face value

Rather than seeing the proliferation of advice manuals on women’s conduct as evidence of women’s oppression, we can see them, amongst other things, as indicators of women’s resistance to those discourses.
from Sara Mills’ Discourse (Routledge, 2004), p. 81
Interesting. Seems an important principle — not to take discourses at face value.
Addendum 1-21-08, for Michael :-):
Mills says,
The [...]