Rhetorical Analysis Of 'Appearances' By Carmen Vázquez Summary
Ms. Nguyen
English 1302
July 17, 2012
Rhetorical Analysis In Carmen Vázquez’s article “Appearances,” published in 1992 in the book Homophobia, the writer expressed concern about homophobic violence and how stereotypes affect not only gays and lesbians but normal men and women as well. In her article, Vázquez writes to the general public, which she believes is at fault for stereotyping. She begins by presenting an area named Castro that resides in San Francisco hills and serves as a sanctuary for gays and lesbians. She then describes a situation in which a young, straight boy named Brian was beaten on a bus because he was suspected of being gay. She proceeds to explain that this is a common occurrence. Vázquez emphasizes her point by using another mistakenly gay victim name Mickey who was attacked at a nightclub. Using the …show more content…
In the story about Mickey being attacked, Vázquez uses the word “plunge” when portraying the story. Using this word, she creates a more vivid image of the attack making it sound more hateful and intense. In doing this, she depicts an insincere picture that dwells in the abhorrence of homosexuals. She tries to appeal too much to the audience’s emotions which I believe makes her seem less credulous. She then claims that she knows many women that have been beaten by their boyfriends and husbands while the men yell homophobic phrases at them, calling them “dykes” and “whores” (160). In this segment Vázquez is trying to connect to her female audience and impart in them a hatred for these brutal men. In reality, a boyfriend or a spouse would not call their significant other a name like that in literal terms. Her use of this example is completely irrelevant to her homophobic cause because it is unrealistic in the sense that the men did not use it to hurt a lesbian
English 1302
July 17, 2012
Rhetorical Analysis In Carmen Vázquez’s article “Appearances,” published in 1992 in the book Homophobia, the writer expressed concern about homophobic violence and how stereotypes affect not only gays and lesbians but normal men and women as well. In her article, Vázquez writes to the general public, which she believes is at fault for stereotyping. She begins by presenting an area named Castro that resides in San Francisco hills and serves as a sanctuary for gays and lesbians. She then describes a situation in which a young, straight boy named Brian was beaten on a bus because he was suspected of being gay. She proceeds to explain that this is a common occurrence. Vázquez emphasizes her point by using another mistakenly gay victim name Mickey who was attacked at a nightclub. Using the …show more content…
In the story about Mickey being attacked, Vázquez uses the word “plunge” when portraying the story. Using this word, she creates a more vivid image of the attack making it sound more hateful and intense. In doing this, she depicts an insincere picture that dwells in the abhorrence of homosexuals. She tries to appeal too much to the audience’s emotions which I believe makes her seem less credulous. She then claims that she knows many women that have been beaten by their boyfriends and husbands while the men yell homophobic phrases at them, calling them “dykes” and “whores” (160). In this segment Vázquez is trying to connect to her female audience and impart in them a hatred for these brutal men. In reality, a boyfriend or a spouse would not call their significant other a name like that in literal terms. Her use of this example is completely irrelevant to her homophobic cause because it is unrealistic in the sense that the men did not use it to hurt a lesbian