Document Type
Thesis - Open Access
Award Date
2015
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department / School
Communication Studies and Theatre
First Advisor
Rebecca Kuehl
Keywords
communication studies, rhetoric, rhetorical criticism, sexuality in communications
Abstract
Female sexuality is constantly restricted in public discourse in the United States. To combat this, Sophia Wallace created the Cliteracy campaign: a project that sought to challenge the stigmatization of female genitals. Wallace’s attempt to create a new language regarding female sex and sexuality revealed critical implications for how we discuss sex in American culture. For an in depth analysis, I utilized feminist, materialist, and social movement rhetorical lenses. This study revealed that while text is viewed as an objective mode of communication, however, it is ingrained with hierarchical societal constraints. Moreover, Wallace’s rhetoric suggested that a god term is reliant on the communicative magnitude of the devil term. The research also detailed severe implications for a single leader led social media movement and for a text that challenged multiple counterpublics. The Cliteracy campaign featured persuasive techniques that attempted to bypass double binds that commonly restricted feminist movements and featured text that provided a beneficial addition to feminist rhetorical scholarship.
Library of Congress Subject Headings
Sex in popular culture
Women -- Sexual behavior
Clitoris
Rhetorical criticism
Description
Includes bibliographical references (pages 111-124)
Format
application/pdf
Number of Pages
132
Publisher
South Dakota State University
Recommended Citation
Condon, Vanessa, "Cliteracy and Justice For All : A Critical Rhetorical Analysis of Sophia Wallace’s Cliteracy Campaign" (2015). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1659.
https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/1659
Included in
Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons
Rights Statement
