Blog Post #3: Rhetorical Analysis

1) Article: Targeting "Slutty" Students; by Jessica Valenti; http://www.thenation.com/blog/168298/targeting-slutty-students

2) Summary: In the article "Targeting 'Slutty' Students, Valenti brings attention to the issue of dress codes in a high school setting. The author discusses that the “more curvy” female students are criticized  by faculty members for their clothing. Valenti also argues that this issue is a direct violation of the students' rights under Title IX. The author emphasizes that the dress code in schools sends a powerful message to young women, that they are responsible for the way "society objectifies and sexualizes them."

3) a) Allusion: The author alludes to the Educational Amendments of 1972, which forbids all forms of sexual discrimination.

"In fact, it’s their right under Title IX."

b) Pathos (emotions): The author uses a quote from a senior from a high school to gain sympathy for the women being subjected to discrimination by faculty members.

" Another senior, Lucinda Ventimiglia, told the student newspaper, the Spectator, “I’ve been told that even though my skirts were technically acceptable, they were still too short for me to wear, and once it was suggested that I should follow a separate dress code...”

c) Sarcasm: The author uses sarcasm to show that showing bare shoulders should no longer be an issue for dress codes.

" “Slutty Wednesday”—a day in which students deliberately violated the code that bars them, among other restrictions, from wearing anything that bares their shoulders. (The horror!)"

d) Ethos (Ethics): The author uses a student's story about how she was told by school faculty that she was wearing an inappropriate dress to school to have the reader think about the morals of this particular faculty member.

" Ventimiglia also recalled being stopped by a school official who told her that her dress was too short that that she could “show off her curves” when she wasn’t in school. “...the dress code was only instituted for my protection, because there are a lot of bad men outside school, and if I was raped nobody would be able to take that away from me. Then, she said, ‘and you want a husband, don’t you?"

e) Imagry: The author uses an example from one of the students stopped for violating the dress code to give the reader a mental picture of the types of outfits that are "inappropriate".

" “Ms. Damesek took one look at me, sighed, and asked me what I was thinking when I went out of the house that morning. All I wore was a long-sleeved button-down, which was secured by a navy skirt and accompanied by floral cutout tights; I didn’t intend for it to be inappropriate in the slightest..."
4) At first the title of the article caught my attention. However, as I read through the article the author's use of language attracted me to choose this article. I agree with the fact that women should be able to wear what they choose (not based on a school dress code.) I also agree (based on events seen during my high school years) that female students are more likely to be stopped for a dress code violation.