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In the TED Talk Growing Up in a Pornified Culture, Gail Dines effectively employs
pathos, ethos, and logos to promote Culture Reframed, her organization which is dedicated to
addressing what she believes to be a hypersexualized culture. She invokes an emotional response
with shock and humor and establishes a sense of authority by being presented as a Ph.D. and
scholar of Sociology and Womens Studies. She also follows a logical progression of statements
and media to sway the audience to believe that hyper-sexualization is an issue that must be
addressed. It is only after this that she presents Culture Reframed as a potential solution and
resource.
The most prominent rhetorical device throughout Dines talk is pathos, an appeal to
emotion. The talk incorporates both quotes and pictures to invoke a variety of responses. For
example, Dines at one point in the beginning of the talk provides a quote from Details Magazine
which reads There is an entire generation of young people who think sex ends with a money
shot to the face. After quoting the magazine, she pauses for dramatic effect. The overall mood is
ominous at that moment contrasting the more lighthearted temperament when she begins
describing and imitating the provocative model poses with a mocking charm. Two slides
incorporated in to the Dines accompanying slideshow seen in the video are particularly striking:
a photo from of a Caucasian woman posing in lingerie, and a slide which quotes the promotional
description of a pornographic film. The image of the woman posing in lingerie seen at 3:04 in the
Ted Talk recording is used by Dines to show the difference between how women are presented
in media when compared to men. The previous slide in the video shows a man fully clothed in a
business shirt while all other images of women from the various magazines shown in the
presentation depict women as partially clothed. Dines argues that the expression on the womans
face combined with her dress is an invitation for sex and the fact that many women are depicted
A Rhetorical Analysis of Gail Dines Growing Up in a Pornified Culture
women are depicted as sex objects almost exclusively with many degrading and oftentimes
violent acts are being done towards women. This is where the slide quoting the description of a
We at Pure Filth know exactly what you want. Chicks being ass-f**cked till their
sphincters are pink, puffy, and totally blown out. Adult diapers just might be in store for
The shock value of this statement is obvious and Dines knows this to be the case. She
successfully closes her talk with this being the final example of violence in pornography that she
presents. The general discomfort of the audience can be felt through the camera as Dines states
and I want to be clear, this is mainstream porn. This is what the twelve-year-old boy gets to
within fifteen seconds. Earlier in the talk she mentions that she is a mother of a twelve-year-old
boy, appealing to the parents in the audience. By bringing up the twelve-year-old boy, instead
of my twelve-year-old boy she removes herself from the subject, allowing the audience to see
the twelve-year-old boy as anonymous. It could be anybodys child including their own.
In addition to revealing that she is a mother, Dines mentions that she is a scholar of
Sociology and womens studies. This implies that she is particularly qualified to speak on this
topic. She repeatedly states throughout the talk that what she describes as the graphic and violent
strains of pornography available are relatively common and mainstream and any young child will
find it immediately when searching for porn with a search engine such as Google. By stating that
she is a mother, she is suggesting to the audience that her interest in pornography and its effects
are to figure out what is best for her child and other children like him. As a scholar, she
establishes that she is qualified to study and make authoritative statements on the potential
A Rhetorical Analysis of Gail Dines Growing Up in a Pornified Culture
societal implications of hyper-sexualization and pornography. Her very usage of words such as
hyper-sexualization and socialization provide the audience with the perception that she is
familiar and comfortable enough with such terms to use them properly.
The purpose of using pathos and ethos is to ultimately create a sense of logos. Dines
goal with the audience is to not only raise awareness of the issue of hyper-sexualization, but also
to get people to act. She references Gulliver Strategy which is essentially the idea that the
many can overcome the seemingly more powerful few. One individual alone may not change
much, but many people united against a cause can change their circumstances. The reaction of
the audience towards the various slides from pornographic films was that of shock. Dines takes
this reaction of shock and makes its unpleasantness vocal, grooming the audience to want the
displeasure to go away. She uses her authority as a mother and scholar to comfort the audience in
a sense. They are comforted by the fact that as a scholar and mother, Dines is capable and
competent enough to tell them what they should do. The question is what exactly should be done.
Dines answers this by presenting her organization Culture Reframed which she describes as an
organization that will establish programs, hire on experts, and take down [the] beast because
our children are worth more, our culture is worth more, our boys are worth more, and our girls
Overall, Gail Dines usage of pathos, ethos, and logos is very effective, albeit with a
heavy dependence on pathos. Understanding that the topic at hand is both taboo and sensitive,
her approach is direct, mature, but bold and without censorship. This attitude in addition to her
established credibility, logical progression, and effective usage of media makes for an overall
References
Dines, G. (2015, April 28). Growing Up in a Pornified Culture. Navesink, New Jersey, United
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TpHNlmNsx8