Description
Book SynopsisInvestigates contemporary and historical rhetorics of rape culture within institutional, legal, cultural, and medical discourses. Examines how discourses about rape rely on strategies of containment and deny the felt experiences of victims, ultimately stalling broader claims for justice in the United States.
Trade Review“What It Feels Like is an exciting contribution to rhetorical studies and women’s and gender studies, offering a theory of visceral rhetoric that provides both explanatory power for rape culture and a potential framework for feminist intervention. It addresses a timely topic in a refreshingly new way, providing critical insight into how rape culture is rhetorically constituted as well as reason to hope for change.”
—Elizabeth C. Britt,author of Reimagining Advocacy: Rhetorical Education in the Legal Clinic
“Not only does Larson’s work provide various avenues for researchers to continue conversations about sexual violence, but it also supplies instructions for increasing the efficacy of anti-rape advocacy. Ultimately, Larson makes a convincing case that scholars and activists alike would do well to talk about bodies and acknowledge the rhetorical power of viscerality.”
—Lauren L. Buisker The Quarterly Journal of Speech
