| For centuries writers and philosophers have envisioned an astonishing range of futuristic change encompassing both ideological and technological achievements. Commonplace are literary communities without war, prejudice and poverty, but almost nowhere is the potential society without sexism. Responding to this situation feminists have fashioned their own visions of utopia. In my rhetorical investigation I examine the expression of feminist perspectives on communication through their articulation in feminist utopian fiction. From my analysis I examine (1) the extent to which feminists are capable of rendering feminist communication such as dialogue viable through drama, (2) the extent to which feminist communication theory and feminist communication practice coalesces in literary texts, and (3) bases for models of feminist and other nontraditional rhetorical forms.; The nine novels I have selected for analysis comprise a sampling of novels cited consistently by feminists scholars as exemplifying feminist perspectives on utopia/dystopia. I have identified three classifications of feminist utopian fiction on the basis of the speaker or speakers who tell the story. First, there are stories told from a male perspective, including Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland, Esme Dodderidge's The New Gulliver and Dorothy Bryant's The Kin Of Ata Are Waiting For You. Second, there are stories told from a female but not necessarily feminist perspective, including Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and Marge Piercy's Woman On The Edge of Time. Finally, there are stories told from multiple feminist or nonfeminist perspectives including Joanna Russ's The Female Man, E. M. Broner's Weave of Women, Sally Gearhart's The Wanderground and Rochelle Singer's The Demeter Flower.; In my analysis I elucidate common themes that have particular relevance for communication and describe language and communication channels utilized in feminist utopian fiction. I also examine traditional constructs of power, hierarchy, and control as they are redefined in feminist literature. Finally, based on my rhetorical analysis of feminist utopian fiction, I advance a rhetorical theory accounting for gender. When we ask simply, "What does 'rhetoric' mean for women?" we find that two thousand years of philosophy and theory do not reflect women's experience. The overall aim of this study is to begin the process of constructing a complex and rich response to this question. |
