Progay/Antigay: The Rhetorical War Over SexualityCombining humanistic rhetorical criticism with social scientific concepts, Ralph R. Smith and Russel R. Windes examine how the discourse of the progay/antigay debate shapes the self-understanding and strategies of the two opposing sides. The struggle over issues such as lesbians and gay men serving openly in the military, same-sex marriage, and inclusion of "sexual orientation" in anti-discrimination and hate crime laws have evolved along with the development of rival progay and traditionalist antigay communities. In the process of presenting their arguments to the wider society, the two sides exercise extraordinary influence on each other. As a result of the public policy debates, the progay movement has moved toward an essentialist, non-sexual identity, while the traditionalists have shifted toward a secular public self-representation. Progay/Antigay also analyzes the internal disagreements within the two movements. The same-sex marriage debate illustrates important dimensions of the contest over sexuality. The authors examine rhetorical strategy and counter-strategy in this specific institutional context. Progay/Antigay also discusses how the study of the variant sexuality issue provides the opportunity to assess paths for reconciliation and to judge concepts of political pluralism and multiculturalism. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 18
... Gamson and I could only dream of when I visited with him in Ann Arbor back in 1977. Bill Gamson has done much since then to lay the groundwork for the study of what he calls “ issue cultures , " textual prac- tices that become ...
... Gamson concludes that it should have a ready market in university libraries and courses , particularly courses for graduate students and undergraduate students focused on ( a ) sexuality and sex / gender politics , ( b ) political ...
... Gamson ( 1998 ) shows how the changing guidelines for suc- cess in reaching mass audiences create new rules for understanding the be- havior of both progay and antigay advocates . More generally , as philosopher Morris Kaplan ( 1997 ) ...
You have reached your viewing limit for this book.
You have reached your viewing limit for this book.
Contents
1 | |
Chapter 2 Analysis of Communication in Contests Over Variant Sexuality | 35 |
Chapter 3 Appeals in Progay and Traditionalist Discourses | 57 |
Chapter 4 Antagonistic Construction of Identity and Conflict | 93 |
Chapter 5 Debate Within Communities | 127 |
A Case Study | 155 |
Chapter 7 Criticism of the Variant Sexuality Issue Culture | 181 |
References | 203 |
Index | 227 |
About the Authors | 239 |