Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


JOYTHESIS.pdf (23.21 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Unvirtuous Findlay: Recovering Voices and Reinterpreting Prostitution Rhetoric from Findlay, Ohio's Victorian Newspapers

Brown, Joy
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=findlay1558542712396321

Abstract Details

2019, Master of Arts in Rhetoric and Writing​, University of Findlay, English.
Findlay, Ohio’s nineteenth-century newspapers published crime reports, legislative actions, and opinion pieces about prostitution within the city. Victorian ideology was inherently rigid and imbalanced between men and women, which is why nonconforming sexual activity, specifically sex for sale, represents a rhetorically significant phenomenon. When considering Findlay’s historical and contemporary reputation as a politically conservative and traditional family-focused municipality, the newspaper articles show that some residents resisted gendered behavioral standards that city leaders sought to uphold during its most socioeconomically formative years. This thesis critically looks at previously unstudied, male-authored Victorian prostitution articles to determine how journalists ideologically situated and represented the female-centric trade within the community. The project also identifies new information that reflects the women’s rhetorical presence. This paper argues that, despite the phallocentric nature of the newspaper articles, prostitutes’ voices can still be “heard” and recognized for their rhetorical contributions, thereby encouraging historical revisioning.
Christine Denecker (Committee Chair)
Sarah Fedirka (Committee Member)
Diana Montague (Committee Member)
Christine Tulley (Advisor)
135 p.
American History; Communication; Cultural Anthropology; Gender Studies; Journalism; Rhetoric; Womens Studies
rhetoric; feminism; feminist rhetorical theory; prostitution; critical discourse analysis; journalism; Victorian; newspapers; autoethnography; rhetorical analysis; gender studies; Findlay, Ohio; sex; Victorian prostitution; prostitution history

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Brown, J. (2019). Unvirtuous Findlay: Recovering Voices and Reinterpreting Prostitution Rhetoric from Findlay, Ohio's Victorian Newspapers [Master's thesis, University of Findlay]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=findlay1558542712396321

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Brown, Joy. Unvirtuous Findlay: Recovering Voices and Reinterpreting Prostitution Rhetoric from Findlay, Ohio's Victorian Newspapers. 2019. University of Findlay, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=findlay1558542712396321.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Brown, Joy. "Unvirtuous Findlay: Recovering Voices and Reinterpreting Prostitution Rhetoric from Findlay, Ohio's Victorian Newspapers." Master's thesis, University of Findlay, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=findlay1558542712396321

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

findlay1558542712396321
607
© 2019, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Findlay and OhioLINK.