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
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... traditional- ist actors use identity constructs as weapons to achieve dominance . Even the grievances which movements seek to highlight are intimately related to the identities which movements construct and deploy ( Johnston , Larana ...
... traditional political theory separates politics and culture , in practice they are closely connected ( Bronski , 1998 , p . 248 ) . Law profes- sor Robert Cover ( 1983 ) provides an important description of the rela- tionship which ...
... traditional epithet and in subverting the received sexual order , is offensive to many lesbians and gay men precisely because it has long been used as a term of oppro- brium , inviting discrimination and violence . The language used to ...
... traditional gender identities , a task un- thinkable in a previous era of homosexual pathologization ” ( Herman , 1994 , p . 8 ) . To paraphrase a cliche , the love which dared not defend its name has evolved through confrontation into ...
... Traditional Values Coalition , and Concerned Women of America , along with hundreds of similar local organizations , are locked in combat with the Human Rights Campaign , the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force , the Lambda Legal ...
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 |