RhetTech
Abstract
This podcast explores the concept of gaslighting in relation to college students' experiences through interviews with campus staff and experts who further analyze gaslighting within specific communicative contexts, such as romantic relationships. There is a lack of education among college students about gaslighting and intimate partner abuse. A survey conducted by the National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH) in 2014 asked 2,500 hotline callers about their experiences of coercion (Warshaw et al. 2014). Respondents were adult women who had experienced domestic violence, called the hotline, and agreed to participate in the survey. They answered these questions: “Do you think your partner or ex-partner has ever deliberately done things to make you feel like you are going crazy or losing your mind?” and “Has your partner or ex-partner ever threatened to report to authorities that you are ‘crazy’ to keep you from getting something you want or need?” 73.8 percent answered positively to the first question and a little over 50 percent of callers answered “yes” to the latter. Overall, nearly three-quarters of this specific sample of victims experienced gaslighting and many saw gaslighting as an inhibitor to outside support. It is abundantly clear that gaslighting is overwhelmingly paired with intimate partner relationships, and the lack of education for college students regarding intimate partner abuse is alarming. In creating this podcast, I educate other college students about gaslighting, so, if they are currently being gaslit, they can begin to identify the signs, or they can use their knowledge to educate others. Furthermore, my hope is that while my research began with intimate partner violence, my listeners will come to understand that it extends into many institutional and structures in society, such as race and gender.
Recommended Citation
Steffen, Lindsay
(2022)
"Tell Me about Gaslighting,"
RhetTech: Vol. 4, Article 12.
Available at:
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/rhettech/vol4/iss1/12
