Seduction theory and the recovery of feminine aesthetics: Implications for rhetorical criticism

This essay addresses applications of rhetorical criticism to seduction theory. Recently recovered and articulated by post‐modern and neo‐sophistic theorists, critics judge seductive aesthetics both liberating and subversive insofar as they lessen woman's dependency upon the patriarchal scripts of logocentric rhetorics. Seductive stratagems include affective appeals, teasing, withdrawing, and a demeanor mirroring charm, allure, and enchantment. This essay addresses issues relative to rhetorical criticism and the interpretative value of seduction theory as a critical lens. Specifically, we explicate seduction theory and its critical bearing. We analyze, by way of illustration, Hillary Rodham Clinton's use of seductive appeals as an “undecided” candidate for the United States Senate. The First Lady's forestalled candidacy, listening tour, and identity management, we posit, reveal rhetorical choices constituted in seduction theory.

Key concepts:

• feminine style
• seduction
• criticism
• Hillary Rodham Clinton