| Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools. |
DOI: 10.1177/089124395009005006 GENTILITY, GENDER, AND POLITICAL PROTESTThe Barbara Bush Controversy at Wellesley CollegeWellesley College
Wellesley College Using 452 letters sent in 1990 to Wellesley College over a student petition objecting to the choice of Barbara Bush as the graduation speaker, this article explores how an attempt to expand the boundaries of elite women's political behavior created a cultural and symbolic battle that centered upon the content of education, women's "manners" and civility, and their implications for elite women's participation in the broader Hobbesian social contract for citizenship. The article demonstrates that social class in its gendered form is essential to understanding the construction of citizenship.
|