In “ Becoming members of society: Learning the social meaning of gender” essay, Aaron H. Devor makes an argument that genders are a production of society structure and we learn to adapt to its demand as we set ourselves in the position to be successful. Also in the selection from her Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertisings Changes the Way We Think and Feel book, ” Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt”: Advertising and Violence, Jean Kilbourne states that advertisings that depicts sex and violence are contributing to the crime against women in our society.
Yet both writers making different arguments and with different style in their writing, they both are using the three rhetoric strategies to persuade the readers. These three basic ways to persuade and audience with opposing view, according to Greek philosopher Aristotle, are Logos, Pathos, and Ethos. Ethos is a way of persuading by personal ethical and credibility.
Devor is a professor of sociology, Dean of Graduate Studies at the University of Victoria in British Columbia and a member of the International Academy of Sex Research , he is also a transgender who has been born Holly Devor but make his decision in 2002 to live as a man. While Kilbourn is award-winning producer of the documenteries on images of woman in ads ( Killing Us Softly, Slim Hopes) and tobacco advertising ( Pack of Lies), she is also a member of the National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Both of them are a well-respected figure in their respected fields so it give them the credibility of the readers to make the statement from the subjects. Throughout his argument, Devor maintain a personality of a scholarly and informative person by supporting his premises with reliable outside sources thus boost his credibility in his readers’ views. Although Kilbourn uses a lot of source as well, but she projects herself as passionate and it helps her to strengthen her stance as she make her argument.