Monday, October 9, 2017
Ethos in "You Don't Own Me"
Lesley Gore had easy extrinsic ethos for this song. As a woman, she was in a very good position to be singing about the issues with male ideas of ownership of women. She also had established her extrinsic ethos with her previous hit "It's My Party" released earlier in the same year as "You Don't Own Me," 1963. The song tells a story of a teenage girl heartbroken when her boyfriend appears at a party with another girl. While that song portrays a more stereotypical relationship between a man and a woman, it still connected very well with women and girls, as it was very relatable. The song established Gore as an artist who could connect very well with a female audience. This credibility provided a strong appeal to ethos for "You Don't Own Me." Since Gore encapsulated traditional relationships so well, her more progressive and better portrayal of a healthy relationship in "You Don't Own Me," carried more weight, as she had clearly established that she knew both how relationships were and how they should be.
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I agree that an author who has experienced the thing that they both talk about and the same thing that their audience has experienced it gives them a bigger connection with the audience, as it establishes a mutual understanding.
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ReplyDeleteWhen you mentioned Lesley Gore's position in the context of feminism, it would have been more effective to give some background on Gore herself. That would better allow the audience understand her extrinsic ethos. Additionally showing some textual evidence on Gore's "better portrayal of a healthy relationship" would give more insight into her intrinsic ethos.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Gore's previous works definitely helped contribute to her extrinsic ethos. As a popular female singer she automatically has influence over the female population. She uses this to strengthen her message to women that they deserve more.
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