Women in tech

This article transitions from passive aggressive to outright aggressive from beginning to end. The opening sentence, "It is equal parts hilarious and depressing that Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt was called out for repeatedly interrupting Megan Smith, chief technology officer for the United States, while trying to talk about diversity and women in tech" comes across almost mockingly. The final two sentences, "if men in male-dominated fields like tech (and politics and venture capital and journalism and and and…) are serious about diversity and women’s leadership, then they need to STFU more often. Literally. The problem will not be solved by women leaning in. Instead, men need to lean back. Hard." are downright harsh and aggressive. The author's tone makes me feel like she is bias and doesn't understand or bother to look into the male side of the argument. The title, "Lean back, Eric Schmidt! How interrupting men & unconscious bias are killing women’s careers" also seems overzealous. Although the article provides factual evidence that men interrupt women far more often than they interrupt men or women interrupt men, it gives no evidence that this is killing women's careers. The article also asks for men to "debug" or stop interrupting women. In addition perhaps there should be a call to action for women to stand up against being interrupting or exploit and expose the problem.  

Tropes

Sarkeesian uses pathos appeals to make her point about tropes and women in video games. This is pathos because ultimately, the portrayal of women in video games is a moral issue dealing with emotions. Wether or not you agree with Sarkeesian's points, I do not believe she should receive death threats. The most extreme examples of video games portraying women in a harmful manner are niche games only played by the most hardcore gamers. This group is obviously extremely dedicated and passionate about their games, which could explain the extreme reaction. Sarkeesian's videos definitely make you think about how video games influence our thoughts and culture. Do the games reflect our culture and appeal to us or push us in the direction of their content? This is my ultimate question and it is a great discussion topic. 

Crying Men

I found this article to be very interesting. The author structured the article well, giving a good amount of background leading up to relating the issue to modern times. The arguemant is made through logos appeals. Men crying less than women was of course not shocking, however, men openly crying in the past was. The author said this was due to a greater level of intimacy between people living together. Today, we live amount strangers where the open expression of emotion can be viewed as out of place and weird. To end the article the author says men should cry more because people who cry are usually the most satisfied. I wouldn't say men need to cry more. I would say more emotional expression, maybe just talking to a close friend or partner, would lead to better mental health amongst males.

Stand Whose Ground

I find it sad that victims of domestic violence are being prosecuted and imprisoned for defending themselves in their own homes. The author relies on pathos appeals to gain the reader's sympathy for these victims. The author writes about how tragic it is that the stand your ground law is prohibiting domestic violence victims from standing up for themselves. The article harps on the flaws with SYG laws rather than offering a solution. I understand the frustration with the issue and find the use of loopholes regarding domestic violence disgusting. But the author's statement about how cases "would play out differently if we lived in a world where women’s lives mattered." This statement is a prime example of pathos appeal. With the issue being so serious, I think the author loses some credibility by including this statement. It makes her seem a bit ridiculous because women's lives of course matter.

Naked people

This article immediately grabbed my attention by talking about the young girl posing in front of a camera. Sexualization and objectification are demeaning and wrong at all ages and certainly not justifiable but nine years old is especially disgusting. The article made some interesting points. The evidence presented was done by credible researchers, but dealing with an issue about perception, I would like to see some research on why people's minds change about a person when they are naked. Psychological information would leave the reader more informed. Nonetheless, the article got my attention.

The Conspiracy of Silence

The idea that a woman should stay silent in exchange for not getting beaten disturbs me. I understand living in fear of an abusive partner, but if crimes are not brought to light there will never be justice. Staying silent not only weakens the victim, but also puts others at risk. Organizations like The Retreat foster a constructive environment for  the abused. By establishing more organizations and stronger safety nets, victims will feel more confident to stand up against their abusers.

Domestic Violence

Compared to our last article, I found this author's objective, logos based approach refreshing. The author references detailed studies done by the CDC. Above all I found the statistics on intimate partner violence to be startling. I cannot imagine being trapped in a relationship with an abusive partner. I understand most people are fearful to distance themselves from a violent partner. But I strongly believe that this attitude is the cause of these alarming statistics. Without abused partners rising up for change, these numbers will only get worse and worse. One thing I found interesting about the article involved the tone. It almost seemed like the author was putting off or discrediting the women surveyed at times. At the beginning, the author introduces the studies stating, "The survey, released by the CDC Wednesday, marks the beginning of a new annual project to look at how many women say they've been abused." "Say they've been abused" is much more questioning than "have been abused." The extremely high rape statistics also disturbed me. The article stated that this elevation could be due to "how the surveys were done, who chose to participate and how "rape" and other types of assault were defined or interpreted." This statement reminded me of how important context is when looking at statistics. No one statistic tells the entire story, so we must seek out all sides. 

Domestic and international violence

I was extremely turned off by this article from the beginning. I find comparing American soldiers to wife beaters absolutely pathetic and disgusting. Almost as pathetic and disgusting as the author represents our troops. Maybe I'm crazy but I found the jump from soldiers to wife beaters to be a large one. Even the title seemed wild to me: "Domestic and international violence are one and the same." The sub title states: "John Stuart Mill had it right. Our abuse of women at home mirrors, and sometimes dictates, our behavior abroad." John Stuart Mill was a nineteenth century writer, I'm not sure if his work can be considered relevant here in the twenty first century. The author bases her argument that "tyranny at home is the model for tyranny abroad" on Mill's writings. The sentence after this statement, the author contradicts herself saying: "When tyranny and violence are practiced on a grand scale in foreign lands, the practice also intensifies at home." This makes the point that violence overseas causes violence here, not the other way around. The issue of violence against service women is not one to be taken lightly, but it seems poorly placed. The article is unorganized. I would write about violence against women in the military or how domestic and overseas violence are related, not both in the same article when the relation isn't close.

Iraq sex traffic

Layla's story reminded me in many ways of Malala's in many ways. Both are at a disadvantage being born in countries that do not grant women all of their human rights. However, this does not stop these women. They both fight intensely for their cause despite being harmed severely. Similar to Malala's getting shot in the head, Layla was a former prostitute and rape victim. This seems to be almost culturally accepted in Iraq. The article stated that "more than nine per cent of respondents between the ages of fifteen and fifty-four said they had been subjected to sexual violence." These crimes often go unreported due to a fear of shame from the community. This culture baffles me. I find it very hard to understand and do not feel qualified to speak knowledgeably about middle eastern culture. Having overcome extremely adverse circumstances and being a force for good against sex trafficing, stories like Layla's give me hope for an eventual larger force for good.

Malala

Unfortunately the terrible situations presented by the ladies in "Girl Rising" did not surprise me. The girls are no doubt subjected to discriminatory behavior including bullying and, in the most severe case, slavery. The story that struck me the most was Senna's from L Rinconada, Peru. Senna had to overcome poverty like all the other girls, but also overcome being forced out of her home and fight for her schooling I believe I favor Rinconada because of all the circumstances she had to overcome. Honestly, the idea of women having to fight for education is baffling to me. It makes me more thankful for the country I live in.

Malala

I was taken back with Malala's story. She is beyond inspiring and her courage is incredible. It made me thankful that the world has people willing to fight for their beliefs. I also thought about how although the gender situation in the United States isn't perfect, we're much better off than the middle east. There, girls work toward an education because "only white-collar, professional jobs will allow these girls a life outside their homes." Malala did not want to be the typical female in her culture, her only use bing child bearing and home keeping. She wanted to become educated so she could break the norm. She enjoyed learning and did very well in school. Her journey was different from her brothers'. Speaking about her brothers, Malala stated: "They can be anything they want. But for me it was hard and for that reason I wanted to become educated and empower myself with knowledge." Malala's life began to change drastically when "Taliban leader, Mullah Fazlullah, issued a dire warning - all female education had to cease within a month." Because of Malala's unwavering belief and pursuit of education, she was shot. What I was most impressed about with Malala's story is that she is now an influence rather than a martyr. She is a global voice for female education and equality. Her voice is heard and highly regarded. In 2013 she was nominated for the nobel peace prize and named one of TIME magazine's most influential people. Her vast influence gives me an optimistic outlook for global female education and equality. 

Wage gap

I found this article very intriguing. I enjoy reading about the origin of gender roles and the subject of nature vs. nurture. The article states facts based on research and makes a logos based argument concerning how girls make less money for chores than boys, toddlers follow traditional gender roles in their chores, boys have more play time than girls, and boys with sisters are more likely to be conservative. The last statement seems a bit out of place to me. I don’t think it’s the best way to end an otherwise quality article. I found myself actively trying to explain or justify the statements made in this article. I justified the wage gap between little boys and girls by the types of jobs they do. Boys typical jobs include taking out the trash and mowing the lawn as opposed to little girls doing the dishes. Boys and girls’ chores reflecting traditional gender roles really grabbed my attention. I feel like the evidence presented supports the argument of nature rather than nurture because I haven’t seen nor can I picture girls wanting to mow the lawn over taking out the trash. For the point on boys having more play time, maybe this is due to girls’ chores being more inside centered as opposed to boys’. Girls spending more time inside doing extremely stereotypical activities like playing with dolls might make them more acceptable to inside chores and in turn less play time. I believe I favor the nature model because of my upbringing and culture, for better or worse. I did however enjoy this article.

Men are brilliant, women are bossy

The term "gender bias" has always struck me. I have always looked at issues involving "gender bias" as having more to do with gender roles or stereotypes, excluding the word bias. The article talks about "unconscious bias" and cites the example: "women are much more likely to receive critical feedback than men, and women who are leaders are more likely to be described as abrasive, aggressive and emotional." This evidence, if accurate, proves it is in fact a situation involving bias, because women are put at a disadvantage. These gender ideas are not totally off base in my opinion. Women are more emotional in men and not taking that into account when hiring someone would be ridiculous. Being emotional is not always negative and could help women get certain jobs over men. I found the last bit of the article to be a little shocking. It stated that Beck being chosen over Beyonce at the Grammy's was a matter of gender rather than talent. The article said the situation was "interpreted as a diminishing of Beck’s talent or general nice guyness rather than being about our biases and a nomination system that seems to favor white rock dudes over virtually everyone else." Although the article is logos based, there is no evidence provided of a nomination system that favors "white rock dudes." I personally believe this argument is a stretch and is a poor ending to the article. I also think that jumping to the conclusion that everything is a result of gender bias is dangerous and detrimental to our culture and changes in culture. 

We Checked Off the Box

This article is very logos based. The question and answer style is very objective based. The article elaborates on the extensive reach done by the interviewee. The author asking questions like "Can you explain how you went about your research?" does not leave much room for emotion or pathos appeal. This allows the reader to take a step back as he/she observes what is going on in the interview. The researcher also does not include emotion in the response. I could list several quotations but they would always prove the same point: the response is factual and backed by evidence, proving logos appeal. I found the information appealing and thought provoking. No matter what the circumstance or statistic, I believe men and women deserve a fair shot at the same job because selecting the best candidate will lead to the best future for the community involved.

Hillary Clinton

I found this article to be a bit confusing. The title includes “Why being a woman gives Clinton unique insight on economic issues” but I didn’t see any evidence of this. The author gave examples of how Clinton has a unique insight about being a woman in politics talking about her breaking into the boy's club and working her way up when it was nearly impossible. The only direct relation to Clinton and economics in the article is her less than sub par record involving economic issues and her personal affluence. I am also a bit lost with the rhetoric of this article. The author uses many facts involving women in the workforce, including a quotation from Clinton herself: “We’ve gone from 77 cents to 78 cents compared to a dollar [in the gender wage gap]. That’s hardly groundbreaking progress.” The author argues that Clinton should use her apparent unique insight on women’s economic issues to garner votes. This argument is based on facts. I suppose the article’s rhetoric involves logos appeal but I feel like the idea of winning votes over a gender issue appeals to pathos.  

Fairy Hands

“The Trouble With Disney’s Teeny, Tiny Princesses,” written by Philip Cohen, brings up some interesting points and factual evidence comparing male and female characters in Disney fairytale movies. The article is written with logos appeal, providing picture proof from fairytale movies along with statistics comparing men and women’s body sizes to prove how Disney exaggerates male and female bodies. The pictures reference Frozen, How to Train Your Dragon 2,Gnomeo and Juliet, Hercules, Tangled and Brave and all show male hands being overwhelmingly large compared to female hands. Cohen “checked a detailed report that the Army commissioned to design its equipment and uniforms. In real American adults, for example, men’s wrists are on average only about 15% larger in circumference than women’s.” This statistic proves how outlandish Disney’s characters are in terms of size. This research comes from the Army, a credible source, and furthers the logos appeal. While the statistics prove Cohen’s point, at the beginning article he states: “A culture populated by absurdly small princesses and hulking male heroes can change the way men and women see themselves.” I found no evidence of this argument being expanded in the article. It is very interesting and I would like to see research and opinions on the topic but none of those could be found in this article. I was looking forward to more evidence in the end of the article but it wasn’t present. One of the final paragraphs began with questions: “Can men warmly nurture children and work as nurses? Can women successfully lead families and companies?” I was hoping to find answers rather than questions. Other than this, I found the article to be informative and I will think about Disney movies differently in the future.

Wes Moore

When I read Wes Moore's "The Work" over the summer, I had no idea of the rhetoric present. "The Work" is essentially Moore's life story combined with the stories of others in order to inspire the reader to find what drives them in order to live a life of significance. While life stories are factual, they do not evoke a logos appeal. Particularly in this novel, the stories presented are very emotional and therefore warrant a pathos appeal. In "The Mentor" chapter in Moore's book, his pathos appeal is evident in the family situation and story of Mayor Michael Hancock. Moore's pathos appeal is especially evident in the description of Hancock's family situation. Statements like, "My biggest fear growing up was that Mom would leave us. She could barley feed us and keep the lights on. Why would she stay?" Questioning a mother's dedication to her family will strike an emotional chord with most people. Contrasting mother and father, Moore references the absence of fathers in the Baltimore community though Hancock's quotation: "Take them for ice cream once a month, but really be there." This quotation would make anyone feel sorry for a cild that has to grow up with the absence of a parent. Both if theses quotations causes the reader to feel sorry for the future mayor's circumstance and further his prominence in the city through overcoming a hazardous family situation. It was interesting to observe Moore's book from a different point of view.

Male Movies

I’m not a big fan of this article. The author’s sarcastic tone is evident in his first sentence: “I don’t think I’m breaking any news if I tell you that “The Avengers,” Joss Whedon’s ensemble action-adventure that unites an entire posse of Marvel Comics superheroes, will be far and away this weekend’s No. 1 film at the box office.” This tone becomes annoying very quickly. Andrew O'Heir begins his piece stating that all big budget flagship movies for film franchises are targeted toward young men, specifically those 35 and younger. O’Heir then writes about how most Hollywood blockbusters are action packed violent pictures targeted solely for guys and how the females are  basically unaccounted for as far as a valuable viewer statistic. I not only take issue with O’Heir’s tone but also how he takes issue with what kind of movies Hollywood produces. Movies are an industry and the major purpose of making films is to make money. So of course movie makers and producers are going to release films that have the best potential to make the most money. I don't mean to sound rude but if these movies aren’t female oriented, who cares? Get over it. Yes movies are for entertainment but there would be no entertainment of the sort without profit. After discussing how much money Hollywood makes from their “guy-oriented” films he says: “Of course, the Hollywood suits have no objection to making enormous piles of money off female moviegoers,” another example of sarcastic tone. He makes this statement in a way that sounds like he thinks making money is a crime and that hollywood is duping female moviegoers. At the end of the article O’Heir states that Hollywood is changing slowly as seen through strong female heroes in movies like the hunger games that appeal to both genders.

The rhetor uses logos appeals such as citing specific films and their targeted audiences. Although the author communicates his point through facts, his persuasion is more emotional: Hollywood’s fascination with overly masculine films is too strong and the industry should move toward producing a greater number of gender neutral films.

Nat Geo Homosexuality

I found this documentary very appealing. Using twins as the subjects allows the narrator to explain the differences between a heterosexual and homosexual brain very effectively. The notion that a homosexual male twin absorbs enough testosterone to develop male genitalia but not enough to be attracted to women, like its heterosexual counterpart, is interesting and makes sense. The scientific approach to understanding sexual preference is a logos appeal. Although no solid evidence is presented or any findings proven, the documentary gets the viewer thinking on the topic. The film's purpose is to intrigue the viewer. The topic of how genes relate to sexual preference is not new but it is fairly unexplored and I am interested to see what kind of research is conducted within the upcoming years.

Psycotherapy on the gender frontier

This article is written by an accredited psychotherapist, Julie Mencher. Mencher has a private practice in Northampton, MA, consults for colleges, camps, and corporations on the subjects involving the LGBT community, and is the former transgender specialist at Smith college. These credentials prove the ethos of the rhetor. The piece opens with a little information about Mencher's past. Her parents were very young when they had her and she always felt like an outcast in her family. Her story as a lesbian in a less than accepting world is emotional. This appeals to pathos. She goes on to talk bout her clients and the struggle LGBT identifiers face every day. She describes her respect for them and the complexity of the lives they live. Two quotations that struck me were: "the trans woman who wants me to weigh in on her makeup, hair and outfit – because who else does she have to ask?; the trans man who asks my advice about how to have sexual pleasure in a body he despises." and "Your father isn’t becoming your mother, but she is becoming the woman she always felt herself to be." Before reading this article, I felt like I had an acute understanding for the difference in lives people in the LGBT community have. Mencher Gave me an entire new understanding and respect for the LGBT community. This new found respect is due to the author appealing to my emotions (pathos) in order to engage me and get me to understand a completely different lifestyle. 

One thing I found off putting was this: "I was the mom who gave her son dolls and dressed him in striped leggings, long after the age of consent (at least according to him). Those were my tears when, on his first toy store trip after he learned to walk, he strutted over to the trucks and never looked back." I feel like she was forcing a lifestyle on her son. As a lesbian woman I don't believe she would appreciate people trying to alter her beliefs and, in turn, she should let her son have an organic gender journey rather than trying to force homosexuality on him.

Delusions of Gender

The article ""Delusions of Gender": The bad science of brain sexism" by Thomas Rogers focuses on Cordelia Fine's book "Delusions of Gender: How our Minds, Society, and Nurosexism Create Difference." The purpose of the dual style interview and book review is to persuade readers to purchase Fine's book. The credibility of the rhetor, or ethos, does not play a central role in the article because the focus falls on Fine and her book. Rogers describes the book and its content before starting his interview with the author. The interview is pretty standard, Rogers asking questions pertaining to the book and Fine answering. The article includes logos appeals in that the question and answer style is solely factual information. I found that the type of questions Rogers asks, however, appeal to pathos. Questions like "Why are people so intent on misrepresenting the differences between the male and female brain?" and "But it seems like a Catch-22: Women who pursue careers in math are being handicapped by the fact that there are so few women pursuing careers in math" can appeal to the reader's emotions. These questions have nothing to do with the scientific findings (logos) found in the book. They rather appeal to the readers' emotions in order to entice him or her to purchase the book. The article is interesting and effectively draws the reader to Fine's book. I wish Fine included more of her scientific data and findings in her answers. This would also add more logos appeals to the article. I am interested to see what her findings state which proves Rogers did his job in promoting the book. 

what stands in the way of women being equal to men?

Culture. Culture stands in the way of women being equal to men. The difference in equality between men and women varies from country to country due to differences in culture. Middle Eastern culture comes across as being the most oppressive to women. Women in the Middle East are put at a disadvantage to men through long standing social traditions that are much like laws. Many would argue that American culture favors men and puts women at a societal disadvantage. But in this country we have laws supporting women's rights rather than the contrary, as shown in the Middle East. The U.S. is more developed and therefore has more developed views on the issue. As societies progress, the gap between men and women lessens as a result of culture forcibly changing.


The documentary has a mixture of pathos and logos appeals. The pathos comes from the female dominated viewpoint in the documentary. This makes the viewer sympathetic towards females in this situation. Logos appeals come from facts about the varying women's cultures and how they are treated. Their treatment is factual (logos) but the situation being explained by an oppressed woman is emotional (pathos).

Gender Roles in Children's Books

Upon reading the title "Gender stereotypes plague children's picture books" I thought I would learn how picture books are destroying the world's youth through outdated portrayals of mothers and fathers in the home. After researching the topic of gender roles in children's books from 1900 to 2000, sociologist Amy Dewitt concluded that "children's books embrace tradition." Dewitt's research found that typical gender roles in the home have not changed significantly in children's books. Mothers are still portrayed as the nurturing homemakers while fathers act as the disciplinary parent and the breadwinner. The team did find, however, that “fathers in books published in 2000 exhibited increased care-giving and nurturing from previous time periods, and mothers exhibited increased work outside of the home.” The team did not find this to be significant "because similar performance peaks occurred in the 1970s depictions, only to drop in subsequent periods.” I am not an accredited sociologist, just a college freshman, but I do find this statistic to be significant. One of my thoughts is that perhaps people's ideas and values have changed over time. Gender roles were questioned in the 70s which accounts for the changes in the books at the time. Issues that bring about change to long established values are not accepted overnight. It can take years maybe even decades. The African American Civil Rights Movement started in1954 only to end in 1968. Even though the initial introduction of the issue did not take hold does not mean we should ignore current statistics. My second thought, a bit more controversial, is that depictions of typical mothers and fathers haven't changed significantly for a reason. Maybe mothers are naturally more nurturing than fathers and the men of the house are more emotionally distant. The team wrote: "Consistently seeing mothers in the nurturing and care-giving roles and fathers fulfilling the provider role may impress upon children what role performances are ultimately expected of them as men and women." I do not believe that a child's understanding of what it means to be a male or a female is shaped by a book they read. Rather, it comes down to what they experience their own parents doing and what goes on in their home. More importantly than being male and female is being human. And if a child is raised in a home by quality, caring parents, his or her aspirations and independence will not be muted.