The discursive politics of sexual harassment: A feminist poststructuralist reading of the Hill-Thomas hearings
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to produce an extended feminist poststructuralist reading of the Hill-Thomas hearings. This reading had, as its focus, three main conceptual concerns: discourse, power, and subjectivity. The nexus of race, gender, and power in the naming of sexual harassment and subjectivity constituted the backdrop for the reading produced here. Specifically, hegemonic functions of discourse were articulated as potential bases for naming sexual harassment and for naming Anita Hill. Hegemonic constructions of both black female subjectivity and sexual harassment formed a basis for naming Hill and for characterizing sexual harassment during the course of the hearings. Particularly, the hegemonic potential of silence was influential throughout the proceedings. Additionally, Clarence Thomas' employment of the lynching metaphor, as a means of defining the hearings, functioned to privilege racist motives, rather than sexual harassment, as an issue during the proceedings.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Mumby, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Communication|Political science
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