The Pushback

The potential for Tina Fey's Bossypants (2011) and Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (2011) to successfully resist and challenge hegemonic discourse through confronting adversity are explored in this thesis. Narrative criticism, feminist standpoint theory, analytic induction, and critical discourse analysis are used as theoretical and methodological tools of analysis to assess the liberatory potential of Fey and Kaling's autobiographical narratives. Specifically, the narratives are analyzed in order to understand how silence in the face of adversity may result in complicity with hegemonic discourse, and conversely how direct confrontation can create positive counter-narratives that may empower women. Topical themes analyzed include body image, self-esteem, relationships, and career. Analysis of Fey and Kaling's narratives found conflicting impulses including several instances of silence, as well as counter-narratives of resistance through the use of humor and the sharing of experiences of pushing back against hegemonic norms when facing adversity. Overall, when critically read, both of these narratives can be empowering for readers and of importance to communication scholars because of the attention given to the harms of hegemonic patriarchal discourse has on the lived-experiences of women.