Putting Lipstick on the Vice Presidency: Sarah Palin and the 'Feminine Style'

• In Event: Scholar to Scholar I

Abstract

Using the "feminine style" identified by rhetorical critics, we analyze Governor Sarah Palin's acceptance speech. Like most women candidates, Palin adopts a communication style marked by self-disclosure, openness, and narratives. But Palin differs from contemporaries like Hillary Clinton who use the style as a means of challenging hegemonic masculinity. We argue that Palin articulates the VP office as a wife of the President and mother of the American people, rhetorically reinscribing traditional gender roles.

Authors

• Maura Dianne Burke, Miami University

• James Cherney, Wayne State University