Date of Award
12-2021
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
Committee Chair/Advisor
Dr. Megan Eatman
Committee Member
Dr. Aga Skrodzka
Committee Member
Dr. Michelle Smith
Abstract
The purpose of this research was to study stay-at-home mothers’ engagement with the prevailing discourse surrounding them. Staying home and engaging in "invisible and unpaid" labor has led this group of mothers to be out of public sight and somewhat voiceless. Thus, public discourse about SAHMs without significant input by SAHMs has resulted in a monolithic and static identity. Using standpoint analysis as the theoretical framework and textual analysis as the methodology, I have analyzed opinion pieces written by SAHMs, published on popular magazine portals, and on their blogs, through which they attempt to navigate this public depiction of themselves. The analysis shows that SAHMs' engagement with public discourse about them can be categorized under three broad themes: overt prejudiced assumptions about SAHMs which are a part of the larger capitalist rhetoric, nuanced negative dismissive rhetoric against SAHMs, and lastly rhetoric of choice in relation to SAHMs.
Recommended Citation
Tanzila, Ayesha, "They Say, We Say: A Standpoint Analysis of Stay-at-Home Mothers’ Engagement with Public Discourse" (2021). All Theses. 3692.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/3692