Stasis in "I'm a Feminist" by Emma Watson

Emma Watson uses the definition stasis in her speech. There is a lot of confusion with the definition of the word "feminism" or a "feminist". As Watson mentions, fighting for women’s rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating". First, the word feminist is automatically associated with females. If the only thing you know about a person is that they are a feminist, you're very likely to assume they are female. This is one of the biggest problems that Watson is trying to battle. She mentions that only 30 percent of the audience in Hillary Clinton's Beijing women's rights speech were men. Watson defines feminism as, "The belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes". She goes on to talk about the negative connotation of the word feminism and how the word is not what is important; it's the message behind it. Therefore, on behalf of the UN women, she introduces the HeForShe campaign. This way both genders are included in the name. This name also emphasizes gender equality more.

Logos in Aretha Franklin's "Respect"

Franklin’s version of Respect includes aspects that are different from Otis Redding’s version of the song. The changes that she has made to the song create a whole new dimension that stresses the power behind the choices that a woman has. Hidden within the lyrics of the song Respect there is a clear message that Franklin is able to send her audience. Often one does not think of lyrics as the source for logical arguments, but the order that Franklin follows is nothing but logical. The song begins with a request for respect; however, as the song progresses she explains why she is someone who deserves this respect. She starts with explaining her faithfulness, “I ain't gonna do you wrong, while you're gone…. Cause I don't want to (ooh).” Here one can understand that even though she believes in making her own choices she has not gone against the expectation of loyalty in a relationship. In Redding’s version he explains that he doesn’t mind if the woman goes around behind his back. By putting these two lyrics alongside each other it is easy to see why Franklin’s version shows the power within a woman’s choices. Another why she justifies the respect she needs is by saying “I’m about to give you all my money.” This same lyric is used in the older version of the song. However, in Franklin’s version of the song it serves a new purpose. It shows that Franklin treats her man well. Thus, it is only logical if her lover does the same for her. One of the most significant and arguably the most powerful changes in the song pertais to the last few lines. She sings, “Or you might walk in and find out I’m gone.” Here she wants her lover to realize that she’s not the type of woman to stay with someone who doesn’t treat her right- she is not afraid to walk away. This gives the need for respect a sense of urgency because she can leave if she does not receive it. Franklin skillfully crafts her argument for respect by emphasizing how she is deserving of it rather than blatantly saying she needs it.  

Kairos in "Respect" by Aretha Franklin

            Aretha Franklin’s singing career became victorious after choosing the best kairotic moment to release her version of the song “Respect.” It is fair to say that this was a triumphant moment for her because this song led her to be at the top of the music charts during the 1960’s, taking the number one spot in the R&B Singles Chart and the Billboard Hot 100. Her version of the song is still very well known to this day. Regarding her rhetorical appeal of kairos, she made an effective use of them. Kairos refers to the context, background, events, timing, appropriateness and opportunity preceding the creating of a work of art in any of its forms. The release of Franklin’s song happened during a kairotic period in the sense that several of the most historic feminist movements were going on at the time (1960’s) and women who were part of these movements identified so much with the lyrics of the song that it became like a feminist anthem for them. The Women’s Liberation Movement, for example, was already taking place before the song was released. By 1967, millions of women were taking action by joining the feminist movement, aggressively fighting for equality and against oppression and discrimination through several marches and protests. What a better way to address the issue of gender discrimination than demanding men to give women the respect they deserve? And that’s exactly what Aretha Franklin did with her song. She literally asks for respect when she sings, “All I’m askin’ is for a little respect...” She even spells it, in case someone did not get what she was clearly asking for in her song. She demands “R-E-S-P-E-C-T.”

            The recording artist, Franklin, was motivated to compose or rearrange this song by the thousands of women joining the street marches to fight gender inequality. In her song, following the word respect, she makes a command by singing “find out what it means to me.” As a woman, this was a very important topic for her. This song was originally composed by a man named Otis Redding. But the context and the timing in which Aretha Franklin released her own version with some changes to the original one gave a whole new meaning to the song. As it has been stated on the National Public Radio website, “’Respect’ wasn’t a feminist anthem until Aretha Franklin made it one.” This means that after the success of her song, Aretha Franklin was automatically becoming part of the struggle for gender equality because that was the main purpose of the feminist movements at the time.

The Kairos in "I'm a Feminist" by Emma Watson

It is important when composing speeches to recognize if it is the right time and occasion to talk about a certain topic. Emma Watson's speech presented to the UN successfully uses kairos to deliver her ideas. Kairos is a rhetorical concept that represents the timing and opportunity in a given moment. This takes into account the total context of a situation and by her giving this speech to the UN, it is the perfect platform. The issue she brings attention to is not out of the line at this platform because the UN deals with issues about human rights.  Watson took advantage of the moment to promote the campaign HeForShe so that there could be a uniting movement for gender equality since she pointed out that feminism is still an unpopular word. The timing is perfect because our current society right now still has many inequalities between women and men.Watson pointed out that women are still not paid the same amount for the same work after all these years. When she mentioned that it won't be until 2086 that African girls will get secondary education, that is when the audience is alerted to the urgency of the issue. "If not me, who? If not now, when?" are very good questions to end on and these bring in kairos because it is mentioning that the time to act is now. An effective use of kairos allows for the audience to be more receptive to the piece of rhetoric presented before them.

Transcript of Emma Watson's Speech

Ethos in "I'm a Feminist" by Emma Watson

Ethos are very important in a speech. In order to get the audience to listen to the speaker and take their message into consideration, the speaker must have credibility and needs to establish this credibility through out the speech. Emma Watson establishes her ethos at many points throughout her speech. First, when she says, "I was appointed six months ago and the more I have spoken about feminism the more I have realized..." she establishes some credibility with the fact that she is a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and that she has spoken about feminism several times before. Watson is one of the key people in the HeForShe campaign. Another way Watson establishes ethos is through her personal experiences with gender inequality. When she was eight she was called "bossy" for wanting to direct a play while the boys were not. She also talks about her female friends who "started dropping out of their sports teams because they didn't want to appear 'muscly'" and her male friends who "were unable to express their feelings. As a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and a feminist who has experienced sexism since the age of eight, Watson is able to establish valid ethos and make a stronger impact through her speech.

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

The Pathos in "I’m A Feminist" Speech by Emma Watson

           Emma Watson successfully persuaded her audience with an emotional appeal through her moving anecdotes, impassioned tone, and precise diction. Watson attempted to draw empathy from the audience, so that they could understand why she is a feminist. She did this by remarking on personal stories that led her to support the feminist movement. She said that when she was eight, she’d be called “bossy” at school for being a responsible leader. As a teenager, she then felt “sexualized by the media.” And when she became a young woman, she noticed that her male friends wouldn’t express their feelings. This is an effective strategy because it makes her audience think about what it might have been like for her to grow up in that kind of environment where everyone has to adhere to strict gender norms and kids can’t be what they want to be without being treated differently by society. In the case of her anecdotes, the boys could not cry because they would have been made fun of or looked down upon as not man enough. In her case, she just had to be a girl to feel sexualized and if she wanted to be a strong girl, she’d be called names. The narration of these experiences also touched her audience to be empathetic with her because they would not want their kids to feel the same way she did growing up. Her speech was directed at a general audience, but the specific audience present during the deliverance of the speech were adults who were part of the United States. So it if safe to assume that several of them might have children.
          The pace of her speech was very slow and it sounded like she was emotional about what she was talking about. Her heartfelt remarks included her talking about little girls in Africa who don’t get an education and underage girls who will be forced to get married in some places around the world. Her “impassioned” tone helped her audience understand that she wasn’t doing that just for her, but she was speaking up for all those girls and women --who face inequalities and injustices around the world-- that she cares about.  
          Watson also used very precise diction which helped get her an empathetic reaction from the audience. She uses words that are often associated with the movement. An example of how precise her language was is when she provided her audience with an exact book definition of what feminism means. That makes it clear for the audience that feminism does not equal “men-hating.” When she talked about guys not being able to show their feelings, she asked the audience to let their sons be “humans.” When she invited men to join the movement, she referred to it as the “struggle.” She also incentivizes men to join the movement by saying they can save their “daughters, sisters and mothers from prejudice.” Many of the terms that she used throughout the speech were related to the rhetoric of feminism and that helped her get some emotional reaction and understanding from her audience.


Justin Trudeau joins the movement https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/03/16/i-am-a-feminist-trudeau-tells-un-crowd.html