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“All Issues are Women’s Issues”: The Independent Women’s Forum and the Constitutive Rhetoric of Conservative Women

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Abstract

The disputed and controversial confirmation process of Justice Amy Coney Barrett brought scores of conservative women to the public eye in defense of the incoming Justice’s credibility. The largest of these voices was the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF), an influential conservative women’s think tank. Arguing that Barrett’s seat on the Court would give representation to conservative women across the country, the IWF’s discourse on their weekly podcast, She Thinks, provided a prolific and curated space for them to organize and make public arguments. The podcast features a (counter)public realized through conservative women’s identities, interests, and needs. Within the realm of Communication Studies, the rhetoric of conservative women continues to be an under-researched area. She Thinks provides a detailed artifact for rhetorical analysis that develops a stronger understanding of gendered communication and political identity. Using a framework of constitutive identity rhetoric and public sphere theory, this paper analyzes how conservative women rhetorically construct what ideal womanhood entails. With an identity rooted in motherhood, women of the IWF discursively outline their needs that can be supported through free-market Capitalism, ultimately framing themselves as a public that lacks a need for political advocacy.

Start Date

12-4-2021 12:00 PM

End Date

12-4-2021 1:00 PM

Faculty Advisor

Catherine Palczewski

Department

Department of Communication and Media

Student Type

Graduate Student

Comments

This entry was part of the following session of the event:

  • Session title: Gender Considerations & Eating Disorders; Monday, April 12, 2021; 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.; Moderator: Roberto Swazo.

Electronic copy is not available through UNI ScholarWorks.

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Apr 12th, 12:00 PM Apr 12th, 1:00 PM

“All Issues are Women’s Issues”: The Independent Women’s Forum and the Constitutive Rhetoric of Conservative Women

The disputed and controversial confirmation process of Justice Amy Coney Barrett brought scores of conservative women to the public eye in defense of the incoming Justice’s credibility. The largest of these voices was the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF), an influential conservative women’s think tank. Arguing that Barrett’s seat on the Court would give representation to conservative women across the country, the IWF’s discourse on their weekly podcast, She Thinks, provided a prolific and curated space for them to organize and make public arguments. The podcast features a (counter)public realized through conservative women’s identities, interests, and needs. Within the realm of Communication Studies, the rhetoric of conservative women continues to be an under-researched area. She Thinks provides a detailed artifact for rhetorical analysis that develops a stronger understanding of gendered communication and political identity. Using a framework of constitutive identity rhetoric and public sphere theory, this paper analyzes how conservative women rhetorically construct what ideal womanhood entails. With an identity rooted in motherhood, women of the IWF discursively outline their needs that can be supported through free-market Capitalism, ultimately framing themselves as a public that lacks a need for political advocacy.