Individual Presentation or Panel Title
Abstract
During the second half of 2012, heightened scrutiny was applied to Republican politicians’ discussion of sexual assault. This wave of interrogation, though, began too late to affect the debates over the 2012 Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization. This paper will problematize these debates by analyzing the rhetoric of self-defense used by Republican legislators in the House of Representatives to defend their VAWA Reauthorization bill. By applying a feminist critical discourse analysis to the final VAWA Reauthorization debate held on May 16, 2012, this paper shows that the actions of the Republican legislators are rooted in a desire to protect the legitimacy of the Republican Party, not in a desire to protect survivors of violence. Although VAWA has been reauthorized by the 113th Congress, the debates held in the 112th Congress continue to hold scholarly importance. These debates over what rape is and which victims matter are emblematic of the problems faced in American politics when partisan lines become so rigidly defined.
Location
Ballator Gallery
Start Date
20-4-2013 3:30 PM
End Date
20-4-2013 2:20 PM
Full Text of Presentation
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Included in
Social Influence and Political Communication Commons, Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons
Playing Politics with Rape: Republican Apologia in the 2012 Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization
Ballator Gallery
During the second half of 2012, heightened scrutiny was applied to Republican politicians’ discussion of sexual assault. This wave of interrogation, though, began too late to affect the debates over the 2012 Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization. This paper will problematize these debates by analyzing the rhetoric of self-defense used by Republican legislators in the House of Representatives to defend their VAWA Reauthorization bill. By applying a feminist critical discourse analysis to the final VAWA Reauthorization debate held on May 16, 2012, this paper shows that the actions of the Republican legislators are rooted in a desire to protect the legitimacy of the Republican Party, not in a desire to protect survivors of violence. Although VAWA has been reauthorized by the 113th Congress, the debates held in the 112th Congress continue to hold scholarly importance. These debates over what rape is and which victims matter are emblematic of the problems faced in American politics when partisan lines become so rigidly defined.