Public speech styles are gendered as passionate Mom versus rational Expert

Evidence

Sometimes, activist men who spoke in public tried to sound like experts, even if they were not. While Mom is a passionate and self-interested warm body, the Expert is rational, disinterested, and lifeless. The Mom is a woman, the dark side of the moon; the Expert is a man, the moon’s relentlessly bright face — but not a caring, personally involved ”Dad.” — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics, 1425

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the Mom/Expert dichotomy that structures how activists feel forced to speak publicly.
• XREF: Connects to Eliasoph’s chapter 2 discussion and to the reader’s existing ADDENDUM article on ‘Complaints About Immodesty’ insofar as both track gendered cultural coding of speech and display. — connects to: Discourse produces knowledge that shapes perceptions and enacts power — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2: Identity…, 687; Civic speech style varies with audience rather than with underlying beliefs — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”: The work of avoiding…, 118

Broader Connections

• Discourse produces knowledge that shapes perceptions and enacts power #expands (0.80) — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 687