- Apr 2018
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www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com
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Keegan claimed one prominent feminist sent a hurtful email stating that “only women get pregnant and anyone who’s pretending otherwise is deluded.” He said he fears the pussyhat symbolism reinforces those notions.
The author of the email uses specific word choice that communicates their tone as highly dismissive. Specifically, the word "pretending" characterizes the opposing view as irrational and on the basis of no fact. The author takes this a step further by flat out calling those possessing the opposing view "delusional".
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Keegan claimed one prominent feminist sent a hurtful email stating that “only women get pregnant and anyone who’s pretending otherwise is deluded.” He said he fears the pussyhat symbolism reinforces those notions.
Here, the linguistic mode is employed by the author of that email and Keegan himself. By characterizing the email as hurtful prior to the audience reading what was said, Keegan influences the perspective they would have on the content of the email.
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“A lot of the reasons [transgender women] are attacked is because they do not possess that piece of anatomy,” Keegan explained.
By linking transgender sexual assault to the anatomical possession of a vagina... after introducing statistics supporting the fact that transgender individuals have a higher rate of experiencing sexual violence than cisgender women, Compton emphasizes Keegan's argument.
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“If people were really paying attention to reproductive rights they would know that in many, many states in the U.S., transgender people are required to become sterilized to change our [legal] genders,” Keegan said.
This highlights the rhetorical power word choice has in presenting a point of view. By making this an "if, then" statement, Keegan implies that those who support the pink 'pussyhat' in the name of "reproductive rights" aren't actually being sincere in their claim to inclusion of transgender individuals.
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“But I don’t want to shy away from the fact that it does refer to the female reproductive organ,” Suh said. “That’s a huge issue right now. How can women’s rights supporters of any gender… protect these literal reproductive parts from unfair legislation?”
The placement of this quote directly after Suh's explanation that the hat is a metaphor for "any person or group who can relate to feeling marginalized" is an example of spatial mode. By doing this, Compton exposes the paradox in having an item that physically represents a pink vagina be a metaphor for "any person or group who can relate to feeling marginalized".
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But controversy exploded around the hat online. Aside from getting criticized over its reference to genitalia, the knitters were accused of excluding women of color. Some of the hat’s critics believed the its pinkness was a reference to flesh tone.
The abruptness of the first sentence was intentional on Compton's part, contrasting the description of The Pussyhat Project's success at the Women's March and presence on the cover of Time Magazine.
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“We want to reclaim that word,” Suh said.
Compton employs the spatial mode here by having this quotation stand alone. This was likely done in an effort to emphasize Suh's argument.
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The Los Angeles screenwriter said the concept was inspired by outrage over President Trump’s “grab 'em by the pussy” comment captured in a 2005 Access Hollywood recording.
By using the word "captured", Compton implies that the president was caught doing something wrong by his comment being made public. One who believes the president was not in the wrong would find this to be problematic. This would be an example of linguistic mode through the means of word choice.
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I think ‘pussy’ refers to the female anatomical part, but it’s also a word that’s used to shame people who are feminine … whether they are men, women [or] genderqueer.
This quotation from the co-founder of the Pussyhat Project highlights the influence of the gestural mode on rhetoric. By pausing after the word 'feminine', the speaker is trying to build anticipation towards the next point she's about to make with the purpose of emphasizing it.
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