Pink Triangles Response

Pink Triangles is a documentary film that depicts homophobia and the oppression of the gay and lesbian community in America. Although the documentary focuses on the opinions of Americans during the time that it was filmed, the documentary takes viewers back to the days of the Holocaust and shows some of the history of homophobia around the world. Pink Triangles not only seeks to expose homophobia, but also seeks to show why it is a feeling based around ignorance.

Throughout the film, interviews are done with random people on the streets to gauge their feelings about homosexuals. The people interviewed ranged from young teenage boys to grandparents. These interviews show firsthand the true feelings of people and support the director's views that homophobia is widespread across many different generations of people. Additionally, the director uses logos to support his claim by interviewing historians who speak about homophobia during the Holocaust and how homophobic feelings have progressed since then.

At one point in the film a man on the street states that he does not feel personal displays of affection (PDA) should not be displayed in public and that homosexuals often use PDA in order to show pride for their group of people. While this man is speaking, the director cleverly displays images of magazines and advertisements that show men and women kissing, hugging, and showing other types of PDA. This sequence of images shows the director’s use of the rhetorical appeal of ethos and how he seeks to discredit the man’s comment and ultimately increase the credibility of the film and his stance on homophobia.

The director of Pink Triangles also uses the rhetorical appeal of pathos to support his argument by interviewing gay and lesbian men and woman about their experiences dealing with homophobia. One particular young man speaks about his struggles with being openly gay in high school and how he was beat up in the hallways and booed at during his graduating ceremony. Because most all viewers of the documentary have experienced high school, this story is one that many people can relate to. Overall, I feel the director does an excellent job of portraying homophobia in America and uses all three rhetorical appeals in a way that is very convincing to the audience.

Documentaries such as Pink Triangles and newspaper articles such as "Coming Out in Middle School", media that deals with homophobia and the oppression of gays and lesbians, are very interesting to me, as I have dealt with all of this before in my own life. I have both witnessed and experienced homophobia many times in my life and much like “Coming Out in Middle School” suggests, most of these events took place when I was a middle school student. There was one boy, Dee, in my sixth grade homeroom that was openly gay. Dee always had a little turtle purse/backpack on and would occasionally wear lip gloss and body glitter to school. Stories were always exchanged in the hallways about how Dee was gay, which guy he told one of his friends that he liked, how some other boys made fun of him in class, and so forth. I specifically remember one time in the boy’s locker room when some kids hid his turtle purse/backpack, said a few mean things to him, and left him crying in the corner for the rest of class. Eventually, Dee transferred to another school, probably to get away from all the bullying that he endured at ours. It was then, in sixth grade, when I knew I could not come out to anyone because I would get treated the same way that Dee did. Even though I never told anyone that I was gay until high school, somehow people in middle school still knew and I was the butt of jokes during those three long years. Perhaps my classmates needed someone to let out their insecure heterosexual frustration on now that Dee was gone. I am not sure.

In high school I was still made fun of, but not as often. While we all got older and matured, I was also becoming more comfortable with who I was. Eventually I learned to accept myself and in my sophomore year of high school I told my friend Mary that I was gay. As time went on I came out to my very close friends, but to everyone else I still denied my sexuality and tried to blend in with the straight boys. Like “Coming Out in Middle School” mentioned, my high school did have a Gay Straight Alliance, but I was too scared to join because I thought that everyone would think I was gay and not a straight supporter. My school also had a few openly gay students, both boys and girls, but I was still too insecure to let everyone know. I feel that most of my friends, and the rest of the student body for that matter, knew I was gay, but coming out and admitting it was something I was unable to do at the time.

These days I am openly gay to both my friends and family. I’m happy to say that I have not lost any friends over my sexuality and all of my family members accept me for who I am and love me the same as they always have. Reading “Coming Out in Middle” school made me happy for the middle school students who are comfortable coming out to their friends and family. I understand how difficult that can be for a person and I am very impressed with the courage that these young kids have.

The AIDS Memorial Quilt

My favorite part of attending the AIDS Walk last weekend was viewing the AIDS Memorial Quilt. I did some research about the Quilt’s history and I was amazed at the many statistics regarding the size of the memorial Quilt. For example, although the Quilt has more than 91,000 names on it, this accounts for only 17.5% of all U.S. AIDS deaths. Additionally, not all the names on the quilt are deaths associated with people in the United States – many families from many different countries have made panels to remember their loved ones whom have died of AIDS. I was unaware that The AIDS Memorial Quilt was an international project. Being aware of this attribute of the Quilt really makes me see the Quilt as an item uniting people all across the world. The Quilt really shows the breadth of AIDS effects on the people of the world, not just people in our own country. I think The AIDS Memorial Quilt is a wonderful project and one that should be encouraged and continued by all. Even now, AIDS awareness is still very important, whether it be to get people interested in research for finding a cure or to inform people about the transmission of HIV in order to stop the epidemic.

After viewing many of the AIDS Memorial Quilt panels that were on display last weekend at the AIDS Walk, one of them stood out to me. This panel was done in memory of Travis Dale Parsons. It depicted a map of the United States which had many different paths stitched into it. I assume that these paths represent journeys that Travis took in his lifetime. At the top of the panel it says “The purpose of life is not to reach the end – it’s the journey that counts” and at the bottom it reads “I would rather make my days count than count my many days”. All around the border of the panel friends and family have written messages in hearts that were stitched on. These messages talk about different memories that these friends and family had with Travis, perhaps on one of his many adventures. In addition to the written memories, pictures of Travis throughout his life are placed in their respective location on the map of the United States.

As a person who enjoys traveling, this panel really touched me. Although Travis’s family was no doubt crushed by his death, they chose to remember the great things he did in his life instead of remembering his struggle with AIDS. The memories that are written on the hearts add a very personalized touch to the quilt and demonstrate the real differences Travis made in the lives of others and the great memories that they will always have of him. The pictures of Travis also remind us that this panel represents a real person, not just another statistic. The quotes stitched into the panel also remind the rest of us that we should make every day count because we never know what the next day has to offer. I feel this is particularly true when it comes to HIV/AIDS because everyone is at risk for contracting this disease and nobody is safe. Many people do not even know they have HIV until weeks or months after they get it. With this in mind, everyone should be thankful of the life they are blessed with and we should all be living our days as if they were our last. The many personalized aspects of this panel made it my favorite one that I got to see last weekend. I think that everyone wants to be remembered by the great things they did in their lifetime and the fond memories that other people have of them in the prime of their life. I feel that Travis’s friends and family really captured his life in this quilt the way that he would have wanted them to.

Triple-entry Journal

For our service project, my team and I were tasked with helping the Georgia Tech Pride Alliance construct two Monthly Awareness Campaign (MAC) presentations for this semester. The majority of the work that has gone into this service project has been researching about the topics for the first MAC about same-sex marriage. Although I consider myself reasonably knowledgeable about the current issues facing same-sex marriage in the United States, I have also learned a great deal of new information over the past few weeks. In particular, my team has found many scientific journals which discuss research done on the upbringing of children in a same-sex household. This research shows that there is no difference in raising children by two parents of the same sex as compared to two parents of the opposite sex. It has been quite refreshing to learn that there is scientific evidence supporting the push for same-sex marriage and that my teammates are learning a great deal about the issue just like I am.

Overall, I feel that this class has been a great learning experience for every student involved. Regardless if a person considers themselves comfortable with the topic of sexuality or not, or if a person believes they are up-to-date on current issues involving sexuality or not, everyone can learn something new from the activities done in this course. Seeing as how this is my fourth year at Georgia Tech, I feel that I have learned a great deal since I first came here as a freshman. I know for a fact that I am more open-minded to new experiences and am not as sheltered as I used to be in high school. It has been very interesting to observe other students in the class, the majority of which are freshman, be exposed to new topics and conversations that they probably did not expect to have in an English class at Georgia Tech. This course has definitely challenged people to think outside what they are comfortable with, which I believe is a very necessary thing for everyone to do, especially early on in their college career. I have had the chance to see a great deal of people learning through the research that we are required to do for the MAC service project. Because everyone has been looking up new facts and information on same-sex marriages, a lot of information has been uncovered and new facts and philosophies supporting same-sex marriage have been brought to the table. One team member of mine is from China and it is his first year studying at Georgia Tech. I am not quite sure what the cultural belief about homosexuality and same-sex marriage is in China, but I am sure that he is learning a lot about the topic based on the facts that I have seen him find on the topic of same-sex marriage. It is really exciting to know that he probably would not have been exposed to this topic if he did not decide to attend college at Georgia Tech and take this English class this semester.

Over the years I have realized that I am not the greatest debater when it comes to topics associated with ethical or moral decisions. I tend to rely on emotional reasoning, or pathos, rather than sticking to logical facts, or logos, that have been proven by statistics or research. During this class I have be exposed to many new facts about domestic violence, the difficulties of being a mother, sex education in schools, and same-sex marriage in the United States that I was not familiar with before. Although I felt I knew the gist of these topics, I lacked the specific facts needed to make comprehensive arguments in support or against each of the subjects mentioned above. The documentaries that we have watched in this class are filled with many statistics and research-based facts about the topics they address and have contributed to a more comprehensive knowledge of the topics than I had before. One thing that I will definitely take away from this class is the ability to make an argument for or against a specific topic using all three rhetorical appeals, logos, pathos, and ethos, instead of only being able to support the emotional side of an argument. The facts I have learned in this course will definitely be able to help me in the future when presenting my side of an argument. I believe that in the future I will have a larger desire to research facts about a topic I am interested in because of the good feeling I receive when I know that I completely understand a topic and have the ability to argue it in a comprehensive manner.

Response to The Education of Shelby Knox

The Education of Shelby Knox is a documentary that follows Shelby Knox, a high school student in Lubbock, Texas, throughout her quest to get comprehensive sex education taught in her school district. Although the documentary shows the views of both sides in the debate (comprehensive sex education versus an abstinence-only policy) it is clear that the makers of the film are on Shelby’s side and would like to convince viewers to take the comprehensive sex education stance. Throughout the film, the three rhetorical appeals, logos, ethos, and pathos, are utilized by Shelby, although some are more persuasive than others.

Early on in the film, statistics about sexual health and teen pregnancy in Lubbock, Texas are stated. The viewer learns that both sexually transmitted infection rates and teenage pregnancy rates in Lubbock, Texas are higher than the national average. These facts represent the backbone of Shelby’s argument for comprehensive sex education and are used throughout the film in order to utilize the rhetorical appeal of logos. Shelby uses these statistics when she speaks in front of the Board of Education to show that the current abstinence-only policy in schools is not working and needs to be changed in order to account for the fact that teenagers are having sex regardless of being taught about abstinence in schools. In this battle, the logic in Shelby’s argument is very important. Because the Board of Education’s current policy is based on religious values and ideas that are not proven to be true (i.e. educating teenagers about sex will cause them to have sex), a logical argument that is supported purely by facts is needed. Shelby supports her argument with the rhetorical appeal of logos very well throughout the film and the directors of the film do a very good job at capturing it.

In order to convince people of the need for comprehensive sex education, the directors of the film need to convince viewers of Shelby’s credibility. Because Shelby is only a fifteen-year-old high school student, this task if easier said than done. One way in which the directors use the rhetorical appeal of ethos is by showing Shelby taking the “true love waits” oath with her parents and youth pastor. This shows viewers that Shelby’s push to get comprehensive sex education in schools is driven by the desire to be educated instead of ignorant and not the desire to have sex or be promiscuous. Shelby says that she has chosen to be abstinent until she is married, but even after marriage she still needs to know how to have safe sex until she is ready to start a family. Even as a fifteen-year-old, Shelby’s actions and statements show her maturity, drive to be educated, and responsibility – all the characteristics of a young adult and someone that can be trusted.

In addition to taking an offensive approach to the rhetorical appeal of ethos, directors of the film also take a defensive approach. At the end of the film it is revealed that the Lubbock Board of Education superintendent had been having an affair. Although this statement does not increase Shelby’s credibility, it does decrease the credibility of the superintendent, and ultimately the ideas that he put into action (i.e. an abstinence-only education policy). Although this is approach is sneaky and plays on the fallacies of the human mind, it is a very effective use of the appeal of ethos.

Despite the strong use of logos and ethos, I feel that The Education of Shelby Knox did not take advantage of the rhetorical appeal of pathos in their argument for comprehensive sex education in schools. Although the horrifying statistics about Lubbock, Texas might draw some emotional reaction from viewers, the majority of the film focused on showing logical reasons why comprehensive sex education is needed in schools. I believe that interviewing pregnant teenagers at Shelby’s high school and asking them if they wished they had been educated on safe sex in school would be a good starting place for using pathos in the film.

Fundraising Strategies

Over the past few weeks my fundraising team and I have attempted both online and in-person strategies to raise money for AIDS Walk Atlanta. I was able to send out a mass email to all of the contacts in my address book using the AIDS Walk Atlanta website and I received responses from a couple of friends and family members. For in-person fundraising strategies my team and I attempted to solicit donations from football fans at the Georgia Tech Parents Weekend football game and we are working to set up a bake sale in the Student Center in the coming weeks.

Of the courses I am taking this semester, this course has definitely required the most out-of-class participation. My team meets about one or two times per week in order to work on fundraising for AIDS Walk Atlanta or to discuss helping the Georgia Tech Pride Alliance with their Monthly Awareness Campaigns (MACs) in addition to the time that we each put into these projects individually. At times it is difficult to set aside time for fundraising because fundraising takes a fair amount of planning and it is not something that can be done in fifteen minute sessions throughout the week. Due to the very busy schedule my teammates and I have with other classes and working on the Pride Alliance MACs, we have had to shift our fundraising schedule back a little bit. I do not think that anyone on our team expected such a large work load from this class and other classes, so it seems we underestimated how busy our schedules would be this semester when we made our fundraising schedule. Also, because we had trouble securing a spot in the Student Center to hold a fundraising bake sale, the bake sale has been pushed back a few weeks until the logistics are figured out. Despite these setbacks with our in-person fundraising strategies, my team has continued to raise money through our proposed online strategies.

My original fundraising goal for AIDS Walk Atlanta was $100. I felt this goal was very reachable, but it also provided some leeway if fundraising proved to be more difficult than expected. So far I have been able to raise $80 by utilizing the AIDS Walk Atlanta online fundraising page and sending emails out to my family and friends. I am very impressed with the money I have raised so far as I was not expecting to raise so much in such a short amount of time. Because of my progress thus far, I am considering raising my goal to $200. I feel that this new goal will be more difficult to obtain, but because my team has many more fundraising strategies to implement, it is still possible to reach.

Blog 1: License to Thrive response

Growing up, my generation did not witness segregation in America. For the most part, all races were given the same fundamental rights as United States citizens and everyone could sit in the front of the bus, eat in a restaurant’s main seating area, and vote in the next presidential election. In school, students learned about the famous court case Brown v. Board of Education and were taught that “separate but equal” is, in fact, not equal. Despite the seemingly innate awareness that separate is not equal, the documentary License to Thrive pointed out that the infamous idiom is still used everyday in the world of sports. Because “separate but equal” is used today in terms of gender-separate sport teams and does not apply to a person’s race, it seems that the idea is widely accepted and receives little opposition from the players. Although still in play, “separate but equal” sport teams have pros and cons associated with them.

The modern idea of gender-separated sport teams is backed back the fact that physically, males and females are inherently different. While males contain more testosterone, a hormone necessary for making muscle, than females, this is seen as a biological advantage. Because males are born with the ability to achieve greater muscle mass than women they tend to be stronger, on average, and thus tend to excel over females in sports where strength is a factor. Having gender-separate sport teams allows for a normalized playing field where gender cannot be viewed as an advantage or disadvantage on a particular team. Additionally, gender-separate sport teams negate the need for teams to have quotas or required male to female ratios – ideas that can be viewed as unequal opportunities toward one sex.

Although practical and convenient, gender-separate sport teams can also be viewed as unfair or unequal in terms of funding and salary. As an example, minimum salaries and team salary caps are significantly lower for Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) teams as compared to teams belonging to the National Basketball Association (NBA). One can attribute this to the greater popularity of the NBA over the WNBA and thus the larger corporate and private sponsors, but ultimately this is just another case of the “glass ceiling” in action. How will women be seen as equal opponents in the business world if they are not seen as equal opponents in the sports arena? Additionally, who is to say that single gender sport teams are acceptable and single gender business executive boards are not?

Looking over both the pros and cons of gender-separate sport teams, I feel that the current policy of having single gender teams should stand. Taking a step back and looking at the industry of professional sports, the name of the game is entertainment. Both women’s and men’s teams draw in unique fans, and each one enjoys watching that particular team for one reason or another. Because the single purpose of sporting events is entertainment and not to set the precedent for how things should work in government or the business world, the main focus of the professional sports industry is pleasing the crowds. It appears the industry is doing its job and therefore should continue in the practice of having gender-separate sport teams.