Ethos in "Respect" by Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin's song Respect is very influential due to the fact that she was knowledgeable about gender inequality and had to face it. The main reason her song is powerful is because of Franklin's personal background. Her background has to do with her extrinsic ethos. Franklin joined her father, a pastor, on gospel tours when she was just 14 years old( Aretha Franklin Biography). She was a black female participating in a difficult career when inequality was the norm. Given the fact that she was active in the field of music when individuals were discriminated based on gender and race makes her the perfect person to sing about how equality is needed. Moreover, Franklin had connections with influential figures such as Dr. Martin L. King who fought inequality(Aretha Franklin on Feminism, Beyonce and who should star in her Biopic). As a result, she was able to see how others fought inequality and find her own way to create a change. A perfect example of how her message influenced many individuals can be seen here. In this reflection a young black girl talks about how it was empowering to see someone who was a black female sing about gender inequality. She mentions that although there were powerful female figures often their efforts were not noticed because of the male individuals who fought inequality this was especially true in the black community. She brings up an important point in this reflection that no matter what type of community one is in, males received some sort of "preference". The logical idea that everyone should be treated with respect is the theme of the song and while listening to it people are able to make this conclusion which speaks to her intrinsic ethos. Overall with the help of ethos she is able to make a convincing statement. 

Sources:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/aretha-franklin-on-feminism-beyonce-and-who-should-star-in-her-biopic-20141211

http://www.biography.com/people/aretha-franklin-9301157