The Constitutive Rhetoric of 20th Century Anglo-Saxon Feminism

This book focuses on the constitutive function of feminist rhetoric, i.e. the process of creating and justifying the movement’s existence and the role of power. Feminism, like other ideologies, can often exist rhetorically only in opposition to or at war with something that constitutes a vital ideograph of the movement. How this enemy is created and fought is fundamental for the constitutive feminist rhetoric. The enemy is inseparable to the concept of power and dominance, the latter being a key tool of mental control, which creates possibilities for changing the existing reality or establishing an alternative one. Feminist rhetoric is often based on opposition – a war against something, and (re)constructing an alternative reality on the victory – in the opposition to that enemy.