Greer Muldowney

Rhetorical History

Small words have such seminal impacts, especially those forgotten by history, or falsified to bolster it. When researching Women’s Suffrage, I was immediately drawn to the quotes and catch-phrases that became the rhetorical history of the era and subsequently the path it would take (or the myths that surround it). Quotations are often taken out of context or attributed to new meanings in every era, so it was no surprise to find the words that really did make a difference, or in many accounts, haunt us, had either been forgotten, or had not occurred at all. Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I A Woman” speech, which was originally given at the 1851 Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, has been the enduring message of the plight of intersectional feminism. The phrase never appeared in the original text, added years later to have a more Southern twang. Truth’s words were psychically ignored by the mostly white, middle class organizers that would push forward the 19th Amendment. The hinging point of the passage of the amendment would also come down to the Tennessee State Legislator, a body whom would pass ratification by one vote. Originally a “No” vote by representative Harry Burns and his emblazoned red rose, his mother wrote him a long letter that included only one sentence to implore her son to “don't forget to be a good boy and help Mrs. Catt put the RAT in ratification.” It is said that this cajoling changed the history for the amendment that would change the course of our history. What a precarious thought in a casual letter. I chose these two phrases for how stark they were in contrast and effect. Also, how gendered they are, and how this comes down to human rights, but through that lens. Which brings me to why photography for this project? I pondered being asked, and pondered the limitations of the lens to look backwards and all of those implied shortcomings. The moment at present is fraught, and my own feminism leaves so much of the picture of the last century not encompassed. But then the lens also distorts; who knows that more than the female form and its own visual history of the 20th century. Re-photographing the documents where these prophetic words were first elicited (or entirely absent), allowing them to fall from focus and their context, felt fitting. Allowing photography and its trustworthiness to also be a fitting parallel for such a complicated history.