Critical Introduction

Welcome to our blog on feminism! We’re three University of Maryland: College Park Scholars students seeking to explore the similarities and differences between the feminist movement of the 1960’s and that of today. Over the past month, we’ve been studying the art of rhetoric, from its origin with the ancient greeks, to its political and societal applications today. Throughout its existence, rhetoric, and specifically rhetorical appeals, have been consistently used to develop and articulate arguments of any nature. Through our blog, we will apply these rhetorical appeals in an analysis of two chosen texts; each of which accurately represent the movement of the time. An analysis and contrasting of the appeals will reveal the evolution of feminism, specifically with regard to objectification and gender bias.

Our first text tackles the advancement of sexual freedom through birth control. With FDA approval in 1960, a statement that skyrocketed birth control use, it was logical to examine an ad by Yasmin, a popular brand then and now. Through our knowledge about the rhetoric of the time, we were able to conclude that while the ad does a great job of advertising sexual freedom, even if it does so through an air of sexism; the same sexism prevalent throughout the rhetoric of the time. Our second text communicates a noticeably different argument, a plea not only for body freedom, but for body/gender equality. The #LikeAGirl campaign by Always, one of the biggest makers of feminine care products, stole the show as a 2015 Super Bowl ad.  During a media high coverage on the wage gap and gender inequalities, the 60 second commercial brought to life the real and common perceptions facing women in this modern day and age. It's no doubt that much work has been done, but this ad server to highlight the changes that still need to be made.

Feminism has been a prominent point of topic for some time now.  During the 1960’s feminism it was in its second wave and now today it is on the back end of the third wave which started in the 1990’s.  Although feminism stand for different things now than they did back then, they are all for the same meaning.  During the 1960’s women didn’t have many freedoms, they were mostly housewives and the men made all the decisions.  So when the birth control pill came out it shined a new light on sexual freedom for women, a freedom they have never had before that let women make their own decisions about their body.  In today’s society women are much better off than in the 1960’s but no were near where it should be.   The #likeagirl commercial helps the equality for all that the present feminist groups have been fighting for.  It helps stop the stigma that girls aren’t as good as boys and need to be seen equal.  

Logos for "Like a girl"

This commercial is trying to show people and tell viewers that "___ like a girl" is a good thing because it's girls being themselves.  The use of logos isn't very prominent in this video, but it is still there enough for it to be talked about.  The use of logos in this commercial wasn't really using statistics to prove a point but more using research and logic to help show what is happening in today's society.   When older girls or teenagers are asked to do something like a girl they do it in very dainty or weak way, while when little girls are asked to do the same thing they do it the best they possibly can.  Also in the commercial the narrator states "A girls confidence plummet's during puberty," this is a well known fact for most people which is conveyed in the actions of the participants of the commercial.  Later on in the commercial the tone changes and the logic behind "like a girl", such that it is being yourself and not letting others affect you has changed the older girls perspectives.  They start believing that "like a girl" is a good thing and just being yourself so they ask to redo their weak little doing something like a girl routine to doing it the best they can, doing it like a girl.

- Billy Rosenberg

Pathos in "Throw Like a Girl"

It is common amongst most people the need to be wanted or desired, and this birth control ad appeals to that desire. The actress pictured, Annette Funicello, is surrounded by four men who seem infatuated with her. A woman of the 1960s viewing this ad would most likely want to be desired the way Ms. Funicello appears to be, and the first step to being more like the actress is to do something that she does. In this case, the actress is promoting that she takes birth control, therefore linking the usage of a contraceptive pill with the quality of being wanted by men. It seems almost contradictory to this desire, but the ad also promotes a sense of independence in women. The quote that is displayed across the top of the ad, “That’s right boys… I’m on the pill!” comes off as an exclamation rather than a statement. It can be presumed that it is Ms. Funicello who is saying this, and it seems as though she does so with confidence. The creation and accessibility of a birth control pill during the 1960s gave women control of their bodies, therefore a sense of strength.

Hailey Wilberger

Logos of B.C poster

This birth control poster was monumental in women gaining awareness of the birth control pill finally being legal, but this poster did not use logos to get it's point across.  The use of logos is more about citing facts, using statistics, and employing reason.  This poster has no statistics, no research, and no analysis on it and the only fact there is is yasmin stating "That's right boys i'm on the pill."  Another point of logos is using logic and yes there is logic in the fact that women should have the right to use birth control if and when they want to.  That if a women wants to control how many children she wants she can and should be able to, but that is not the point of the poster.  The point of the poster is to spread the use of birth control pills by using a prominent actor of the time being Annette Funicello to promote the use of birth control so more women will use it.  This poster is not a very good example of logos, but logos can be very useful when used properly.

-Billy Rosenberg

Major Argument for “Like a Girl”

“Like a Girl” dismantles the societal prejudices women face in reference to their bodies and attitudes. The ad does this effectively by portraying the fact and definition proposal of stasis theory. However, this is done in an unusual manner, where the viewer is given two definitions: one by biased volunteers, one by an unbiased group of girls. This provokes each viewer to redefine their own definition based on the contrasting examples they are shown. First, the ad defines the current prejudices by asking volunteers to “do [something] like a girl”. The uniform responses make it clear how serious the issue is, with all of the volunteers reacting as if “doing [something] like a girl” means to do it half hearted, silly, or insincere. This section of the ad reveals the common misconception that women are weaker, less serious, and less mature. While this is fresh in the viewer's mind, the ad then goes on to have girls act out the same tasks. The difference is instantly clear, as the girls actions are defined by effort and strength, a far cry from the stereotypes put on them by the previous group of volunteers. With these contrasting definitions, the ad communicates it's major argument against the stereotypes surrounding the phrase "like a girl".

-Race Saunders

            

How to fight "like a girl."                                                                                              How to throw like a girl.

                               

Major argument or Stasis Theory of B.C Poster

The birth control poster from the 1960's uses the 4th or "action" stasis.  During this time period women didn't get to make many decisions for a household or family, so when the husband wanted to have children the wife wouldn't have much of a choice even though it was her body.  Women were still seen as weaker or lesser than most men.  There needed to be something done about this to help women gain control over their selves. So when this announcement came out that birth control pills were now legal, it gave women control over their bodies and their families for the first time.  This action that took place in the 1960's was vital to the second wave of feminism, helping to promote women's equality.  The implementation of birth control helped bring down Americas birth rates by around 6% in 10 years.  This dropping rate has only happened once before in the modern era and that was around the 1920's, when the first wave of feminism was happening.  The birth control pill helped empower women and finally let them gain control over their own bodies and their families.

- Billy Rosenberg

Ethos in "Throw Like a Girl"

This video has no added frills in the form of an eye catching background or special effects which allows the viewer to focus just on the girls and boys being interviewed. The young girls that are asked to run or swing like a girl get their credibility simply because they are in the midst of childhood. Their responses seem unrehearsed as most of them take a second to decide how they want to react, all of them taking the question seriously. The older girls that are asked the same questions have already experienced puberty, allowing them to act as the experts of their generation. Unlike the younger girls, most of the older girls laugh when they hear the phrase “like a girl”, and react accordingly. Both the younger and older girls reactions to the questions asked of them are in keeping with the message this video hopes to relay, that as girls get older they learn to associate a negative meaning with the phrase “like a girl”, implying that girls are the weaker sex.The boys that are asked the same questions have the day to day roles as brothers, cousins, uncles, sons. Their reactions are similar to those of the older girls, implying that most males also view the phrase “like a girl” as a negative one.

Hailey Wilberger