It's all your fault: Kenneth Burke, symbolic action, and the assigning of guilt and blame to women
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2011
Abstract
This article uses Kenneth Burke's concept of agency and, more specifically, the dialectic tension between symbolic action (SA) and nonsymbolic motion (NSM) to investigate two contemporary social controversies: obesity and sexual assault. We argue that situations involving loss of control over the body can be felt as symbolic acts and important failures requiring rhetorical solutions. The issues of obesity and sexual assault both embody linguistic choices that oppress and control women's perceptions of agency and their ability to free themselves from guilt and shame. Through our analysis of representative narratives surrounding the "sins" of appetite and desire, we reveal how the concept of agency underlies and vexes debates over obesity and acquaintance rape and complicates the allocation of blame. © 2011 Southern States Communication Association.
Recommended Citation
French, Sandra L. and Brown, Sonya C., "It's all your fault: Kenneth Burke, symbolic action, and the assigning of guilt and blame to women" (2011). College of Humanities and Social Sciences. 367.
https://digitalcommons.uncfsu.edu/college_humanities_social_sciences/367