Pathos, or the appeal to emotion, is often the forefront of any protest. In the context of Second Wave Feminism, pathos played a subtle, yet meaningful part. In the image on the right, one can see a long row of women along with one in the front holding a sign bearing the words "Equal Positions For Equal Pay." The feminists of this era were very succinct in their demands, explicitly stating their desires for equality in the society. Another aspect of the image worthy of note are the expressions and emotional sentiment of the protestors. Their expressions are not content, nor are they indignant. Rather, they have calm demeanors and produce an aura of silent indifference. This serves to imply that they do not feel as if they are proper human beings due to their perceived inferiority in society. The lack of emotion, rather than the presence of emotion, serves to further the feminist narrative, conveying that they cannot feel empathy for society until women are truly equal. It certainly is an interesting example of pathos, especially when this concept is often associated with some emotion.-Brendan Xu
I think you did a great job with this post, and a great job analyzing the picture. If I were to analyze this picture I would have just focused on the main girl holding the sign, and wouldn't have even noticed the people in the background. I think it's great how you noticed the emotions on the people in the background, because it really does play an important role in this case. After picking up on these details, you did a nice job connecting it to pathos and explaining the significance of these elements.
ReplyDeleteA good job was done on this post. It seems like you focused a little too much on the women that are sitting down in the background. It would have been better if you focused on the girl holding the sign, which is the main part of the picture. Regardless, I think this is a good connection to pathos, connecting it to the appeal of emotion.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your analysis but I think that pathos played a huge part in the feminist movements because they were not only trying to convince men of their equal rights, but of other oppressed women as well. The "calm demeanor" of the protestors is key to seeing that their audience was split by gender, and they had to appeal to both.
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