Graduation Term
2024
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Department of English
Committee Chair
K. Aaron Smith
Abstract
This dissertation focuses on how those who self-identify as feminist, or more generally as in support of gender equality, use language to define gender equality and to describe people who identify as woman, non-binary and man. Through analysis of fifty-nine interviews conducted in the Spring of 2022, this project articulates how those who support gender equality might be using language in particular patterns when gendered categories are mentioned to emphasize—or unintentionally undercut—a change in social practice related to gender. In highlighting these recurring constructions, this project suggests that supporters of gender equality might be using language in particular ways that display them “speaking to” the gendered hierarchies they are trying to fight against. These results offer a preliminary understanding of the ways in which patriarchal ideologies and feminist ideologies are in ongoing tension. This project combines sociolinguistic and rhetorical perspectives to better understand first how feminists use complex noun phrases, adjectives, and phrasal structures to construct identities of those who identify as woman, non-binary, and man, and second, how these frequent constructions demonstrate an ongoing negotiation between feminist ideology and patriarchal ideology that may or may not be intersectional, heteronormative, gendered, or oppressive.
Access Type
Dissertation-Open Access
Recommended Citation
Hauser, Allison, "Talking to the Patriarchy: a Linguistic and Rhetorical Investigation into the Language of Feminism" (2024). Theses and Dissertations. 2050.
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/2050
DOI
https://doi.org/10.30707/ETD2024.20250211063115981440.999998
