What is Bodily Rhetoric and Femininity?
Traditionally, rhetoric presents as an abled white male body, drawing lines and boundaries around what rhetoric is or should be. It often does not allow for whole body human experiences. "Historical examples of rhetoric thus typically do not include the persistent persuasive practices that sustain movements in unfavorable times and that slowly, sometimes, repetitiously, cultivate broad receptivity to innovative arguments" (Sharer, 6).
Embodied rhetoric acknowledges the whole of a person, and how their physical body and presence makes rhetorical arguments. It exists through identity markers we assign to ourselves or those which may be forced upon us.
Femininity is one such marker. Physical appearance plays a large role in how feminininity is perceived. And that perception is almost always creates dual and contradictory depictions of women. Women are denigrated by the "conventional feminine character, either for fulfilling it (irrational, emotional, sexual) or for violating it (attempting or appearing to be mannish)" (Schaechterle, 129).
This double-standard was evident during World War II. Femininity was used against women by those in power, yet owned and used by women as a way to resist and survive. These embodied rhetorical moves were complex with many layers.
While women's rhetorical activities in "the decades between 1920 and 1960 had been presented as a rather silent period--a period of still water between two 'waves' of American women's activism" (Sharer, 3), when we look at embodied rhetoric during World War II, the water is anything but still. It could better be described as choppy riptides with a dangerous undertow.
During the 1940s, women's fashion was the very definition of femininity. It is often described as "old-fashioned and poor," but fashion was about feminine simplicity and practicality.
Fabrics were scarce due to the war, and many women couldn't afford extensive wardrobes. As a result "a lot of items such as blouses, skirts and jackets were combined. The two piece suit became very popular, they were comfortable and practical" (Prisma Daily).
Lipstick and accessories were in high demand. Bold and colorful hats, handbags, and hair bows were must-haves. Women often had shoulder length hair pinned up at the front and usually curled.
In addition to outward appearance, femininity prior to the war meant "piety, chastity, domesticity, and subservience" (Santana). It meant nurturing, caring, and compliant women.
When women stepped out of these expections during the war, their femininity was used against them in efforts to discredit and dehumanize them. But, many women were able to find ways to use their femininity to their advantage and resist those in power.