“The Destructive Male” by Elizabeth Cady Stanton Rhetorical Analysis

Olivia Rogliano

In “The Destructive Male”, Elizabeth Cady Stanton argues that women should be given the right to vote and be active members of government via the installation of a sixteenth amendment. Stanton speaks to both men and women showing them how history is evidence of the affects male dominated society had and still has on the state of the human condition and the oppression of both sexes but fails establish her authority as the speaker.

Stanton states in her argument that the characteristics primarily praised in males such as violence, acquisition, and conquest cause government to become disorganized on multiple scales. She backs this up with evidence from history explaining that the bloodshed and tragedies caused by the human race have been fueled by man’s need for war and lust for power and land.  Since men have been in control throughout history they are the ones who have allowed and willed such things to happen and have suppressed the characteristics of virtue, peace, and compassion among other things that are mainly attributed to women. Stanton uses this evidence to suggest that society for a long time has been a reflection of the men in charge and women who would be able to balance out man’s need for violence and conquest have been oppressed an unable to do so.

Stanton speaks to both men and women in her audience. She does this through explaining how the emphasis on supposed manly characteristics is harmful to both men and women because not all men hold these characteristics so those who do are held above the rest and women, in order to survive in a male dominated society, must adapt to such characteristics and must learn how to hold power through others. She argues that if women were able to express themselves as much as some men were then they would balance out the male and female characteristics so that both sexes benefit.

Despite her ability to speak to her audience and use proper evidence to support her argument, Stanton fails to establish her place as a reliable voice of authority. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a strong and well known voice in the cause for women’s suffrage as well as a leader, giving her a lot of authority in a piece like this but she never acknowledges this or anything like it in her argument. Stanton’s gender is the only thing that gives her a sort of reliability in her argument for the need of women in government besides that she gives no other reason for her audience to take her argument seriously.