Thesis statement: The image employs visual rhetoric through, ethos, logos and pathos leading to a belief of male dominated culture where men are most likely to oppress women.
Gender inequality remains visible as the male partner tries to exhibits authoritative gesture, oppressing the female partner. The image conveys a persuasive message of male power and dominance over females. The male figure displays his anger and impatience during his encounter with the female. It depicts male’s desires of power and control as he treats the female in a harsh manner. Aggression and power- hungry nature of the man becomes visible as he attempts to repress his wife. It clearly transmits the idea that male holds controlling power and authority and they can treat their partners in any way they like. As dominance and relative submissiveness are interdependent, male becomes superior and powerful entity in a relationship.
The central reason for the claim is the visual depiction of a male-female relationship showing male partner repressing female. The image highlights the fact that feminine oppression is the result of male desire for attaining power and control. To claim that power they will choose aggression and dominance to suppress females. Another reason supporting the claim is the less powerful state of the women appearing on the image. The female in the image does not protest depicting her acceptance of male dominance. She is weaker entity in the image and displays no intentions to protest against the male power of control (Coontz).
The visual rhetoric makes the image more lucid as it involves appropriate use of ethos, pathos and logos. Logos represents the appeal through conveying certain logic. The assessment of the image depicts the logic of sexual inequality. Reason is apparent in the expressions of the participants as the male figure displays anger, authority and control while the female partner exhibits fear, pain and acceptance. Logic is also apparent in representation of indigenous cultures where male controls the wife and remains the common idea of claiming superiority. The image confers the same idea of males attempting to conquer and subjugate other gender thus motivating them to oppress women. The logic also displays attempts of the male member to increase sense of significance and status that motivates him to offset the modern idea of gender equality. Reasons of oppression are also apparent in the commanding nature of the male reflected through his actions. The logo illustrates male acclamation to entitlement and superiority (Coontz).
Ethos provides the evidence that supports the claims drawn by the image. The evidence is apparent in the gestures of the male and female partners. The close assessment of the male gestures reveals the attributes of aggression, authority, confidence and command. Muscularity transmits the idea of male supremacy allowing him to control female. The image displays a punch pointing at the face of woman thus becoming a perfect symbol of male aggression and power. The creator of the image shares the patriarchal views supporting feminine oppression. Evidence is also apparent in the feminine gesture that is unable to generate appropriate response.
Pathos focuses on the emotions as it builds sympathy for the female figure. Pathos works more in conjunction with the logos and ethos that helps in proving the main argument. However, it also shows the other side of the story by emphasizing on the woman’s expressions and her role. Through pathos audiences related the subject with the social constructs that treats woman as inferior and dependent entity. The image evokes emotions of sympathy, consolation and as the audience reads the expressions of the female figure. The assessment of the male figure provokes emotions of dislike, hatred and acceptance. Pathos plays effective role in driving emotions of the audience, as they are able to identify the gender gap. Emotional appeal becomes visible as the image incites feelings that promote the idea of equality. The oppressed state of the female works more as it seeks attention and empathy. The audience puts them in her state to realize the implications of the situation. Emotional responses of anger, horror and discomfort influences audience to see the darker side of the patriarchal system (Coontz).
The image tries to attain rhetoric appeal through creating visual information structure conveying the deeper meaning. The image includes graphical depiction and creates adequate expressions that convey the message to the audience. The image persuades the audience for two reason; the supporters and opponents of feminine oppression. The image persuades the supporters of feminine oppression as it supports the social constructs recognizing female as inferior and of secondary importance to males. The image persuades the opponents of feminine oppression be promoting the idea of female resistance. The image shows the pain, misery and discomfort of the females encouraging audiences to reject the traditional notion of male supremacy. It also provokes the females to claim equality and resist sufferings. The image employs perfect colors of gray, black and white. It does not use bright colors as they don’t suit the theme. Graphical structure of the image makes the message more readable and vivid for the audience.
The textual image incorporates effective visual rhetoric through employment of logos, ethos and pathos thus making the message more readable. Through intelligent choice of rhetoric tools the creator tries to convey gender inequality and male authority. Appropriate choice of gestures depicts the expressions of male arrogance and dictatorship against female weakness and fear. Masculinity is the primary cause of feminine oppression and sufferings.
Work cited
Coontz, Stephanie. “Explanations” of Male Dominance. 2017. 08 03 2018 <https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/3440-explanations-of-male-dominance>
