Abstract
In 2002, Republican Representative John Hostettler (IN) was accused of communicating insensitively with a group of breast cancer survivors. When asked to support an increase in breast cancer research funding, Hostettler focused the conversation on a purported connection between abortion and breast cancer. The survivors, all members of the "Y-Me" Breast Cancer Support Group of Indiana, approached the media in the months following the meeting because they believed Hostettler had accused them of having abortions. I examine three key pieces of Hostettler's rhetoric that followed media attention to the meeting. After identifying the rhetoric as apologia, I analyze the ways in which the rhetoric also served as a rhetorical construct for women's illness and women's social identities.
Journal Title
Iowa Journal of Communication
Volume
36
Issue
1
First Page
71
Last Page
89
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Kiesel, Susan G.
(2004)
"Y-Me, Why Us: Constructing Women's Illness and Roles Through Apologia,"
Iowa Journal of Communication: Vol. 36:
No.
1, Article 6.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/ijc/vol36/iss1/6
Copyright
©2004 Iowa Communication Association
