Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group

From Obstacles to Options: The Rhetoric of The Women on The Supreme Court Has Expanded

     Armed with her Stanford law degree in 1952 Sandra Day O’Connor discovered that no law firm in California wanted to hire her.  Just one firm offered her a position as a legal secretary. Ironically, a senior partner of that firm, William French Smith, helped O'Connor's nomination to the Supreme Court years later as the Attorney General. Failing to find suitable work in private practice, O'Connor turned to public service.  Years later, upon her nomination to the Supreme Court, President Reagan tried to ease the public’s mind about the first woman by assuring everyone that she was “a person for all seasons” and of good “temperament.”   In her most often quoted speech, she warns: “This ‘New Feminism’ is interesting, but troubling, precisely because it so nearly echoes the Victorian myth of the ‘True Woman’ that kept women out of law for so long.  It is a little chilling to compare these suggestions to Clarence Darrow’s assertion that women are too kind and warm-hearted to be shining lights at the bar.” 

     In 1991 she gained a sister on the court in Ruth Bader Ginsburg, by then already an historical figure for her spellbinding Supreme Court advocacy on behalf of the ACLU.  Ginsburg noted that when she made her arguments in the 1970s to the Supreme Court, it was comprised of  “men of a certain age” who needed to be “kept in good humor” so she appealed to their personal side by reminding them of their wives, sisters and daughters as she argued for gender equality.  Ginsburg’s life’s work is the rhetoric of enactment as she broke down barriers for women and argued for new laws that would allow men and women to avoid stereotypes.

     Eighteen years would pass until another woman, Sonia Sotomayor would be appointed and in just a year another woman, the academic and political powerhouse, Elena Kagan would take her seat.  In that span of almost two decades, women’s options opened up in America and the change is evident in the rhetoric of the two newest members.  For Sotomayor, her Latina heritage, more than her gender takes center stage in her speeches.  Unlike previous newcomers to the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor has spoken often and passionately since her appointment.   In her speeches she repeats the themes of ethnic pride, education and pro bono work and her eagerness to share her own inspiring biography combine to offer a moving message of an American dream realized.

     Elena Kagan writes and speaks with an eloquence and natural humor uncharacteristic in modern communicators.  In her only speech as a justice she urged the graduates of University of New Mexico School of Law to “do what you think matters.”  Speaking as though she were in a college lecture hall, she remarked: “This profession is one in which you can make an enormous difference in the lives of individuals and the welfare of society as a whole.”   Quoting Thomas Jefferson, she said, “There is a debt of service due from every man to his country proportioned to the bounties which nature and fortune have measured him.” Like Sotomayor, she urges her audience to give back.  Sotomayor and Kagan’s speeches do not focus on gender, instead they focus on the quality of the work that can be done as a lawyer and the tremendous difference it can make in society.  The rhetoric of the women of the Supreme Court has shifted from a focus on obstacles to include greater rhetorical options. 

Nichola D. Gutgold is associate professor of communication at Penn State – Lehigh Valley Campus and author of Almost Madam President: Why Hillary Clinton "Won" in 2008, published in 2009, and co-author of the forthcoming Gender and the American Presidency: Nine Presidential Women and the Barriers They Faced, December 2011.  She also wrote Paving the Way for Madam President and Almost Madam President.    This essay is from her forthcoming book:  The Rhetoric of Supreme Court Women: From Obstacles to Options (forthcoming Lexington Books, 2012).  

TMI: Are You the Biggest Loser?

By Jelita McLeod

When it comes to self-absorption, Americans have no equal. We pour our hearts out on talk shows. We create blogs to share minute details of our personal lives. We elevate dieting to a primetime spectator sport (see “The Biggest Loser”) and post status updates on what we’re having for lunch. Through stickers on our cars, signs on our lawns, slogans on our shirts, we publicize our political, educational, social, and religious affiliations.

Broadcasting this information is perceived as an extension of our freedoms—the freedom of speech, of expression and choice. The tell-all society, in which no detail goes unshared, shuns anonymity. What we forget is that information can be a valuable asset to criminals.

A skilled con artist can ascertain a lot based on simply looking at someone. From an individual’s age, clothing, gender, comportment, and other characteristics, general assumptions can be made about how he or she will behave. Imagine then what a scammer can do with the vast amounts of information we willingly provide.

Cons differ from other crimes in that they are theft with a twist, stealing with a storyline. Scammers use stories to lure their victims in, and every piece of personal information provided can help them craft their pitch to make it more credible and appealing.

How does this work?

Miranda is the working mother of three. Her youngest, Robbie, plays trumpet in his middle school band. While the band was out of town at a regional competition, she received a phone call from someone claiming to represent the event sponsor. Miranda was told that Robbie had filled out a form to buy tickets for the awards banquet but had failed to provide a credit card number. Could she help?

The caller chatted with Miranda, discussing the band’s chances and the challenges of being a band parent. Without hesitating, Martha gave the caller her credit card number. It wasn’t until Robbie returned two days later and had no idea what she was talking about that Miranda became concerned. By then, her credit card had been used to buy thousands of dollars of electronics.

But how had the caller known about Robbie? The band? And the trip? Everywhere around her, there are clues. The band maintains a web site and a public Facebook page listing concerts and trips. Robbie appears in photos on the page, tagged with Martha’s name. Her car sports a window decal identifying her son as a member of the school band. By the front door is a yard sign with the band’s logo, and Robbie’s name and instrument.

There’s nothing wrong with being proud of our accomplishments or wanting to share news of our lives. But we should be aware that once information goes into the public domain, we no longer have control over it. Exercise caution and limit your audience. Consider this your Miranda warning that anything you say…may be used against you.

For more information on scams, see Jelita McLeod’s book The Con: How Scams Work, Why You’re Vulnerable, and How to Protect Yourself, co-authored with identity theft speaker and deception expert James Munton.

Jelita McLeod is an award-winning writer who has worked in marketing, advocacy and public relations for more than a decade. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, International Educator, The College Board Review and Vital Speeches of the Day. Her commentary has aired on the National Public Radio program All Things Considered. Currently a freelance writer, she has served as a full-time speechwriter and as director of external relations at the Fulbright Association. She previously worked at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., at Georgetown University, and overseas in England and Japan.

Music Sales with the Economy on the Skids: With the GDP at zero, are record producers singing the blues?

By Elizabeth Barfoot Christian

What do liquor, lottery tickets and music have in common? Despite a worsening economy, all have seen a boost in sales in 2011. For the music industry, it’s an event almost as unbelievable as winning the Lotto.

The last year the recording industry boasted a profit was 2004—and that was a brief respite from an otherwise abysmal decade, according to CNN Money. A $15-billion industry in 1999, the recording industry reported less than half that 10 years later in 2009 to just more than $6.3 billion.

If this year’s trend continues, the American music industry is in good shape to end the year in the black.

One explanation for the near 20 percent jump in digital album sales (up from 13.5 percent last year, according to Billboard), is the closure of another major peer-to-peer file sharing network. LimeWire shut down the end of 2010, and sales increased immediately.

Unfortunately, this is just one piece of the pie. Now the music business must redirect consumers who lost the ease of the CD but never found anything to replace it with toward purchasing digital music. In addition, the industry hasn’t done well thus far competing against illegal sites for ease of availability of ringtones and videos. Unless it wants to become completely irrelevant, the music industry needs to come to the table with YouTube, Pandora and other Internet retailers and brainstorm ways to make music purchases easy and legal for consumers of all ages and demographics. The industry may blame P2P sharing for its failings, but it has truly been its own worst enemy—even threatening to charge radio stations a tax to play a song. Seriously? Um, physician—it’s time to heal thyself! And the time is now, while profits are rolling in the deep ... or at least not in as shallow as the last seven years.

Ironically, the first album of 2011 to hit 1 million downloads in July was Eminem’s Recovery, the second, Adele’s 21, which did it and became the best-selling album of the year just one week later. Do I sense a theme here? So . . . . anyone releasing a new album titled Jackpot this year?

This is the last blog in a 12-month series on music marketing in the United States. The author wishes to thank Rowman & Littlefield, Lexington Books and Lenore Lautigar for the opportunity to share her wit and wisdom on the ever-changing music and pop culture media over the past year. The author may be reached at ebchrist@latech.edu.

Elizabeth B. Christian is assistant professor of journalism at Louisiana Tech University. Her book Rock Brands: Selling Sound in a Media Saturated Culture was rated "Highly Recommended" by Choice.