Consciousness-Raising as Collective Rhetoric: The Articulation of Experience in the Redstockings' Abortion Speak-Out of 1969

Abstract

This essay offers a theory of collective rhetoric derived from a case study of a central rhetorical event of the second wave of feminism, the Redstockings' 1969 abortion speakout. A central rhetorical function of consciousness-raising was the collective development of experiential knowledge, and I propose that collective rhetorics are characterized by the collaborative articulation of individual experiences through such rhetorical processes as narrative, irony and humor, and symbolic reversal. I conclude by discussing the importance of collective rhetorical processes in feminist contexts and the potential utility of a theory of collective rhetoric in understanding a range of contemporary discursive forms.

Moody and monstrous menstruators: the Semiotics of the menstrual meme on social media

“…Abedinifard (2016) demonstrates how ridicule and the fear of embarrassment are policing tools that maintain hegemonic gender norms. Dubriwny (2005) underscores the value of humour as a rhetorical tool for feminist protest and consciousness-raising. Bing (2004) emphasises the power of feminist humour, as long as it does not exclude men, to foster solidarity and dismantle existing patriarchal power structures.…”

A Call to Arms: The Centrality of Feminist Consciousness‐Raising Speak‐Outs to the Recovery of Rape Survivors

“…For feminist movements, consciousness‐raising speak‐outs seek to: “Enable the collaborative creation or validation of worldviews through the articulation, or the strategic linking of individual experiences … [because] the telling of individual experiences makes possible a reframing of one's understanding of the world” (Dubriwny , 396; my emphasis). Methodologically, consciousness‐raising speak‐outs involve the individual relaying of women's personal experiences in a public, group setting in which an active, participatory audience is thought to “[shape] the meaning of the messages through the inclusion of many voices and the often diverse stories that such voices repeatedly tell” (399).…”

I Play Therefore I Am

“…My approach in this essay builds upon these modes of criticism but is differentiated by a distinct emphasis on a broader notion of process, one which encompasses machinic operations, software protocols, and player input. In this regard, my approach is more akin to the notion of collective or coconstructed rhetoric developed by critics of social movements and feminist rhetorical scholars (Dubriwny, 2005;Simons, 1982;Tonn & Kuhn, 1993). Following these scholars' efforts to examine the form of a discourse as a product of the interaction between several persons, I analyze computer games by examining the form of interaction between player and game.…”