Trans Women At Smith Rhetorical Analysis

Rhetorical Analysis of “Trans Women at Smith: The Complexities of Checking ‘female'”

Transgenders confront numerous issues while applying for the college. In “Trans Women at Smith: The Complexities of Checking ‘Female'”, the author, Sarah Fraas, utilizes sentiment, a few logos, and one individual's story to effectively persuade the gathering of people that something should be done to enable transgenders to go to the school they need to go to.

The reason for the article is to motivate the reader to take care of what is going on at Smith College, an all-young lady school in Massachusetts. For a transgender to try and be considered at Smith, the “applicant has to have all female gender markers on four materials: The Common Application, their high school transcript, their midyear academic report, and three letters of recommendation” (Fraas 683).

In the start of the article, Fraas starts with requesting the reader to envision an all-ladies’ college that accepts ladies regardless of what sex they were born as. She, at that point, binds this to the circumstance at Smith College (and other ladies' establishments) and that they “need to follow this example” (Fraas 283). By saying this, Fraas is utilizing sentiment to give the audience a picture of what they believe ladies' colleges ought to resemble.

Later in the

article, to develop her claim, Fraas presents speculative potential outcomes, using feelings to reinforce her argument. Some cases she mentions are “teachers refusing to use ‘she’ pronouns in your recommendation letters” (Fraas 683), and “changing your sexual orientation markers requires a $10,000+ surgery with long stretches of excruciating and weakening recuperation time behind it” (Fraas 684). By utilizing these cases, the writer is demonstrating the gathering of people that getting into organizations, like Smith, are harder than they appear with regards to being transgender. The cases additionally enable the audience to have a passionate association with the article.
Fraas continues the article by talking about a study that made by “the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force” (Fraas 684), says " less than half of trans high school students have been able to update their school documents (and) eleven percent tried to do so and were flat-out denied " (Fraas 684). The consideration of this study in the article gives Fraas an appeal to logos. The study gives the audience a factual perspective on the issue of updating academic records, and that it is so difficult to change your sexual orientation in high school.
The writer at that point gives another case of involving “K-12 students” (Fraas 684). The study gives reports of verbal badgering with reports of physical and sexual assault. Fraas, at that point, expresses that “the more harassment that students faced, the less likely they were to maintain higher GPAs, attend all their classes, and plan for college” (Fraas 684). By including this study, the writer gives the audience a mix of pathos and logos, utilizing the study to acquire credibility and making the audience get more emotionally connected.
After that, Fraas mentioned one of Smith's student organizations, Smith Q&A organization, “demanding that Smith accept the proposal of a supplement to allow women with non-female gender markers on their documents to go (to Smith)” (Fraas 684). By mentioning this organization, this enables the writer to inform the readers and disclose to them that there are numerous individuals willing to support the cause.
The writer confronts the “criticisms that are often hurled at student organizers: that we're too aggressive, that the administration is trying it's best” (Fraas 684). Fraas says that what they are doing is not personal against Smith, but they are “a product of the ideologies we have been taught to believe are common sense” (Fraas 685). By including this, the writer is using pathos to tell the audience that they will be with them in what they believe in, and that what they should do.
Fraas continues by saying “Q&A has spent a year and a half trying to get this gender supplement proposal accepted” (Fraas 685).

She incorporates this as sentiment to show the readers the commitment that her and her friend’s members at the organization need to see their objective achieved. To build on to this, in the beginning of the article, Fraas mentions a gathering that “over one hundred students got up at 8:30 in the morning ... to rally in support of their trans sisters- to help make Smith an institution that empowers all women for the world” (Fraas 684). This likewise demonstrates the commitment of many students to get the acceptance of this

proposition.
The writer, at that point, raises a gathering that some members from Q&A went to “with higher education law experts who validated […] Smith college will not lose its status as a women's college by accepting our proposal” (Fraas 685). She carries this into the article to demonstrate the readers that there is hope for transgenders at Smith. Fraas, at that point, raises the “negotiations with administrators, which did result in the change that gender markers no longer matter for Disability and Financial Aid application materials” (Fraas 685). This is incorporated to demonstrate the readers that there is a possibility for transgenders to go to Smith.
Fraas at that point recounts the anecdote about how, “this year, a trans woman … was accepted and is now a student here (at Smith). Once at Smith … she urged them to accept the gender supplement proposal” (Fraas 685). The writer incorporates this story, using pathos, in the article to demonstrate the readers that there will, one day, be a future for transgender ladies at Smith organization.
The writer, at that point, closes the article by saying that they “hope you will stand with us”. In the event that “women for the world" doesn't mean all women, it doesn't mean anything” (Fraas 685). The writer uses Smith's college to express what is on her mind that all ladies ought to be incorporated into Smith, transgender or not.
I trust that Sarah Fraas completed an awesome job expressing what is on her mind all through the article and once I began read it I understand her point. The article effectively persuaded the readers that helping transgender ladies is deserving of time and exertion.