To Persuade or Not Persuade?

Right now I am writing an essay for my capstone, which conveniently has to deal with Rhetoric as well. I'm reading about women activists who wrote autobiographies back in the early 20th century when women had very few rights. The author of the book, Martha Watson, says that many of these women had to present themselves in a way that would persuade the general public into agreeing with their protests (by means of rhetoric!). One woman activist, Frances Willard, claimed that her activism was an act of God in order to receive any respect from the public. She also made her autobiography look "feminized" in order to convince people that her progressive beliefs did not turn her "manly".
Martha Watson says by using these tools in Willard's biography, " she becomes a progressive woman, a persona that acknowledges her accomplishments but implicitly proves that she is essentially feminine" ( Watson 57). It seems all of the women addressed in Watson's book had to find a middle ground in order to form a following. Many of the women also compromised a lot of their beliefs just so they wouldn't be chastised throughout society. Just to be heard, theses women constantly had to prove they were still "womanly" by sticking to many traditional female roles. By writing about themselves in a way that justified their actions and beliefs, they were able to persuade the public into believing they were doing something honorable (for the greater good of the female gender). This strategy kind of reminded me of the topic we discussed in class about people manipulating their Myspace and/or Facebook profiles inorder to give off a certain persona of themselves. Of course a facebook profile isn't as profound as writing an autobiography for the sake of all oppressed women, but I find the rhetoric connection between the two pretty interesting. I believe it was important for the women activists to somewhat compromise their "true" beliefs in order to help form a following of supporters. If they wrote something too radical, no one would have read their books! However, I do wonder about how such a compromise in today's society can really backfire on a person's self . Ok, don't judge me for using her as an example but look at Britney Spears. She worked so hard for so long in order to appeal to the public by coming off as essentially "perfect". Perfect body, perfect clothes, perfect dancing, smile, laugh,..etc. and it made her a lot of money and a ton of success with the price of her sanity! I know this is an extreme example, but it just goes to show no matter how perfect you look in that sparkly jump suit, or how perfect those tantalizing dance moves are pulled off, if you persuade the public into thinking you're someone entirely different from who you are....things could go wrong. You could end up completely lost...or even worse...BALD and in rehab. Ahhhh persuasion...WOW can't it be quite powerful?! I believe it is, and it's something to use with careful hands! Well, I guess Mr.Rodgers does make a good point, sometimes it IS better to just be yourself (or at least know who you are before messing with your persona).