Speaker
Description
The development of digital communication technologies has enabled the rise of public figures influencers who have raising issues of social relevance, including feminist values, pay gaps, and gender disparities. This study explores the discursive construction of an influencer persona, focusing on the rhetorical strategies applied in their narratives. Using the Canadian psychologist and public intellectual Jordan Peterson as a case study, the analysis draws on Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Neo-Aristotelian rhetoric to examine two prominent interviews he gave to Cathy Newman (Channel 4), and another to Helen Lewis (British GQ), in 2018, and his most-viewed YouTube content.
The preliminary findings show Peterson’s reframing of the gender pay gap through individual personality traits, particularly agreeableness, which he claims to affect female career choices and outcomes (salary negotiations). While acknowledging systemic bias, Peterson contests its dominance, foregrounding female agency in career and family choices. This rhetorical maneuvering enables Peterson to undermine feminist progressive affirmative action by crafting an image of a balanced thinker and polemicist, fostering credibility and relatability among his audience.
The study represents a work-in-progress seeking to interrogate the rhetorical interplay of influencers, such as Peterson, harnessed to construct public personas in shaping discourse around gender and systemic inequality.
| Presenting author | Artur Piotr Cedzich |
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