Grace+Chen

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XC essay 4/10/14-- not sure where to post it, so this works, I guess. In 2014, a student in Mr. Barra’s AP Language and Composition class composed a short essay reflecting her thoughts on the development of the feminist movement. Drawing in part on the controversy over the legitimacy of activism in response to a perceived racial slur on the Colbert Show, she explains her view of what feminism ought to entail. Read the essay below carefully. Then compose a well-constructed essay analyzing the rhetorical strategies she utilizes to make her argument. Do you consider yourself a feminist? That a young aspiring woman like myself has been asked this question (repeatedly) is ludicrous. Of course I’m a feminist. I want the opportunities I have worked for to be as available to me as to my peers with a Y chromosome. This is a premise I am confident we can all agree on. So why is the word “feminist” loaded with so many negative connotations?[1] The feminist movement has grown into a many headed chimera that has lost public credibility. Rather than drawing attention to a real and serious societal issue, it has becoming a distraction and a sideshow for news outlets. It has lost the dignity of an ideological crusade, and is instead distilled and regurgitated in the form of Instagram #hashtags, naked protesters, Beyonce songs, and self-righteous college students who spell women with a ‘y’. These tactics draw little more than laughs and lampoons on late-night shows. I don’t doubt that individuals who choose these forms of expression are interested in women’s rights, and most are probably passionate and well-meaning. Yet the vehicles by which they choose to share their beliefs backfire; they are too gimmicky to effect real and lasting reform in society, which is the ultimate end of any feminist substrain. So what can be done? First, we need to change our targets. The limited patience and attention that the world is willing to devote to feminism should not be squandered on every microaggression and chauvinist slight experienced by every woman. If we view the world with a defensive mindset that constantly expects, anticipates, preempts[2] insults to women, inevitably we will find them. These minor infractions, however, real or imagined, are not the real cause of patriarchal harms. The root causes are much more serious institutional issues - disparities in education, discrimination in the workplace, and more. So is harassing speech and sexist jokes towards women acceptable? Not at all![3] But the attention of feminist activism (and the media) ought to be redirected towards solving the core problems, rather than protesting the symptoms.[4] We need to change our tactics. This is the age of social media, of hashtag activists and instagram protesters, where showing support for a cause means clicking like on a photo. The message is not bad, nor is the messenger inherently bad. But the flaws of modern day media corrupts and dilutes the effectiveness of the argument; the message is lost by the messenger. Moreover, these overly easy, overly accessible methods of “protest” really do nothing but breed apathy and passive response to real problems. When guilt-free salve for your conscience is just a few clicks away, what incentive remains to take to the streets, the courts, the capitol, to initiate change? Some feminists like to brandish statistics and factoids without offering any effective solutions for change. Where change is occurring, these brazen advocates fail to actually recognize or promote the driving force behind it. For instance, one of the most common measures referenced is the number of female CEOs in Fortune 500 companies. In 2014, females hold only 4.6% of the executive positions in Fortune 500 companies. This number has grown over the years, which is indeed cause for celebration, but not certainly not complacency. We (and by we, I mean society as a whole) should be more aggressively identifying what factors are limiting female success in the workplace, and promoting programs to further female education and career development, rather than reblogging catchy quotes about girl power. That said, I do agree with critics who rightfully accuse academics for trying to possesively maintain their single “correct” conception of what feminist thought entails. This is nothing short of pretentious. Feminism is indeed, by its very nature, a multifaceted and diverse entity, seeking to promote the interests of half the human race. There is no single answer or single strategy that will work.[5] But the answer being provided right now by social media is clearly undermining all aspects of feminism by negatively affecting mainstream society’s perception of self-labeled “feminists.” I challenge you couch potato activists, Twitter connoisseurs, hashtag activists, and Instagram afciondos to take that well-intended energy and pursue real, collaborative change.[6] What we need is more role models, women who are successful not BECAUSE of their womanhood nor IN SPITE of it, but simply because they are good, hardworking, talented human beings.[7] What we need is a message of feminism that doesn’t appear to promote the interests of women at the expense of the interests of men, but rather promotes the interests of humanity. What we need[8] is a more coherent, dignified stance that reminds society what we wanted to say in the first place.

[1] Ratiocinatio: I ask the question, then develop my answer to throughout the rest of the essay. This clarifies the crux of the argument for the reader and shows the logical progression. [2] Synonymia (P) - I use several consecutive synonyms for the same idea to emphasize the paranoia with which many women seem to view slights to their identity. [3] Energia (P) - I imply strong emotion in this phrase to show that I emphatically do not agree with the preceding question. This should garner the support of readers, who probably feel the same way. [4] Anthypophora : I ask a question that is one many critics or readers might wonder, than immediately respond, in a more casual dialogue. This qualifies my argument and clarifies my stance. [5] Paramalogia  - I concede that there is not a single strategy to pursue feminist goals, however, I go on to explain why my alternative is better than the current one..This interacts with and acknowledges potential arguments of critics, but shows why my argument supersedes them. [6] Adhortatio (P) - This is a direct challenge urging the reader to take action. I use this to encourage the reader to take my argument to heart, helping to conclude the essay. [7] Apophasis(R)- I reject two potential criteria for identifying female role models, then promote a third reason as the best one. This preempts critics’ responses and highlights the criteria I support. [8] Conduplicatio (P) - I repeat “what we need” in the last three sentences to emphasize the things that ought to be done, and to lend a sense of urgency to the argument.