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Erica Royal

Professor Fielding

WRTC 103

Comparative Rhetorical analysis and PSA

February 27, 2017

Black Women in the Media

Women are one of the most marginalized groups in America. They face scrutiny,

misrepresentation, and objectification in the media. As a result of this marginalization women,

more specifically black women are portrayed in a false way. The major popularity of rap music

in the media enables these false perceptions of women to be considered true when in reality

women are worth more than just their bodies. Tracey Sharpley-Whiting proves this in her article

and explains why this is so. Another resource used in this paper that supports this argument is

the public service announcement by Erica royal titled Perception vs. Reality. The rhetorical

appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos are all used in both Royals PSA and Sharpley-Whitings

article to uncover the false images that the media puts out of black women and show the actual

positive reality of who they are.

The article, Rap Music Objectifies, Degrades, and Exploits Black Women talks critically

evaluates the mistreatment and misrepresentation of black women in the media. Sharpley-

Whiting uses a scholarly style to speak to and educate her target audience, which is black

women. Sharpley-Whiting is able to uncover the historical depth of the issue by constructing

this argument in chronological order. She begins the article by listing examples of how black

women are shown in the media, giving examples of misrepresentations in commercials and
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movies. The author then goes on to discuss the historical origins of why women are viewed in a

demeaning way by quoting Thomas Jeffersons reaction on black women in America during that

era. After elaborating on the gravity of this evidence she writes a short excerpt. In this excerpt

she mentions some black women that have tried to break the negative stereotypes depicted in the

media, but are still viewed in a negative light. After that she concludes with a call to education of

women to fight against the stereotypes that are prevalent in the media. Sharpley-Whiting ends

the argument by stating that though America has a lot of work to do in respect to its treatment of

women, it has come a far way since the days of Jefferson.

Sharpley-Whiting uses both her credibility and evidence to strengthen her assertions and

rhetorical appeal to ethos. As a professor of Humanities and African American Diaspora Studies

at Vanderbilt university she proves very qualified and able to assert her claims and educate on

this topic (Vanderbilt). In addition to her personal credibility she uses strong evidence throughout

her article. Sharpley-Whiting uses the Declaration of Independence as one of the focal points of

the article. She links the context in which the document was constructed in relation to the

American people as well as the person who wrote it. She connects the hypocrisy of the values

that the document stands for to claims Thomas Jefferson made about black women and people.

She uses the following quote where Jefferson asserts, Of Blacks in general, he concluded that

"whether originally a distinct race, or made distinct by time and circumstances [they] are inferior

to the whites in the endowments both of body and mind." And of Black women, he suggested

that they were more "ardent" and preferred "uniformly" by the male "Oranootan" over females of

"his own species." (Sharpley-Whiting) This quote proves that Jefferson believed that black

women were one of the most inferior beings on earth. He asserts that the black female favors an

orangutan therefore, a male Orangutan prefers her over his own species. Sharpley-Whiting shows
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one of the earliest forms of public disrespect the black woman faced by using this quote. She also

explains that the same man that drafted the Declaration of Independence, and that asserted equal

rights for all, could not have truly believed that all people were in fact equal.

Sharpley-Whiting effectively uses pathos to evoke specific feelings and images within the

reader, more specifically her female readers. She does this both through her word choice and

strong analysis of her claim. Beginning with word choice, she uses her words to paint a specific

image. This can be seen when she writes, Male feeling of displacement in a perceived topsy-

turvy female-dominated world, (Sharpley-Whiting). By writing this Sharpley-Whiting

highlights both the physical and intellectual presence of women in America. Her usage of topsy-

turvy depicts the very physical and objectified way women are viewed in the media. On the

other hand, her use of the words female-dominated depicts an image of the strong intellectual

women that are underrepresented in the media. As the article comes to a conclusion she hits the

nail on the head by saying, We women don't count. We doin obviously various insidious

ways. But we also don't add up to muchcertainly not more than the profits, in the billions, to

be had at our expense. This quote is a strong example of pathos because it is very

straightforward and blunt with its content. It resonates with women and black women. It states

that women as a whole only count in scenarios in which they are objectified and lucrative not for

their intellect or wit.

In the article Sharpley-Whiting uses logic to tie her ideas together and further assert her

argument. She starts by linking her evidence from the Declaration of Independence to the current

America. She states, Though America drinks to the bursting from that Jeffersonian well, it is

imperative that women become more politically and socially conscious about the choices we

make and the opportunities we take. (Sharpley-Whiting). In this quote the author links the
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Declaration of Independence of the past to the current state of America. She stresses the

importance that women maintain their political and social involvement because the current

America still holds the unequal ideals of Jefferson.

The PSA Perception vs Reality by Erica Royal is a public service announcement directed

towards women and more specifically women of color. The purpose of the announcement is to

show the audience that there are positive role models and possibilities for women, with the

intended audience being women. The author does this by presenting two pictures of well

educated professional women and two pictures of women that are entertainers and earn their

living mostly off of their appearance. The comparison is exaggerated by the bright yellow color

used to border the pictures of the educated women and the lack of color used for the entertainers.

In addition to this the attire of the women shows a key difference between the pictures as well.

Royal uses concrete evidence to appeal to the rhetorical device of ethos. The strongest

forms of ethos are in the written portion of the PSA . The first example describes the accolades of

Michelle Obama by saying, Mrs. Obama has an undergraduate degree from Princeton

University and Law Degree from Harvard 88 (White House). This evidence not only proves

that Former first lady Michelle Obama is an educated woman, but also a well accomplished

woman. She graduated from two very prestigious Ivy League Universities and used those

degrees to further her professional career. The second article of evidence comes from the

description of Dr. Mae Jemsions accomplishments by stating, Dr. Jemison has an

undergraduate degree from Stanford 77 and doctor of medicine degree from Cornell 81

(NASA). Similarly to Michelle Obama Dr. Jemison has an impressive list of degrees and

accomplishments. The fact that both of these women achieved such hefty degrees and went on to
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become trailblazing professional women proves the claim that women are more than what they

are portrayed as in the media. Lastly the creator authenticates the PSA by linking it to a non

profit whose mission is to uplift women.

Though this PSA uses the appeals of ethos and pathos most heavily, one strong example

of logos is used. The difference between all of the degrees listed for Mae Jemison and Michelle

Obama and lack of degrees for Nicki Minaj and Rihanna is the major example of Logos. This

comparison plausibly and plainly reaffirms the biggest difference between the two groups of

women that can be seen upon first glance of the pictures. It affirms that the accomplishments of

the professional women are more substantial and outweigh the lack of accomplishments from the

entertainers.

The rhetorical appeal of pathos is the strongest appeal in this PSA. The images included

in the announcement demonstrate this appeal. The four pictures consist of : the picture of well-

known rapper Nicki Minaj with her rapper boyfriend Meek Mill, pop singer Rihanna scantily

dressed with the focus mostly on her body, the picture of Michelle Obama well dressed in her

professional headshot, and the official NASA picture of Dr. Mae Jemison in her NASA astronaut

suit. The stark contrast between the photos allows the reader to see the key differences between

the women. The images individually also evoke certain thoughts or emotions. For example, the

picture of Nicki Minaj barely dressed standing next to her rapper boyfriend stimulates the idea

that he only wants her for her body or that he is attracted to her just for her body. On the other

hand, the picture of Dr. Mae Jemison incites the idea that she is an accomplished woman who is

breaking barriers in a traditionally male profession.

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To this date music and the media continue to simplify womens worth down to their

appearance. As a result of this a heightened awareness of media intake and how it affects people

needs to occur because popular music as well as media have a large effect on how women are

viewed. Women are so much more than their bodies. Despite their misrepresentation in the media

women can achieve professionalism that does not require the objectification of their bodies.

When analyzing both the PSA and the verbal argument, the verbal argument is more powerful

because it gives a more historical, in depth perspective on the issue. The historical perspective

allows the article to really show the gravity and depth of the topic at hand while the PSA acts

more as a tool to inform about current examples of the issue. Though both act as good

information tools on the topic, in the end the argument gives the reader more context on the

issue.

Works Cited
"African American & Diaspora Studies." Tracy Sharpley-Whiting | People | African American &
Diaspora Studies | Vanderbilt University. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2017.
<https://as.vanderbilt.edu/aads/people/tracy-sharpley-whiting.php>.
"Mae C. Jemison." NASA. NASA, Mar. 1993. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.
"Michelle Obama." The White House. The United States Government, 20 Jan. 2017. Web. 22
Feb. 2017.
Sharpley-Whiting, Tracy. "Rap Music Objectifies, Degrades, and Exploits Black Women." Rap
and Hip-Hop, edited by Tamara Thompson, Greenhaven Press, 2013. Current
Controversies. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,
link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010870215/OVIC?u=viva_jmu&xid=eaf9f9c0.
Accessed 23 Feb. 2017. Originally published as "From Imus to Industry: The Business of
Stereotypes and Degrading Images," 2007.
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