Control and Constraint: Margaret Thatcher and the Dynamics of Political Rhetoric During Prime Minister’s Questions
Control and Constraint: Margaret Thatcher and the Dynamics of Political Rhetoric During Prime Minister’s Questions
Peitho Volume 20 Issue 2 Spring/Summer 2018
Author(s): Courtney Wooten
Abstract: Margaret Thatcher, the first woman Prime Minister of Britain, was a controversial figure who has been largely ignored in feminist rhetorical scholarship. This article argues that the field should pay attention to political women in the 1980s to consider how they contributed to conservative and Neo-liberal ideologies that persist today. Examining Thatcher’s rhetorical performance in Prime Minister’s Questions during the Falklands War, this article argues that she manipulated her political context with great success and contributes to an understanding of diverse women’s rhetorical practices.
Tags: “Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, neoliberalism, presidential rhetoric, women’s rhetorical practices
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