In this rhetorical biography of Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), I explore the early construction of her philosophical and moral frameworks and the demographic factors which constrained and enabled the construction of her political identity. I proceed to address the question of identity construction as it relates to gender and political stereotypes and as it is enacted in various rhetorical situations. I examine Mikulski's conformance to female and male gender and political stereotypes, her use of the feminine style in deliberative rhetoric, her identity construction during campaign and debate, and the co-construction of her political identity by the media, opponents, and supporters. And finally, in each of these analyses, I assess the salience of gender. My findings indicate that Mikulski conforms to female stereotypes relating to substance and to male stereotypes relating to style. This pattern of conformance mitigates the double bind experienced by women in the political arena. Mikulski's use of the feminine style in deliberative rhetoric reveals a consistent pattern of usage during her twenty-four years in Congress. Several characteristics of the feminine style are more prominently featured on women's and constituent issues, and her usage appears to be responsive to two additional factors, length of speaking time and placement within the legislative process. In situations of campaign and debate, Mikulski approaches identity construction by recasting negative definitions and by relying heavily on reconstructing her relationship with constituents, even during anti-incumbent years. The media and supporter constructions of Mikulski's political identity are consonant with her constructions of self and, again, center on recalling and reestablishing relationships with various constituencies. Gender is found to be a significant variable in all aspects of the construction of Mikulski's political identity, but the constraints imposed by gender are met successfully by Mikulski with rhetorical strategies which either diminish the significance of gender or recast her gender as an asset.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UMASS/oai:scholarworks.umass.edu:dissertations-9070 |
| Date | 01 January 1995 |
| Creators | Robson, Deborah C |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst |
| Source Sets | University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest |
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