ABSTRACT
Adopting a Burkean definition of rhetoric as that which works through language to "induce cooperation in beings that by nature respond to symbols", this chapter investigates the ways in which the American public was persuaded that cosmetics should be part of every respectable woman's toilette. It reviews the literature about cosmetics and provides an abbreviated glance at makeup throughout history. The chapter guides readers through the pages of the Ladies' Home Journal, exploring editor Edward Bok's influence on the content and structure of the magazine, as well as the social mechanisms that contributed to its persuasive campaign on behalf of makeup. It discusses the implications of this case study for rhetorical study. The chapter illustrates that an understanding of how the particular advertising texts operate is inseparable from the broader material and cultural milieu; these texts beg for a more cultural studies-type analysis than traditional rhetorical inquiry often allows.
