TOWARD A FEMINIST RHETORIC - THE GILLIGAN DEBATE REVISITED

In this paper, a rhetorical approach is applied to feminist debates about gender, care, and morality, using the controversies which have emerged in response to Carol Gilligan's In A Different Voice as a case in point. Despite massive and, in some cases, devastating criticism, the Gilligan debate continues to stimulate, but also to aggravate feminist scholars of all persuasions. By taking a closer look at the kinds of argumentative strategies employed by Gilligan's critics, an attempt will be made to understand how feminist controversies like the Gilligan debate can be both popular and, at the same time, circular and even tediously repetitious. I will be exploring some of the rhetorical strategies employed in this particular debate, demonstrating why they have been counterproductive. Some suggestions will be put forward for a different kind of feminist rhetoric-one that will enable us to learn from the Gilligan debate, while avoiding some of its pitfalls.