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.