Ellen Goodman's Aticle, “Countering the Culture of Sex”
Ellen Goodman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, and the writer of many books, published an article entitled, “Countering the Culture of Sex,” which appeared in The Boston Globe in 1995. Goodman makes the point that the media serves as a “cultural message maker.” Goodman’s uses of the rhetorical appeals are not blatant, but rather reserved throughout the article. Logos and ethos are very well represented as the topic needs both logic and credibility and to make its point. On the other hand, because this article does not pry into the feelings and emotions that are tied to the topic, pathos is not very well represented. This article could have been much more powerful if in fact pathos was incorporated more throughout the entirety.
As mentioned earlier, Ellen Goodman is a Pulitzer Prize winner for her acclaimed columns and the many other books she has published. Being the author of this article, “Countering the Culture of Sex,” Goodman’s target audience is very diverse, but her main intention is to reach: the Congress, the parents of teens, the teachers of teens, the Entertainment Industry, and finally the teens of America. Her purpose for writing this article is to increase the awareness of teen sexuality to the general public, informing especially the Congress and the Entertainment Industry. The consequences of teen sex need to be identified more in our society, incorporating sexual truth in advertising. When “sexual truth” is not portrayed correctly through the media, parents need to “counter the culture,” and talk with their children about what is right and what consequences actually do arise from teen sex. Parents should also eliminate some confusion of teen ...
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... her stand on the topic, but also to shed some light on reality—which is what she is supporting: reality in advertising.
Ellen Goodman’s article, “Countering the Culture of Sex,” has the purpose of informing the general public about the reality of teenage sexuality due partly to the negligence of the media. The structure combining problem/solution and cause and effect only helped her article, it could not have been done any more effectively by changing the structure. Her article is informative and while she got the point across, Goodman could have made this article stronger if only she would have correctly used the rhetorical appeals. Logos needs to be represented with some shocking statistics, which would have also supported ethos, and pathos could have impacted the reader if she would have touched on some deeper emotions involved with teenage sexuality.
Carstarphen, Meta G., and Susan C. Zavoina. Sexual Rhetoric: Media Perspectives on Sexuality, Gender, and Identity. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1999. Print.
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