Navigating Boundaries

BRENDA DeVORE MARSHALL is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Theatre and Communications Arts at Linfield College./e Her research interests include women's rhetoric, gendered communication, feminist theory, and intercultural communication.MOLLY A. MAYHEAD is Professor of Speech Communication at Western Oregon University. Her research interests include Supreme Court rhetoric, First Amendment issues, and women's rhetoric.

Marshall, Mayhead, and their contributors explore the discourse women use to negotiate political boundaries. The analysis, based on the study of five governors-Nellie Tayloe Ross, Martha Layne Collins, Ann Richards, Barbara Roberts, and Christine Todd Whitman-illustrates that women bring issues of caring, empowerment, family, and inclusivity to the office. These issues contrast sharply with traditional male-centered ideologies and give renewed vigor to a revised moral point of view in contemporary politics.The essays also demonstrate that women governors must still work within the traditional societal constructs for women. Yet, at the same time, they need to create new paradigms that redefine women's roles and exemplify that woman's place is in the private sphere and the public political arena. The work examines the common obstacles these women faced despite differences in era, political affiliation, geographic location, and ideologies. Simply by being elected, each woman operated within a public/private sphere duality she struggled to overcome. Each woman recognized that she needed to craft appropriate rhetorical strategies to succeed in office while not abandoning the unique values and perspectives she brought to the statehouse. The essays contend that women serving in the governorship resculpt the face of the office, restructure the political landscape, and redefine women's roles. The volume will be of particular value to students and scholars dealing with issues of public address and rhetorical criticism, women's communication, political communication, and women in politics.

Explores the discourse women governors use to negotiate political boundaries.

IntroductionThe Changing Face of the GovernorshipMarginalizing Metaphors of the FemininePortrait of a "Governor Lady": An Examination of Nellie Tayloe Ross's Autobiographical Political Advocacy"For Kentucky": The Shared Vision of Governor Martha Layne CollinsThe Fusion of Populist and Feminine Styles in the Rhetoric of Ann RichardsRe-visioning and Re-framing Political Boundaries: Barbara Roberts' Response to Oregon's Budget CrisisChristine Todd Whitman and the Ideology of the New Jersey GovernorshipConclusionWorks CitedIndex