Background
The problem of street harassment is a common yet underdiscussed phenomenon. Being glanced over due to its perceived lack of significance and substance, it turns out to have a range of underlying issues, including a threat to women’ s physical well-being and the problem of women’s safety. In her article, Logan () addresses the described concern by combining several key rhetorical devices as the means o emphasizing the core message.
Logan’s speech can be described a both fact-based and passionate, with the needs and well-being of women at its core. The article incorporates factual evidence provided by women who have experienced street harassment, as well as the results of research on the issue. By integrating juxtaposition, remarkably colorful descriptions of reliable evidence, and statistical data into the paper, Logan crafts a robust persuasive argument of the subject of the depth and tragedy of the narrative surrounding street violence for women.
Summary
According to research on street harassment, the issue has far-reaching consequences, and the majority of women and girls in public places are sexually harassed by males they don’t know. In recent years, a growing number of activists, bloggers, and internet media sources have written on street harassment, indicating a developing and international anti-street harassment social movement (Logan, 2015). In this post, Logan (2015) looks at what academics and activists have to say about street harassment, including its frequency, victims, harassers, reactions and repercussions, and theoretical reasons. She finished the article with research recommendations, a plea for more attention to the impact of overlapping disparities, and a challenge to scholars to dig further into this significant societal issue.
Rhetorical Appeals
Additionally, Logan (2015) demonstrates an impeccable use of the existing rhetorical devices to emphasize her main idea and represent it in a manner as convincing and effective as possible. Specifically, the paper contains substantial ethos, pathos, and logos as the core structures of the rhetoric. The ethos of the article is defined by the focus on the needs and wellbeing of women as the demographic that is most likely to be subjected to street harassment, specifically, sexual attacks in the street. The ethical component of the statement, namely, the deontological principles in which it is rooted, namely, the significance of preserving one’s safety, is communicated quite clearly in the essay: “We should be inspired by the growing international social movement to end, resist, prevent, or otherwise address street harassment more effectively” (Logan, 2015, p. 197s). Therefore, the ethical component remains in its place.
Similarly, one must appreciate the use of pathos, namely, the appeal to the audience’s emotions. Remarkably, the article does not rely solely on its emotional component, which, given the moral weight of the subject matter, is a rather outstanding characteristics. Namely, Logan (2015) renders the importance of empathizing women who have become the victims of street harassment as a mere act of human decency, while also explaining that a strong and decisive action is needed to assist the vulnerable groups and remedy the situation: “when lesbians are victims of anti-gay harassment and violence, they are often attacked in everyday spaces such as parking lots and college campuses” (Logan, 2015, p. 203). Therefore, the paper incorporates a balanced combination of logical statements and a moral appeal.
Finally, the logos incorporated into the article, specifically, the appeal to the audience’s ability to approach the issue form a rational perspective, functions perfectly in the text. Specifically, Logan (2015) makes an excellent use of the available evidence supplied both by official statistical data and the evidence offered by the victims of street harassment: “In 2010 and 2011, street harassment in Egypt, for example, received attention from mainstream media and feminist activists” (Logan, 2015, p. 200). The combination of the two provides a unique balance that makes the story credible and emphasizes the urgency of the message.
Tone and Juxtaposition
What makes Logan’s article particularly compelling is the combination of tools that she uses to outline her main arguments while maintaining the effects of the paths, logos, and ethos consistent. Specifically, the application of the formal academic language as the means of appealing of the audiences’ reason supports the logos component of the essay. The integration of the evidence obtained from research on the issue of street harassment as the key component of the logos part is juxtaposed to the descriptions of the experiences of street violence survivors as the pathos and ethos components allows creating the required effect. Namely, the juxtaposition of the two types of evidence creates a clash that grabs the audience’s attention and directs it to the issue at hand. For instance, the following quote provides an emotionally charged account of the key issues observed in the present-day sociocultural environment in regard to women’s safety and street harassment: “I looked back at him, and then he and his two friends started to call me a bitch, a slag and a cunt” (Logan, 2015, p. 196). While offering exhausting evidence on the problem of street violence against women and girls, the specified quote is admittedly emotional, appealing o the reader’s empathy. The specified part of the argument demonstrates how ethos and pathos can support each other in a single statement. Namely, the careful choice of words as the logos element and the integration of the emotional appeal as the pathos-related part of the narrative reinforces the strength of the statement.
In turn, the following quote offers the same perspective while being tonally different from the statement above: “A Chicago neighborhood study of 168 mostly African-American and Latina girls and women ages 10–19 years found that 86percent had been verbally harassed on the street” (Logan, 2015, p. 201). Nonetheless, both center on the problem of male violence against women and girls, thus, indicating the presence of deeply entrenched bigotry within modern society. Furthermore, the combination of pathos and logos in the specified part of the argument appears to be inseparable due to the use of facts combined with qualifiers such as “terrifying” and “predatory” (Logan, 2015, p. 2). Thus, the article demonstrates a flawless use of logos as one of the core elements of rhetoric by using tonal shifts and juxtaposition of the two perspectives.
Statistics
Furthermore, the article makes a highly effective use of statistics. Specifically, Logan appeals to the reader’s sense of reason by offering extensive statistical data on the subject at hand by citing credible resources and recent studies. For example, Logan (2015) mentions the fact that not only women, but also adolescent girls face the dangers of street harassment and sexual assault: “Prevalence estimates depend on the kind of harassment being considered and range from 30 to 100 percent” (p. 201). The specified sentiment, while being evidently used to cause righteous indignation and the urgency to act in the reader, also provides substantiated evidence for the claim, which contributes to the strength of the logos part of the discourse. Thus, despite the described part of the article not having personal stories to support the statement, it manages to produce the required effect due to the appeal to the reader’s reasoning and rational thinking by outlining the dangerously high propensity for young women and girls to be assaulted in the streets. Though one might claim that the text is slightly ambiguous, the use of statistical information reinforces the argument and strengthens its effect.
How Her Article Could Be Made Stronger
Though the statement presented by Logan (2015) is undeniably powerful and emotionally appealing, there are ways to improve the article and make its statement even more robust and effective. For this purpose, Logan (2015) might consider crating an additional article that would focus specifically on the choice of language and the means of increasing its appeal to the target demographic. Namely, Logan (2015) could integrate the components that would expand the range of people who would be willing to support the cause and contribute to minimizing the threat of street assaults for women and girls. In other words, a paper that would help address the sociocultural premise on which the presence of violence against women and girls is based would be needed.
Furthermore, Logan (2015) describing her personal experience with street harassment in addition to the evidence offered by other women would have had a tremendously powerful emotional effect. Thus, in her further writing on the subject matter, Logan should consider reflecting on the toll that confronting street harassment has had on her personally. The specified component would enhance the sense of reliability and truth that her article carries, therefore, convincing the reader even father and removing any semblance of doubt regarding the importance of the issue at hand. One might claim that the integration of a personal experience of an author into the discussion of the problem of violence against vulnerable demographics might seem as a rather cheap ploy for gaining credibility. Howeve5r, with the issue as serious and severe as street harassment and sexual assault, the necessity to incorporate personal experiences into the narrative is truly glaring.
Finally, Logan (2015) should seek the opportunity to shed light on the issue by publishing it in social media. Giving the problem at hand media attention is vital since the lack of awareness concerning the extent f street violence against women and girls exacerbates its drastic effects. By combining the specified solutions and continuing to promote her ideas, Logan (2015) will be able to make a difference in fighting street harassment of women and girls.
Reference
Logan, Laura S. “Street Harassment: Current and Promising Avenues for Researchers and Activists.” Sociology Compass 9.3 (2015): 196-211. doi:10.1111/soc4.12248