The rhetoric of androgyny as revealed in the feminine mystique

Abstract

Despite the feminist controversy regarding whether gender differences exist in discourse style, it appears that one of the most prominent leaders of the conservative wing of the feminist movement, Betty Friedan, strategically employed an androgynous rhetorical style in her crucial feminist document. The Feminine Mystique. Through an analysis of that text, this essay argues that by employing the “rhetoric of androgyny,” Friedan creates a mainstream feminist audience whose ideology ultimately transcends oppressive gender dichotomizations.