Brad Patras Sept 23 2013 D'Andrea Assignment 3

Assignment 3 Rhetorical Analysis

In Michael Kimmel's essay, Bros Before Hos: The Guy Code, Kimmel uses his extensive research and behavioral studies background to create the argument that young men are being negatively affected by the guy code in the way that it desensitizes them and robs them of their emotions, in short Kimmel successfully uses his extensive expertise to advocate against lumping all guys into a stereotypical manly man image. Kimmel is very versed in the subject, being a sociologist himself, giving presentations and teaching classes about masculinity and what it means to be a man in today's society has taught him a lot about the views of young men and women when it comes to attitudes toward the guy code. Throughout the essay Kimmel refers back to his experiences in his classes that he has taught, giving his writing credibility through real life examples and stories directly from the view of the students. Kimmel starts the section Being a Man Among Men by quoting several men from his classes who had stories about grow ing up and being forced to reject sensitive feelings (464). By adding these stories to his essay he introduces new perspectives to reinforce his argument, attempting to prove that this issue is widespread and affects all young men. One of the stories he recalled from his

students came from a 24 year old who said that his ... older brothers were always on [his] case. He says his brothers would call him names and belittle him because he wanted to hang out and like play [his] xbox (464). This chapter is ri ddled with stories like this one that Kimmel uses to prove his position. Kimmel splits the essay up into chapters, each having its own descriptive title. Kimmel uses this approach so that his ideas are clear and his transitions between subjects are solid. Another positive aspect of chapters is the ability to switch subjects without having to transition between them, making it possible to cover a very large amount of evidence and examples. For example in the first section he talks about the rules that people have adopted to make up the guy code, and in the next chapter he focuses on testimonials from his students who have been affected by these rules. Although the topics may change throughout the chapters, Kimmel uses a similar approach for conveying information. Language and word choice was a facet that is used in great success in this essay. Since the target audience was young people, the topic of the guy code is not a hard sell to begin with. Kimmel took full advantage of his target audience being young people and used words that may seem inappropriate in any other setting. He often used words like wimp, pussy, wuss etc. Not only are these words some that his audience understands and may even use on a daily basis but they also relate to the reader in a way that makes them feel like the book was written by someone their own age. Kimmel often refers back to his class or his students quite often, although it breaks the illusion that the reader is reading something written by their own peer, it

does introduce a new relationship to the author. His target audience is mostly college aged or possibly high school aged young people, so when he refers back to his class he is creating another connection between student and teacher. So Kimmel quickly goes from talking slang like a teenager to describing student examples as a teacher. This approach is perfect for capturing the attention of students who may have never seen this approach before and keeps the attention of the reader through the length of the essay. Throughout the essay Kimmel demands the attention of his audience with his use of knowledge in what its like to be in a young persons situation but also with his use of slang, the comic book reference, and his quotes from his students. There can be no doubt that Kimmel has the authority to make an argument on such a topic as masculinity in the world, through his extensive teaching and study on the topic. Kimmel presents the issue, proves he knows the topic, and ultimately drives a successful argument that the guy code is harmful to boys growing up in our society.