Episode 172: Speaking While Female
/“They would say, ‘are you a man?’ The insinuation being if you were standing there speaking you were overstepping your role, stepping out of your gendered role and into the territory of male behavior.”
This episode takes a step back in time to look at the history of women as public speakers, and how the past relates to the present.
Dana Rubin
If you look at history books or speech anthologies, you might assume women didn't say very much in public until the 20th century. But that's far from the case. My guest, speechwriter and coach Dana Rubin, has compiled a speech bank of women's speeches going back hundreds of years. Women were speaking up...it's just that HIStory wasn't interested. And that legacy, Dana argues, affects the way women see themselves as speakers today.
You can also read a transcript of the show.
Toward the end of the podcast we talk about the ‘comic’ images created in the early 20th century of women having their tongues cut off, or mouths bound. There are plenty to see. This image - a screen grab from eBay - is one Dana mentions.
For sale on eBay
Further reading:
Check out the Speaking While Female speech bank. And please contact Dana if you have a speech you think belongs there.
A listener alerted me to the legacy of longtime speech coach Denise Graveline, who died in 2018. She was a big advocate for women speakers and hosted the sites The Eloquent Woman and Don’t Get Caught. Her family has gathered all her content onto one site and there is tons of useful stuff there. In her Famous Speech Friday posts she would highlight a female speaker and then give a bit of background on her, her speech, and what you could learn from it.
This is the episode I produced in 2016 that divided listeners on the topic of whether or not women should ‘improve’ their vocal presentation. It has a very similar title to this show.