Qno.1 Bilger and Mckean present different opinions on whether the use of “you guys” is problematic. Whose argument do you agree with? Write a well-developed paragraph in which you discuss the strengths/convincing points of the author’s argument you support.
Ans. I concur with McKean’s opinion that the use of the word “guy” is not problematic. If we take a look around our surrounding; in the 21st century, the word guy is spoken by every single person on this planet. McKean has presented many good arguments in her piece of writing relating the use of the word guys. The words guy is used to refer a group of people of mixed gender, but many women seem to think as an insult to them by being called a guy. McKean argues that it is wrong to perceive this idea. She writes in
…show more content…
her text that “The waiter wouldn’t address a group a men and women with ‘you gals’.” Her point is valid.
Have you ever been to a restaurant and heard a waiter call you ‘gal’? No, you have not heard such a thing. So, using the word guy is better than any other word. McKean says that “ The plain truth and knotty problem is that all the other options for addressing a group are worse.” This, as a matter of fact, is true. McKean tells us in her piece of writing that it is a bitter reality that in English there are really fewer ways to address a mixed group of people. If we use the word ‘ladies and gentlemen’ this would sound too much formal and the word ‘folks’ sounds too much old-fashioned. McKean states that “As much as I enjoy Damon Runyon, “Right this way, guys, and dolls,” is not really a practical opinion in places other than self-consciously cute speakeasies.” Therefore, it could be seen that there is no other appropriate word to replace guys. Also, she says that in the English language we use many words with different meanings, she states that “...and it's easy to imagine guy and guys joining the list.” McKean makes us aware of the fact that the word guy is not a word to fight for because
there are many other words to be displeased with such as “dudes”. Her point is valid and reasonable because we have many offended words which should be challenged. Last but not least the word guys is not an offensive word and ladies should be less sexist on words.
Palmer, William. "Rhetorical Analysis." Discovering Arguments: An Introduction to Critical Thinking, Writing, and Style. Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2012. 268-69. Print.
In Kimmel’s essay “’Bros Before Hos’: The Guy Code” he argues that the influence of society on masculinity is equal to or greater than biological influences on masculinity. In the essay, Kimmel uses various surveys and interviews to validate his argument. He points to peers, coaches, and family members as the people most likely to influence the development of a man’s masculinity. When a man has his manliness questioned, he immediately makes the decision never to say or do whatever caused him to be called a wimp, or unmanly. Kimmel’s argument is somewhat effective because the readers get firsthand accounts from the interviewees but the author does not provide any statistics to support his argument.
In the essay, “The High Cost of Manliness,” writer Robert Jensen discusses the harmful effects of having male specific characteristics, such as masculinity. Jensen realizes that men’s actions and ways of living are judged based upon the characteristic of being manly. He argues that there is no valid reason to have characteristics associated with being male. Society has created the notion that masculinity is the characteristic that defines males as males.
There are many examples of strong argumentative writing in the second half of the book Everyday Arguments. Topics of writing examples include today’s college student, the internet, sports, earning your living, diet, and reading popular culture. Of the writings, two stood out as notable works to be critiqued; Who is a Teacher, and Thoughts on Facebook.
It would seem that the words “guys” and “men” would be defined in the same way, as they are thrown around in conversation in generally the same way. In fact, Google defines guy as “a man.” Writer, Dave Barry, puts a spin on these two words in his essay, Guys vs. Men. Guys vs. Men discusses the difference between a man--a masculine, aggressive male--versus a guy. Barry is essentially giving the term “men” all of the negative characteristics associated with males, while giving “guys” the cool and fun traits of males. Throughout his essay, Barry explains how a “guy” is different from a “man”. For example, for each subtitle he gives an anecdote about what guys like, do, or have, and how that is different from what men like, do, or have. Barry’s use of humor influences the tone of the piece by making it seem lighthearted and thus allows him to target women readers as his key audience while at the same time maintaining the interest of men readers.
Malesic, Johnathan. “How Dumb Do They Think We Are?” Writing from Sources Ed. Brenda Spatt. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 85-87. Print.
For example the book in chapter 8 offers a con by talking about lack of relationships, and if guys are in relationships, they put in little effort. Guyland implies guys have as much sex as possible and watching porn reassures masculinity. I believe that’s not totally true, everyone is different and has unique way of approaching relationships. “Timid guys sometimes have a tendency to give older; more so called “popular” guys the power to define themselves, thus making their role in society greater” says Austin (pseudonym). Positively, Michael Kimmel offers a view into the minds of America 's sons, brothers, and boyfriends, and works toward redefining what it means to be a man today and tomorrow. Only by understanding this world and this life stage can we enable young men to chart their own paths, to stay true to themselves, and to travel safely through Guyland, emerging as responsible and fully formed men of integrity and
The Stases and Other Rhetorical Concepts from Introduction to Academic Writing. N.p.: n.p., n.d. PDF.
Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. Writing Arguments: A Rhetoric with Readings. 9th ed. Boston: Pearson Education, 2012. Print.
Graff, Gerald, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel K. Durst. "They Say/I Say": The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing: With Readings. Vol. 2e. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2012. Print.
Nilsen began this study of the dictionary not with the intention of prescribing language change but simply to see what the language would reveal about sexism to her. Sexism is not something that existing independently in American English or in the particular dictionary that she happened to read. Rather it exists in people's minds.
According to Johnny Weir, “Masculinity is what you believe it to be... [it is] all by perception, [I believe] masculinity and femininity is something that is very old-fashioned... [there is a] whole new generation of people who aren’t defined by their race or their sex or who they like to sleep with.” This statement exemplifies the definition of gender as a concept; gender is the expectations of a sex according to the culture of society. Sexuality, within this definition of gender, reflects society’s expectations, which are created in relation to the opposite sex. The variances between cultures means that gender expectations change within different cultures. These expectations put pressure on each member of society to conform and abide by the folkways of their own culture. The creation of gender expectations by society creates a restricting definition of gender roles and sexuality that vary from culture to culture.
Society has planted a representation into people’s minds on how each gender is supposed to be constructed. When one thinks of the word gender, the initial responses are male and female but gender may be represented in many additional terms. As defined, “Gender refers to the social expectations that surround these biological categories.” (Steckley, 2017, pg.256) Gender is something that is ascribed,
This study aimed to investigate how the speaker employs personal pronouns (we, you, I) in scholastic discourse with special attention to the utilization of "you" through the analysis of the Michigan Corpus of Scholastic Communicated in English (MICASE). The result of the study was that there was only one common pronoun used which is “you”. One is a hypothetical form “if you were/are” in college students’ speeches, which demonstrates that the speaker intends to engage the audience in the talk, rather than using impersonal forms or third person. The use of third person point of view will not make it ambiguous. “You” requires a specific person for addressing to a certain person making it personal and less formal. Because of this, “you” should be avoided in academic writing. In addition, the reason why “you” is frequently used because the pronoun “you” collocates with verb such as “you get”, “You think” “you have” and etc. This stud y about personal pronoun has bearing on the present study since both deals with pronouns. The study supports the present study since both are about academic. In addition, the findings of the study will justify that using the pronoun ‘you’ will not achieve the sense of objectivity in academic writing.
Society has stamped an image into the minds of people of how the role of each gender should be played out. There are two recognized types of gender, a man and a woman, however there are many types of gender roles a man or a woman may assume or be placed into by society. The ideas of how one should act and behave are often times ascribed by their gender by society, but these ascribed statuses and roles are sometimes un-welcomed, and people will assume who they want to be as individuals by going against the stereotypes set forth by society. This paper will examine these roles in terms of how society sees men and women stereotypically, and how men and women view themselves and each other in terms of stereotypes that are typically ascribed, as well as their own opinions with a survey administered to ten individuals. What I hope to prove is that despite stereotypes playing a predominant role within our society, and thus influencing what people believe about each other in terms of their same and opposite genders, people within our society are able to go against these ascribed stereotypes and be who they want and it be okay. Through use of the survey and my own personal history dealing with gender stereotyping I think I can give a clear idea as to how stereotypes envelope our society, and how people and breaking free from those stereotypes to be more individualistic.