Emily ayers: misgendering a transgender person affects their psyche. She says it's a problem within the transgender and gender non-conforming community. By using the correct pronouns, transgender people feel validated, she says. A yayers grading rubric for visual argument is "visual argument: visual argument"
Emily ayers: misgendering a transgender person affects their psyche. She says it's a problem within the transgender and gender non-conforming community. By using the correct pronouns, transgender people feel validated, she says. A yayers grading rubric for visual argument is "visual argument: visual argument"
Emily ayers: misgendering a transgender person affects their psyche. She says it's a problem within the transgender and gender non-conforming community. By using the correct pronouns, transgender people feel validated, she says. A yayers grading rubric for visual argument is "visual argument: visual argument"
18 November 2015 ENGL 419.001 Visual Argument Assignment Part One: Visual Argument
Part Two: Written Analysis/Reflection
I chose to do a simple comic showing the effect misgendering a transgender person has on their psyche. Words are powerful, and this comic explains that they effect the individual more than one may assume. Although I personally have not struggled with being misgendered, I know it is a problem within the transgender and gender non-conforming community. I recently read a post on the Oregon State University Liberal Arts Programs website about using the correct pronouns, and it inspired me to make a visual addressing the problem. I drew the character myself, and filled them in using Paint on my computer. Their expression makes the image powerful. By having them being bombarded by the words her and she, I hope to show people unfamiliar with non-binary identities the simplicity of using the correct pronoun and how it makes these individuals feel validated within society. When they see my image, I want them to consider asking people what pronouns they identify with, instead of assuming and hurting others with their ignorance.
A common misconception is that it is difficult to use the pronoun their as a
singular identifier. However, it has historically been used in colloquial and other settings to identify a person whose gender may be unknown. Although it is still difficult to gain acceptance in settings where one is unfamiliar with pronouns and gender studies, or people who deny that language can be fluid and changing. I made specific choices in my presentation of the comic and my character. I purposefully used the color red as their shirt color, as red is proven scientifically to attract people and make them notice. I also used a different color for the pronouns speech bubble colors. I used gray for her, black for she, and light pink for they, which is the correct pronoun. I specifically chose black and gray for the feminine pronouns to show that they were perceived negatively by the subject. The light pink color was to bring attention to the correct pronoun, along with my choice to isolate it within its own box. With the conclusion of the comic, which is the character smiling and the text Pronouns matter. underneath them, I hope to have taught my audience to not assume someones identity. By arranging it this way, I am providing a higher visual impact using pathos to appeal to the humanity of my audience. I also believe I effectively used visual coherence in the way I framed each panel of the comic. The first frame, which is my character being bombarded by incorrect pronouns, is larger and rectangular, and the speech bubbles all point off screen. The audiences eye is then guided to the single They by my choice to make its panel smaller than the other two. After that, the eye travels to the last panel. The shape of the strip reminds one of a curve. This creates a feeling of completion and subconsciously, beauty, which engages the reader and allows them to digest the visual more effectively. Overall, I believe I created an argument that could be used in an education setting. By using my characters expressions, a frown and a smile, I guide the audience to feel what they must be feeling as they are being misgendered. Most individuals wish to make others happy, which is why my appeal to pathos is effective. I also make use of line of sight with my comic panels. All these elements combined strengthen my argument, and will hopefully make people think before they assign a gender to someone.