Women's Rhetoric in "New Yorker" Cartoons: Patterns for a Mildred Milquetoast

The rhetorical possibilities available to women in contemporary society may be determined by analyzing how women's speech is distinguished from male's speech in cartoons. This comic genre both reflects and helps establish social stereotypes. During the period between February 17 and May 12, 1973, 152 cartoons in the "New Yorker" (a general circulation magazine considered an innovator and leader in the field of cartooning) were analyzed. A questionnaire consisting of a list of captions from cartoons in the "New Yorker" was also distributed to 50 men and women in speech classes at the University of Illinois, with directions to indicate whether the statements were spoken by a male or female and why. To determine whether the treatment of women's rhetoric in the "New Yorker" cartoons was representative of mass circulation magazines, 56 syndicated cartoons from the Sunday comics section of the Chicago "Daily News" were analyzed for the same three-month period. Data resulting from the study of the cartoons suggested that women use a more restricted, weaker language than men. Women cartoon characters used fewer exclamations and curse words and did not converse about traditionally male topics such as finance or politics. (EE)