Spacecat
Answer each question in depth and provide specific evidence from
the text or speaker whenever available. The more you write, the better!
Title of the text:
S
SPEAKER:
Who is the speaker/writer?
What do we know about
them? What can you tell or
what do you know about
the speaker that helps you
understand the point of
view expressed?
P
PURPOSE:
What is the speaker/writer
hoping to accomplish?
What is the reason behind
this piece? What do they
want the audience to do
after having listened?
A
AUDIENCE:
Who is the speaker/writer
trying to reach? How do we
know? Do they indicate a
specific audience? What
assumptions exist in the
text about the intended
audience?
C
CONTEXT:
What is the time and place
of this piece? What is
happening in the world as
it relates to the subject of
the speech or the
speaker/writer?
The speaker is Emma Watson, a famous British actor best known for her role as
Hermione Granger in the “Harry Potter” films. She also became the UN Women
Goodwill Ambassador in July 2014 and is dedicated to promoting gender equality by
serving as an advocate to the UN Women's HeForShe campaign. She has already
worked towards increasing women’s rights by promoting girls’ education in places
such as Bangladesh and by serving as an ambassador for Camfed International, a
movement dedicated to educated girls in rural Africa. Because she has, first hand,
experienced inequality as a woman herself, she feels strongly about the issue of
gender inequality, and how men and women should work towards gender equality.
She is specifically trying to express her view how men also are involved with the fight
for gender equality and how men need to do something as well.
Emma Watson is hoping to reach out to men and help them realize how women aren’t
the only ones who need to work towards gender equality; men do as well. Gender
equality isn’t just a fight for women; in order for gender inequality to not exist, men
must work on themselves and in the environment around them to change the
situation. When that happens, both women and men can be free and equal. For
example, if men try to break their own stereotypes, they are similarly helping women
as well. “If men don’t have to be aggressive in order to be accepted, women won’t be
compelled to be submissive. If men don’t have to control, women won’t have to be
controlled….If we stop defining each other by what we are not and start defining
ourselves by what we are-we can all be freer and this is what HeForShe is about. It’s
about freedom.” After listening, she wants men and women to unite so that they,
together, can fight for gender equality.
Emma Watson is specifically trying to reach men because she addresses them directly
in her speech, as shown through instances such as the following: “I am inviting you to
step forward, to be seen or speak up, to be the ‘he’ for ‘she’”. She always says how
she wants men to “take up this mantle” and work towards gender equality, not only
for women, but for themselves as well. We also know that she is specifically trying to
motivate and reach men from the name of the campaign itself: HeForShe Campaign.
She indicates a specific audience, which is men, and assumes that they don’t currently
do much to help the gender equality movement. She also assumes that most of them
follow societal expectations and their gender stereotype, which is one of the reasons
why gender inequality exists.
Emma Watson gave this speech on September 20, 2014 at a special event for the
HeForShe Campaign at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. In 2014, the
United Nations was working towards gender equality as it was one of the 17 UN 2023
Sustainable Development Goals. Additionally, the issue of gender equality started
becoming more important in 2014 as people were acknowledging and trying to fix
issues related to gender inequality, such as the income gap and disparity of males and
females as CEOs. Because of the fight for gender equality, Emma Watson probably
decided to speak up on the issue and share her perspective on what can be done to fix
it.
E
EXIGENCE:
What was the spark or
catalyst that moved the
speaker/writer to
act/write? How did that
event impact the
speaker/writer?
C
CHOICES:
What are the rhetorical
choices that the
speaker/writer makes in
the speech? Think about
overall structure, devices,
diction, syntax, etc.
A
APPEALS:
Which of the three
rhetorical appeals (ethos,
logos, pathos) are present
in the text? Where? Why?
T
TONE:
What is the
speaker/author's attitude
toward the subject? Is the
tone the same throughout
the whole piece? Where
does it shift? What
evidence is there to
demonstrate the tone?
Emma Watson was moved to make a speech on gender equality for the HeForShe
Campaign because, in the year 2014, women were gaining their voices and speaking
up about the issues they face in regards to gender equality. Since women were gaining
more authority and attention, she also wanted to get attention not only for the issue
itself, but also on what can be done to fix this issue. Emma Watson wanted people to
acknowledge gender inequality and work towards changing it so that gender
inequality doesn’t exist anymore. Women gaining their voice and people passing laws
to help the movement towards gender equality inspired Emna Watson to speak on
the issue to reach a wider audience on how men and women need to work together
to fix gender inequality.
Emma Watson chooses to reference her own life and emphasize the ages at which she
realized certain aspects of gender equality. She uses evidence from modern life to
support how the genders are equal. She also uses statistics and evidence to show how
gender equality is a very real issue, and how men need to have a role in gender
equality as well. She also talks about negative male stereotypes and how this not only
affects themselves, but also negatively impacts the fight towards gender equality. She
is trying to appeal to men, but she doesn’t only use her experiences as she needs
proof that gender equality is an issue that needs to be solved by both men and
women.
Ethos, pathos, and logo are all present in Emma Waton’s speech. Logos is used near
the end of her speech to provide support for her purpose of speaking on behalf of the
HeForShe Campaign. She says that “if we do nothing, it will take 75 years, or for me
nearly a hundred before women can be expected to be paid the same as men for the
same work. 15.5 million girls will be married in the next 16 years as children. And, at
current rates, it won’t be until 2086 before all rural African girls will be able to receive
a secondary education.” Ethos is used near the beginning of her speech to show how
and why she developed her beliefs on gender inequality and why she feels strongly for
the issue, which she shows through her personal experiences. Emma Watson “started
questioning gender-based assumptions when, at eight, I was confused at being called
‘bossy’ because I wanted to direct the plays we would put on for our parents-but the
boys were not. When at 14 I started being sexualized by certain elements of the press.
When at 15 my girlfriends started dropping out of their sports teams because they
didn’t want to appear ‘muscly’. When at 18 my male friends were unable to express
their feelings.” Pathos is used in several places throughout the speech to appeal to
men to also help women and their countries achieve gender equality as this issue
can’t be solved without them. For example, at the end of her speech, she says how we
“are struggling for a uniting world….And to ask yourself if not me, who? If not now,
when?”. She also calls on help in the beginning of her speech, evoking a sense of
urgency in her audience.
Emma Watson’s tone is urgent and serious and stays the same throughout the whole
piece. She wants people to know how this issue needs to be addressed by both men
and women. She uses evidence and talks about how Hillary Clinton talked in Beijing in
1995 on the same issue she was speaking about in 2014, but “many of the things she
wanted to change are still a reality today”. Additionally, Emma Watson says how both
“men and women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel
to be strong…It is time that we all perceive gender on a spectrum not as two opposing
sets of ideals”. This shows how she seriously believes that what she is saying is true
and how men and women must fix this issue in order to achieve gender equality.