The Expert Timothy Rollins

Timothy Rollins is quick to make very provocative claims about feminism. But why should anyone consider him qualified?

Rollins creates an argument that is highly dependent on the emotional response of unfair or unethical situations. But the way he presents the material does not distinguish himself as anything but a venting misogynist. The author makes multiple broad, blanket statements about the "twisted" nature of feminism with no actual evidence or statistics to back him up.

The author is a self-pronounced extreme conservative which only goes to add less credibility to his argument due to his bias. He has nothing credible to his name. No one should read Rollins article without anything less than a shaker-full of salt.

...But Is Ethos Truly Present in "Bra Burning"

In the picture portraying the women burning their bras to show their enthusiastic yearning for independence, the presence of ethos is substantially flawed. This is for many reason. For starters, there are no prominent or iconic figures in this picture. Say that instead of having a random blonde woman with her head turned away from the camera, there was a woman such as Rosa Parks. It would be very safe to say that the action that the women are taking part in is a reflection of positive, nonviolent protests for female rights since Rosa Parks is undoubtably known for her nonviolent motion of not giving up her seat on her bus to a white man in order to show that she had the same exact rights as he did. This had a very constructive outcome in the end. Without knowing anything about who the women are in the picture, it is hard to say if what they are doing is a right or wrong action.  It's hard to say whether the women are being rebellious and acting out of order in a way to hurt or harm the society. Also, the photographer is someone that we can give credit to either.According to Duke University, we do know that the photographer was a female; however, we do not know whether this woman was for or against the act of burning bras. Neither do we know if she is a photographer that has taken pro-feminist or anti-feminist photographs in the past that could potentially relate to this picture. One last thing to consider is that there is evidence that fires were never actually ignited to burn the contents thrown into the trashcan. This, in essence, makes the audience question if the women were actually advancing in society at the time. The items put into the trash cans were supposed to signify all the shackles that the women had felt were holding them down from being equal to men at the time, right? And they were supposed to be burned to show that they would no longer be of existence. Therefore, if facts confirm that the items were never actually burned, that leaves the audience questioning if women were really making process in their march to women's freedom at the time of the bra burning although we do know that the feminist movement led to equality in the end. Due to the incredible lack of ethos in the picture, it is hard to tell what the photographer truly wants to convey. Since the photographer was a woman, many have assumed that she approves bra burning, and that she is trying to advocate this type of protest as one that was women passionately took part in to aid the feminist movement. She is also trying to convey that the women in the picture are "burning their bras" to illustrate that they are no longer going to be looked at as unequal to the male gender.
Breanne Thompson

A Comparison of Rhetorical Times

Although both pieces of media are represented by a different medium (one is a photo, the other is an online article), rhetorical strategies are certainly used by both authors. What is interesting here is that not only do the two "texts" represent different time periods for the stages of the feminist movement, but they seem to be representing two entirely different views as well. However, their strategies to convey these views are not much different; arguably, the texts both use the same (if not very similar) rhetorical strategies. The picture of the bra burners from the 1960's is most likely trying to instill some sort of emotion in the viewer by showing this rather outlandish act of protest. The women seem to be having a great time while doing it, too. Either way, some form of pathos is definitely being used by the photographer here; one can argue that the picture invokes a sort of... urgency, in a sense. The viewer, depending on their view on feminism, could be enraged by this photo by the blatant act of defiance, or could begin to feel excited that the feminist movement is going somewhere. The article, on the other hand, has a very different view on the situation at hand, but the author still uses a similar strategy: an over-the-top use of pathos. Rollins (the author) tries to convince the reader that feminism and the women that represent it are actually not as noble as they made their movement seem. He provides several examples to try and rally up some anger within the reader; on one instance, he even goes out of his way to try and portray feminists as some sort of religion-haters who cry for equality, but are very intolerant of other people's views. This, of course, is a far-fetched stretch of the truth- but it gets the job done, right? His use of pathos could easily sway the reader into being fairly angry at these "hypocritical" feminists. Pathos may not be the only rhetorical appeal that appears within the two mediums, but it certainly is a prevalent one.

Feminism: An insult unto itself

Timothy Rollins was brave enough to present the thoughts and feelings of oppressed men in America. It is taboo in America to criticize feminism because of the great inequality that existed in the 1960s. People feel that to insult feminism is to insult the entire female race. However, modern day feminism is an insult itself to the feminist movement in the 1960s.

Rollins extensively uses pathos by giving multiple situations of how modern day feminism has pursued an agenda that goes far beyond achieving equality. With examples of men being unfairly treated compared to women, Rollins makes a personal appeal to men. The injustice against men feels very personal due to the diverse situations the author describes. It insinuates that modern day feminism is hurting males in numerous aspects of life.

The author uses logos by highlighting the hypocrisy of the feminist viewpoint. Feminism began by criticizing men for using their influence in the business world against women. Today, feminism uses everything they can to create beneficial situations for themselves at the expense of men.

Feminism: Then and Now

The photograph, taken in the 1960s, shows a feminism demonstration where women burned their bras in protest against male control. The article describes a (biased) description of modern feminism. The actions of feminists today seem more active than just burning bras. According to the article, feminists are very involved in the justice system. They are getting male sexual predators prosecuted and suing employers for discrimination. Contrary to the opinions of the author, this is an improvement in their tactics. Feminists have gained significant ground in the past fifty years, both legally and socially. Feminism has changed drastically in the past fifty years, as evidenced by these two outlets of media.

Pathos of Bra Burning

There is very powerful emotion present in the picture of the women burning their bras during the 1960s Women's Rights Movement. This joyous and uplifting emotion helps to build a tangible connection with the audience. The photographer clearly depicts how excited the women are in this picture to fight for their freedom. Each and every woman in this picture is happy with the idea of bra burning to show her desire for independence. Some are clapping in celebration, while others are smiling from ear to ear as they watch one woman toss her bra into the "Freedom Trash Can". These women are ecstatic to show the rest of the American society that they are fearlessly going to do whatever is necessary to gain equal rights. The position that this photographer took this angle at is very essential to the importance of  the picture. If he had taken it from behind the women, he would not have captured their gleeful smiles. The audience then would not be aware of the fact that these women were delighted to make this sort of protest. Bras could have been looked at as a form of restriction in the 19060s, and women felt as though the time had come to put these restrictions to an end.
Breanne Thompson

The Hypocrisy of Modern-Day Rhetoric

In "The Hypocrisy of Modern-Day Feminism," author Timothy Rollins provides some rather interesting insight into his view of how feminism nowadays is a heaping pile of hypocritical man haters. The article, no matter how seemingly ridiculous, does employ some level of rhetoric. Perhaps most prominently, the article describes an instance in recent history where a man enlisted in the military had received a jail sentence for a sexual offense. The author, of course, describes this simply as "not being able to keep his pants zipped up," undermining any actual severity of his offense. This plays directly into his subsequent comparison where he details a similar sexual offense case, except performed by a woman. This is where his rhetorical appeal comes into play; Rollins emphasizes the fact that woman who was accused of something similar to what the man did used sexism as a way out. The anecdote provides an airy sense of pity for the man who was convicted, and a consequential feeling of disdain for the woman who used her gender as a way to avoid sentencing. Further in the article the author attempts to use another form of rhetoric; at this point, however, it is actually a fallacy rather than a legitimate form of the former. Rollins describes an instance where someone who is in jail is put to death simply because "they had found God," which is evidently a direct result of how feminists are intolerant of others for their religious views. This is a blatant use of a logical fallacy, because the author is trying to relate two (rather unrelated) ideas. Nonetheless, it is a form of rhetoric; it just happens to be that somewhat rare instance where rhetoric is used to sway others in a somewhat malicious way.

Flaws in Rollins's Arguments in "The Hypocrisy of Modern-Day Feminism"

The author of “The Hypocrisy of Modern-Day Feminism,” Timothy Rollins, claims that feminism has an “intolerance for those who believe in God,” and that this is somehow hypocritical. The first of these claims is not at all supported by the author’s evidence. He cites a case in which feminists did nothing to support a woman who was accused of murdering a couple in 1983. He claims that just because the woman, Karla Faye, became religious in prison, feminists ignored her case. What he completely ignores with this argument is that their lack of support for her likely had little to do with the fact that she was religious, and all to do with the fact that she was a murderer. The notion that feminists are obligated to support every woman even if she does something wrong is preposterous and exactly what Rollins points out is a flaw in their agenda earlier in the article. He blames feminists for supporting Kelly Flinn when she obeyed military laws and had affairs with her coworkers. It is hypocritical of Rollins to both condemn and expect the feminist movement to support women who commit crimes. The argument that this is hypocritical does not make any sense either. While discrimination of this kind is biased and wrong, it is no way hypocritical because feminism is not inherently linked to religion; you do not have to be non-religious (or religious) to believe that women deserve equal treatment to men.

The Unfortunate Situation of Modern Day Feminism

The rhetorical situation of modern day feminism is quite different than what is was in the 1960s. As a result of the 1960s feminist movement, there are equality laws to prevent gender discrimination in the workplace. Moreover, society has created numerous institutions to provide opportunities for women in various careers.

But has it gone too far?

While his views might be biased, Timothy Rollins believes that there is now a case of reverse discrimination. In other words, rights and opportunities are being given to women at the cost of removing them from men. The rhetorical situation he describes is one of double standards and twisted affirmative action. An example of a double standard is seen when men and women are charged with sexual misconduct. Men are often given much stricter sentences than women even when their actions were similar. Affirmative action was established to "correct the wrongs from the past" but now it simply takes jobs from qualified males and gives it to less qualified females. The overreaching arm of modern day feminism truly is the cancer of society.

"Hypocrisy of Modern Day Feminism" Audience Analysis

The article “Hypocrisy of Modern Day Feminism” was published on the website The American Patriot, which is geared toward people with conservative viewpoints. The article is especially written for the white man who is feeling persecuted by things such as affirmative action. The author uses these feelings to draw support form his audience. The audience is expected to be angry about the effects feminism is having on America. However, they do not necessarily have to be very educated on the subject. He explains the many case studies so that the reader does not need any prior knowledge of the events. The author is not attempting to convince people of his viewpoint, rather he is trying to rile up his supporters. The intended audience is likely to strongly agree with the author’s arguments.

"The Burning of the Brassieres"

Riddled within the 1960's photograph representing a popular mode of women's protest against sexism are several areas of rhetorical interest. However, a few things may need to be addressed to fully analyze the photographer's primary use of rhetoric; for starters, who is he or she actually trying to convey this image to? His intended audience is definitely an arguable topic. It is possible that he (or she), perhaps, is capturing this image to show other groups of females how well the feminists seems to be doing, as a sort of call to action to support the feminist movement. On the other hand, the photographer could also be intending to show other anti-feminists an example of a possible "rowdy" demonstration of feminism in an effort to portray a negative image of typical feminists. One thing is definitely for certain, regardless of who may be targeted; the audience will have a general understanding of what feminists stood for at the time and will be generally aware of the tactics used by most female protesters. This audience will be able to see the photographer's purpose for taking this particular picture, whether or not the image-based rhetoric is specifically recognized by the viewer. The image will then be able to instill some sort of emotion or change of thought (i.e. view on feminism, etc.) based  upon the style of rhetoric that the photographer uses. Evidently, the photograph could be used for a multitude of purposes, but it most certainly has an audience and therefore has some form of rhetoric.

Rhetorical Situation of the Women in the 1960s

The picture we used highlights the bra burning that women took part in during the Women’s Rights Movement of the 1960s. During this time, women were working towards gaining their freedom after many years of discrimination and injustice. Women showed that they were entitled to be independent in many ways. As depicted in this picture, bra burning was one of them. The relevance to them burning their bras is that they no longer felt tied down by the prior beliefs of how women should be in the 1950s. Few women actually took part in this action, but there were many who supported it. Feeling natural and free, women would either burn their bras or walk around without one. The author who published this picture did so in order to show the joy and exhilaration that women felt after burning their bras. They felt free, happy, and excited about their protests for equal rights. The audience, 1960s Americans, was probably moved in some way or another after seeing this picture. It shows how elated women really were to gain their freedom.
-Breanne Thompson

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