetoric is a viable altemative to the traditional view of rhetoric as persuasion, especially for oppressed groups. The project of emancipation for groups like the environmental movement and the feminist movement can benefit from invitational rhetoric as a means toward reformulating their position and reconceptualizing the power structure to end the oppression of all. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE In examining the literature on ecofeminism and power, one is confronted with several tasks that have been difficult for the researcher. First, there are different types of ecofeminism. Even though the movement shares the belief that all forms of oppression are interconnected, the similarities end there. Different branches of ecofeminism attribute the cause of oppression to different factors. This makes a rhetorical analysis of the entire ecofeminist movement difficult.