Running Head: LOVE IS LOVE 1

Accepting the LGBTQ Community and Their Equal Rights

Pamala Baber

Professor Ruby Pappoe

English 1302 Rhetoric & Composition

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Social Acceptance of the LGBTQ Community

For the past few years, throughout the United States, accepting the LGBTQ Community

and creating new laws to give them their human rights have been an ongoing topic of issue. For

those who may not know what the LGBTQ community stands for, its the community that

withholds the individuals that classify themselves as Lesbian, Gay, bisexual, or transgender.

From social media to all contents of media in general, this has been the source of information

spread nation-wide. Because all media is a major part of the ongoing topic, the individuals a

part of the LGBTQ Community rely heavily on media to convey a message of acceptance. In

many parts of the country, especially those that have very religious citizens, being gay goes

against their moral codes and is creating an environment of hatred against the LGBTQ

community. The hatred is spreading and because of these moral codes, individuals who are a

part of the community are seen as less than human. This issue is being addressed through two

genres that supports the acceptance of the community and their rights as Americans. Recording

artists MACKLAMORE and Ray Lewis create a music video that accompanies the song Same

Love, which highlights the many issues that the LGBTQ community faces and the stigma

behind their preferences. Photographer and gay rights activist Tillett Wright does a TED Talk

called Fifty Shades of Gay, which describes her personal experiences as a member of the

LGBTQ community, as well as the political climate of the fight for gay rights in America. In

looking at both genres, how they approach the topic of gay rights will effectively be discussed

throughout the remainder of the analysis.

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Audience and Purpose

The first genre, Same Love by recording artists MACKLAMORE and Ray Lewis, is an

inspirational music video that discusses the many problems that those in the LGBTQ community

face. The purpose of the music video is to prevail on the listeners that society needs to stop

avoiding the sexual equality movement and overtake on the issues. The recording artists do a

great job advocating that message by addressing societies false predispositions on

homosexuality. The second genre, Fifty Shades of Gay by Tillett Wright is a TED Talk that puts

into context one of the many issues faced in the community. The purpose of this talk is to point

out that individuals in society are all, at heart, the same, and have more in common than not.

Wright gets this message across to her listeners by addressing the main problem in society

regarding to gay rights. These very moving pieces inform society about the harsh situations

members of the community face day to day and to let people know how they feel inside. They

want to persuade society that love is love and doesnt have a race, gender, religion, or age.

The intended audience for both genres consists of anyone who associates themselves

with the ongoing topic of issue as well as bystanders. The genres are structured to persuade the

LGBTQ community members, groups of people that come together to conduct and pass laws,

those that protest against it, and individuals that stand and protest for it. However, targeting

the bystanders that are aware of the issue, yet dont take part in anything can be a huge benefit

for members of the community if they had them on their side. These certain individuals

amongst society are aware of the matter and it is more than likely that they know about all the

states in the U.S that have been passing laws, giving LGBTQ members their legal rights as

citizens. As you go through genre one, you realize the audience gets a sense of what the
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members of the community go through. When you go through genre two, you become more

invested and want to know the stories of these individuals, how they felt and what they

experienced. Their thoughts and aspects to life are taken into consideration being that they are

a part of the LGBTQ community, a community that society treats as minorities.

What makes it easier for the listeners to understand the message being conveyed in the

genres has a lot to do with the tone and types of language being used. An informal tone is used

in both genres because the message is being directed straight to the listeners. For example, in

genre one, the artists direct their message of the song straight to the audience by making the

song more personal, yet still using monolog that makes relaying a message to society able to

understand. In genre two, Tillett uses both her informal language as personal, and casual. Still

informing and persuading her audience, she uses the informal language by mentioning her

personal experiences and keeping communication with her audience. Both genres hold a

personal tone by sharing personal experiences that people in the LGBTQ community as well as

themselves face. The creators of both genres want their message to be understood by people

world-wide, so they use vocabulary that people in todays modern society can understand.

Besides the informal use of tone being used throughout both genres, there werent any

specialized terms that were unrecognizable.

Rhetorical Issues

Both genres display rhetorical strategies that keep the listeners engaged and convinced.

Ethos, logos, and pathos are used in genre one to popularize the familiar topic, and make the
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information about gay rights more approachable. The ethos, logos, and pathos that show in

genre two portrays itself in a way that ties the audience in to make them more interested while

informing the listeners about gay rights. In both genres, the intelligent creators are perceived

by the audience as credible, persuades the audience by making them feel certain emotions, and

lastly persuades the audience by the use of arguments that they perceive as logical.

Ethos

In genre one, it gives perfect examples throughout the song itself on how society treats

people that associate themselves as part of the LGBTQ community. For instance, part of the

lyrics mentioned in the song says,

Our culture founded from oppression

Yeah, we don't have acceptance for 'em

Call each other faggots behind the keys of a message board

A word routed in hate, yet our genre still ignores it

Gay is synonymous with the lesser

It's the same hate that's caused wars from religion

Gender to skin color the complexion of your pigment

The lyrics help establish the credibility of the genre because it lets the listeners know that the

creators of the song understand how unaccepting society can be. Because recording artists

MACKLAMORE and Ray Lewis won so many awards after the creation of this project, it

enhances the credibility for the genre. All the awards showed that people in the LGBTQ
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community related, making the production trust worthy to listen to. It let those apart of the

community know that they understand the trials they go through and how it can make them

feel. In genre two, Tillett Wright shares her experience growing up rejecting gender norms, and

being homosexual. The credibility being shaped in this genre makes it naturally easy for

listeners to trust because Wright is herself is a member of the community. She shares with her

listeners her reasons for creating her activist project across the United States. She establishes

her credibility more throughout the TED Talk by making it a point that she has reached and

connected with 10000 people in the U.S that identify themselves as anything other than 100%

heterosexual.

Pathos

Both genres use a great amount of emotional appeal to persuade their audience and

help them understand the message. The emotional appeal made it more convincing to the

listeners and easier to empathize with. For example, in genre one, it uses emotional clips

throughout the whole video showing the story of one mans trials and tribulations faced as a

homosexual man. Somewhat similar to genre one, in genre two during the TED Talk, images of

individuals amongst the LGBTQ community who participated in Wrights project are being

shown. The individuals participate to show their face to the world, hoping to make a statement

that they too deserve the have equal rights. The emotions that both genres are trying to arouse

out of their audience add up to a variety of feelings. Because the main goal from both genres is

to promote accepting the same love and human rights for members of the LGBTQ community,

these genres may bring out different emotions from the listeners. Both genres get people on

the outside of the community to look inside the thoughts and feelings of a LGBTQ member.
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Hoping that they might act towards acceptance of the LGBTQ community. Emotions of the

author can reflect senses of empathy for those in the community, regret of judging a member

of the community, and even anger towards how you see the members being treated by society.

All these emotions can convince a person to get involved on the accepting side.

Logos

Although both genres dont really include academic evidence, the personal experiences

and comprehensive acts from both creators helped support the information that was given off.

Furthermore, the credibility that each genre built is what helps support the information and

make it reliable to lean on.

Structure and Delivery

Each genre clearly talks about personal experiences to help get the message across, but

what sets both genres a part form each other is the organization of the information given. The

genres set the audience up for an emotional grab by stating personal experiences first and then

adding more information about the topic throughout. For example, in genre one the song starts

off talking about how the artist grew up thinking he was gay, followed by stating the negative

connotations that being homosexual came with. Throughout the whole song, he explains the

trials and tribulations of living life as a gay man. In genre two, Wright starts her talk off

explaining her experience growing up as a homosexual being. She then goes on to explain how

her trials and tribulations contributed to her project, and the reasons why she travels the world

to get a message across for those in the LGBTQ community.

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Although both genres have the same message and purpose, the limitations placed on

the information given due to the type of genre causes them to be presented differently. In

genre one the music video isnt long and the lyrics to the song are straight forward with its

message, so it would limit the amount of information given as compared to another genre like a

book or article. In genre two the TED talk most definitely provides more information because

its 40 minutes of pure conversation. The ted talk allows Tillett Wright to be able to go into

more depth of the information that he gives. The structure in both genres is very straight

forward which makes it easier for an audience to understand. The genres both start with heart

felt personal experiences and add opinions or even facts of what those in the LGBTQ

community go through to convince the people watching and listening. Then they add to the end

that they are who they are and it doesnt make them any less of a person, so society should

behave that way.

Conclusion

Although there were many similarities between the two genres, both did an outstanding

job using the rhetorical appeals to project the message onto their listeners. Each genre

elaborated on accepting the LGBTQ community and their human rights in their way of form.

The bad connotation that being homosexual has had by society over the course of time has

made it a serious issue for many people In America, an issue that these genres are now starting

to dispute.
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References
T. (n.d.). Retrieved June 16, 2017, from https://www.ted.com/playlists/264/lgbtq_pride

R. (2012, October 02). Retrieved June 16, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlVBg7_08n0