Rhetorical Feminism and This Thing Called Hope, by Cheryl Glenn
Stephanie Larson2019, Rhetoric Society Quarterly
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Abstract
Equal rights remain a fantasy in the United States. In 2017, President Trump rolled back the 2014 Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces executive order made by President Obama, an order that ensured businesses comply with labor and civil rights laws, including things like sexual harassment and equal pay protections. Last year, Brett Kavanaugh-a man accused of a violent sexual assault by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, whose act then prompted many others to come forward with similar accusations-was sworn into the US Supreme Court. And just recently, during the 2019 State of the Union address, Trump called on Congress to pass legislation that would prohibit late-term abortion, legislation that would add to over 160 bills that have already been passed at the state level, further limiting access to safe and legal abortions, family planning, and affordable healthcare for women. Over the past few years, the American public has undoubtedly witnessed a shift in democratic life, one shaped by post-truth politics and governed by heteronormative, nationalist, racist, and misogynist ideologies. Cheryl Glenn's most recent monograph, Rhetorical Feminism and This Thing Called Hope, emerges within our contemporary moment, calling on rhetoricians to acknowledge how access to and equity in public life have been restricted as a result of anti-democratic and anti-feminist actions such as these. Deeply grounded in social justice, inclusion, and coalition, her term, "rhetorical feminism," demands that scholars reconsider what rhetorical effectiveness has meant historically in the field of rhetorical studies. Defined as "a tactic" or "set of tactics," even "a theoretical stance," rhetorical feminism is anchored in theories of disidentification, dialogism, and listening (4). A tour de force through the trajectory of feminist rhetorics, the book turns away from hegemonic rhetoric and the Western rhetorical canon, reappraising rhetorical engagement to consider "attention to marginalized audiences; respect for vernaculars, experiences, and emotion; a reshaping of the rhetorical appeals; and uses of alternative delivery systems" (5). One key aspect of her theory, however, is hope. While outraged and keenly aware that political and cultural life for many right now is bleak, Glenn theorizes rhetorical feminism across our histories, methods, theories, and pedagogies in an effort to open up our lenses, find rhetorical activity
