Before my outline, I want to clarify a few terms that I used in my blog post last week. I think that these terms are important to know in 2017, and it is very important to respect the identities and existence of all people in the LGBTQIA+ community, regardless of your political affiliation, because members of this community are human beings, too:

• Heterosexism: discrimination or prejudice against people who identify as queer on the assumption that heterosexuality is the normal or “right” sexual orientation
• Cisnormative: when ideas, media, or individuals assume that all people are cisgender (identify with the sex given to them at birth); idea that everyone is cisgender until proven otherwise because cisgender is viewed as “right” or the norm unfairly excludes transgender and non-binary people from the mainstream narrative
• LGBTQIA+: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning, Intersex, Asexual and Ally
  • Queer: umbrella term for individuals who do not identify as heterosexual (straight) or cisgender (Wikipedia)
  • Questioning: uncertainty about one’s gender, sexual identity, sexual orientation, or all three is a process of exploration by individuals who may be unsure, still exploring, and concerned about applying a social label to themselves for various reasons (Wikipedia)
  • Intersex: people who are biologically non-binary and are thus unable to fit within traditional definitions of man and woman; e.g. a person born with male genitalia and female internal sex organs (Wikipedia)
  • Asexual: a person with a very low or nonexistent range of sexual emotions and desires
  • Ally: a heterosexual and cisgender person who supports the fight for LGBTQIA+ civil and equal rights, as well as gender equity for all (Wikipedia)

**P.S.: It is certainly acceptable to say LGBT or LGBT+ when referring to this community if you believe it is too difficult to say LGBTQIA+ each time, but I generally use the latter simply because it is more inclusive. Remember that simply existing and identifying as a member of this community is infinitely more difficult than it is to take the time to say LGBTQIA+**

Now, on to my outline!

Link  to Civic Artifact

Introduction:

Good afternoon, class. Today I won’t be pulling up an image or a video on my screen for you to see because my civic artifact is much closer than you may realize. If you are able to take a closer look at the shirt that I am wearing, you may notice that it has white text on it that reads, “Save the earth, it’s the only planet with Meryl,” in reference to the critically acclaimed actress, Meryl Streep. While this artifact hasn’t been circulated through Facebook or posted on bulletin boards around campus, it is still a very important outward expression of political and civic beliefs.

Thesis:

In American culture, and, in fact, most human cultures, clothing is our foremost method of self-expression. It is one of the first things that people see when they look at us. Whether we believe it or not, we choose how we want to present ourselves to the world every time we put on our clothes; even choosing to wear sweatpants and a t-shirt because you “don’t care about what others think of you” is a choice about how you want to present yourself to the world. One of the most important rhetorical elements to analyze in this civic artifact is the speaker, and how they choose to present themselves to the world through wearing this artifact in front of a particular audience. The artifact also utilizes a complex sense of Kairos, as well as ethos, established progressive ideologies, and humor to present its message.

Identify the following in your artifact:

Who is speaking in this artifact?  To whom? How will the audience encounter this message? How will they interpret it?

• Speaker:
  • Wearer: wearing their beliefs on their sleeve
  • Manufacturer/designer: sending clear message in favor of environmental activism by creating shirt in first place, making it out of recycled fabric, donating proceeds to Environmental Defense Fund
  • Meryl Streep: indirectly and unwittingly re-delivering speech through this t-shirt
• Audience:
  • Other individuals with similar ideologies will likely have a positive reaction to this shirt and may even laugh
  • The Trump administration and its supporters, or those who simply have different opinions on environmental issues, may scoff at this shirt or simply ignore it

Why is it Civic?  (Everyday practices, structures of attention, shared enterprise, civic infrastructure) What is the context?

• Easy to incorporate into everyday practice of wearing clothing that reflects one’s identity
  • Viewers also have easy everyday access to this artifact because they don’t have to go out of their way to view it, but rather they simply have to encounter someone wearing it
• The act of buying this artifact is civic
  • individuals can use the power of the purse to show what matters to them in capitalist economy; in this case, environment

Any Ideology(ies) /Commonplaces

• Aligns with progressive ideology in support of legal and social reform regarding climate change
  • Not only in terms of verbal message, but also in terms of recycled fabric content and donation to Environmental Defense Fund
• Challenges conservative ideology that favors economy and other factors over environmental issues
  • Opinions held by Trump administration
  • Various opinions held by supporters of the administration

What about the Kairos/timing of the message?

• Went on sale shortly after Streep’s speech, the consequent backlash and support, and Trump’s inauguration
  • Relevant to 2017 in particular
    • Greater consciousness of environmental impact of clothing industry
    • Uncertainty about environmental policy under new administration
    • Understanding of Streep’s message at 2017 Golden Globes
  • Available for sale ahead of the Women’s March on Washington
    • Individuals may have worn this shirt to the march to amplify its message

Rhetorical strategies used in the artifact? Identify some of these elements in your artifact

• Ethos: utilizes credibility of Meryl Streep as a world-renowned, critically acclaimed actress, as well as credibility of brand Reformation as premiere eco-friendly fashion house
• Humor: The idea of saving the earth simply because Meryl Streep lives here is humorous and a bit ridiculous; surely there are better reasons to want to “save the earth”, but emphasizing this reason connects with young audiences and those who liked her speech, and easily gets message across

Many of the most uncomfortable and inappropriate contemporary advertisements I’ve seen in my lifetime have debuted as Super Bowl video commercials. These include any of the GoDaddy commercials, which have very little to do with the purpose of GoDaddy as a website-building platform, as well as the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser ad, “The Cleaner of Your Dreams”.

Perhaps the most uncomfortable advertisement from Super Bowl LI is the Super Bowl Babies ad, which features babies conceived on Super Bowl Sunday.

The commercial opens with this text: “Super Bowl legends inspire Super Bowl Babies.” Viewers may initially take this to mean that young children witnessing the Super Bowl will be inspired to achieve the same greatness as the players on the field during this momentous annual game. While that is one potential meaning of the text, the more likely meaning, as revealed later in the advertisement, is that the Super Bowl inspires couples to have sex during or after the game, thus conceiving “Super Bowl Babies”. The text that appears later in the video, including “Born from greatness”, “Football is family”, and “Who’s next?” reveal that the latter interpretation of the initial text is correct, as they imply that these and other babies conceived on Super Bowl Sunday were conceived because of Super Bowl Sunday. The text also implies that babies will be conceived the night of the game as a result of the Bowl, which is not necessarily true.

The real question that arises after viewing this advertisement is “Why?” For what possible reason would the NFL want to encourage couples to have sex and conceive children during or after the game? How does conceiving a child during or after the game serve to grow the organization and strengthen the fan base? Is it that the organization believes that babies conceived on Super Bowl Sunday will somehow necessarily grow up to be NFL fans and Super Bowl viewers?

Additionally, the commercial is inherently heterosexist, assuming that all couples watching the Super Bowl are straight and cisgendered, and are thus able to conceive children as a result of sexual activity during or after the game. This assumption alienates a portion of the fan base of the NFL, which includes people and couples in the LGBTQIA+ community.

The commercial is also inherently sexist because it features only infants that appear to be boys in traditionally masculine clothing as the future “legends” of the Super Bowl, reinforcing the idea that only boys and men can succeed in professional sports. What about female infants conceived on Super Bowl Sunday? Can’t they grow up to be “legends”?

 

Of the two t-shirts I thought about for my speech, I chose the recycled shirt with the slogan “Save the earth, it’s the only planet with Meryl” for my civic artifact. I think that there is a lot to explore with the slogan itself, the idea of physical, outward rhetorical expression through clothing, and the unique fabric of the t-shirt as it relates to the message of the slogan.

The “who” of this artifact is not just one speaker, but rather many speakers working together to produce this message. The first of these is Meryl Streep, as she is the speaker who originated the message of hope for the future of this nation and of the world in her Golden Globes speech. Another layer of this complex of speakers is the designer and manufacturer, Reformation, who spoke on behalf of the Environmental Defense Fund (to whom the profits of the shirt went) when creating this artifact; Reformation also used their platform as one of the foremost ethical and eco-friendly fashion houses in the U.S. to promote their own message of saving the planet. The final and most important speaker in the case of this artifact is the person wearing the shirt. By wearing this shirt, one conveys a message of solidarity with environmental causes, as well as with Meryl Streep, who faced criticism even from the President of the United States for her famous award acceptance speech; the wearer is saying, “Look at me–look at what I believe,” to anyone they may come across while wearing the shirt.

For the essay, I intend to compare the shirt with the speech that inspired its creation. Meryl Streep’s 7-minute long 2017 Golden Globes speech, which has a lot to analyze in terms of ethos, pathos, and logos, as well as other rhetorical devices. While the shirt relies on visual and social elements to spread its message, Ms. Streep’s speech relies on her trustworthiness and star power (ethos) as well as personal connection with the other actors in the room and her broader national audience (pathos). It will be very interesting to discuss the difference in rhetorical technique and tactics between a tangible, visually focused artifact and a speech that relies heavily on effective use of language.

Because I am very interested in fashion, I believe that one of the most important types of civic artifacts is the kind that allows you to wear your heart on your sleeve…or on your torso. Both of the civic artifacts I am considering speaking about for the Unit One speech are t-shirts that I own that convey different political and social messages to the world when I wear them.

The first is a black t-shirt with pink font on the front that says, “On Wednesdays we smash the patriarchy.” This is a play on the popular line, “On Wednesdays we wear pink,” from the teen classic Mean Girls. This t-shirt slogan sparks an immediate connection with young millenials–as well as individuals of both older and younger generations–who are familiar with the movie. Once their attention is grabbed by the phrase “On Wednesdays we…”, these individuals read on for a politically charged message about revolutionary feminist practice. I think it would be interesting to analyze how this shirt grabs and maintains peoples’ attention to deliver a strong political message in my Unit One Speech.

The other t-shirt I am considering is a recycled t-shirt made in the U.S. in sweatshop-free and eco-conscious conditions that says, “Save the earth, it’s the only planet with Meryl.” This t-shirt is made by the cool-girl fashion house Reformation, and its fashionable cut and fabric attract viewers’ eyes to the artifact, and consequently its message. Additionally, the trendy mustard yellow color is a striking and attention-grabbing hue. This t-shirt was released shortly after Meryl Streep’s now-famous Oscar speech about the 2016 presidential election, and a majority of the proceeds from its sales were donated to the Environmental defense fund. Many people really connected with the views that Meryl Streep, a “totally overrated” actress, voiced in her speech, and this t-shirt speaks to anyone who connected with that message. The slogan takes that connection one step further and basically says that if you care about Meryl Streep as an icon and as a human being, you should care about the planet, too.