Analysis of My Rhetorical Situation and Feminism

Ok so I can't wait to actually write a piece about feminism. I feel like I have so many strong opinions about this type of story and now I finally get to release it onto the world I'm so excited. Hopefully I can get my point out and not come across as the crazy feminist who lives in a cave to escape the patriarchy. Yeah it'll definitely be a process.

Cohen, Rebecca. "Why We Still Need Feminism." 7/2/15 via vitaminw.com. Licensed for noncommercial reuse.

• The virginity grant in South Africa isn't exactly front-page news. I think a majority of the audience that this story is trying to reach are mostly feminists (like myself) and students who've been following the tuition crisis in South Africa specifically, or really in any part of the world because that seems to be a common occurrence nowadays (thanks baby boomers for messing up the economy). They probably follow feminist blogs, major global magazines or newspapers, and any student-led magazine. This story definitely targets female students in a lower economy class in South Africa who can't necessarily afford to go to college and the government playing off of those factors in order to control those women's bodies. This audience definitely values education and the cost of said education. 

• Since I have numerous main audience members, I have to write in a way that I can relate to every one of them, which will definitely be interesting to try and do. I want to relate to the feminist and student protesters that 1. More grants are needed and 2. Those grants need to be accessible to all students regardless of race, gender, etc. I also want to relay to the South African government that this grant is a huge step backwards in the global fight for women's rights and that grants need to be accessible to all types of students. Because this is such a pivotal point for women's rights since women are finally breaking into different parts of the work force that weren't socially acceptable before. Also the fact that there is a major tuition crisis and most students rely on grants to even think about going to college and this grant is so exclusive and irrelevant, the money should be allocated for a broader student population.

• I can bring my snarky, fiery feminist self (hopefully I don't overdo it). Well, as a self-proclaimed feminist and a female student, this story gives me hope since there are so many people of different groups protesting this new grant (so it's not just me shouting into the void which makes me feel a little better). This is a whole new level of psychology, being able to analyze why the mayor decided to pass this grant in the first place, how the students are reacting to it, how the students who have the grant are reacting to it, how the protesters are reacting to it, and how the government is handling the backlash. I'm like a kid in the candy store, psychoanalyzing everything that has to do with the South African virginity grant.