RA# 3

Rhetorical Analysis # 3

Title: "Bros Before Hos":The Guy Code

Author: Michael Kimmel

Date: 2008

Topic: Author Michael Kimmel talks about the strict code that young boys have to live by, a code for masculinity, its a day by day check list on how to be a true man in the eyes of other men. Kimmel investigates the values, rites and expectations young boys have to live up to in today's society.

Analysis of Argument

Exigence: Kimmel explains that the "Guy Code" is a collection of rules, traits and values that make a boy seen as a man in today's society. The rules all add up onto a list that is used by almost all men in society to judge a man.

Intended Audience: Kimmel writes to inform the readers, may it be college students or everyday people reading the article in a paper or journal. The intended audience know less about the topic because of the facts and detail kimmel goes into explaining his points.

Purpose: I believe the purpose of this article is to engage the audience and to inform them about the strict rules society pushes on young boys.

Claims: "This is "The Guy Code," the collection of attitudes, values, and traits that together composes what it means to be a man(609)."

Main Evidence: To support his claim Kimmel uses information from college campuses and high schools asking young men what they think it means to be a man and the answers are,  "Don't cry... never show your feelings, never ask for directions, never give up, never give in, be strong, be aggressive, show no fear, show no mercy, get rich, get even...(609)." Kimmel quotes social psychologist Robert Brannon for his summarizing of the four basic rules of masculinity, "No sissy stuff, Be a big wheel, be a sturdy oak, Give'em hell(610)." The four rules almost match exactly with the results Kimmel got from the colleges and high schools.  KImmel then talks about how young boys learn these traits and how they are known by every male, "Guys hear the voices of the men in their lives-fathers, coaches, brothers, grandfathers, uncles, priests-to inform their ideas of masculinity(611)." Its the figures we all grew up with that we learn how to be a man from. Interviews from students in a Sociology of Masculinity class bring up the topic that " Other guys constantly watch how well we preform. Our peers are a kind of "gender police," (612)."  The consent effort to walk, talk, eat, and every mannerism is to be seen as a true man.

Rhetorical Analysis:

Writer's Strategy 1: Description
Writer's Strategy 2: Exemplification
Writer's Strategy 3: Cause and Effect

Reader's Effect 1: Kimmel explains the rules of the guy code, he explains what the rules do to a young boy and how it effects how the boy is seen in society. The facts and details that Kimmel use are all true, me being a boy  can really relate to the guy code.

Reader's Effect 2: Kimmel interviews students around the same age as me and the answer they give are the same i would of given. Every case or example used in this article the reader can relate to.

Reader's Effect 3:  Kimmel explains how the guy code is influenced by fathers, grandfathers, coaches, and masculine figures in a young boys life, the figures form ideals of what it is to be a man. The effects of the guy code can cause a loss in emotions and separation disorders.

My Response:

I found "Bros Before Hos" to be a shockingly true article, everything Kimmel used i can relate to. I grew up with my father, the classic tough emotionless man teaching me how to be strong and self reliable, but i was never pushed to be a tough unemotional man. Just after years of looking up to my father as a hero i have tuned into him. When Kimmel talks about the "Gender Police"  and how every man feels like they are being watched, and the moment they step over the line that defines malignity and femininity they will be striped of their tittle of being man is correct. Every man wants to be seen as tough, strong and dependable, but litter in life i hope the guy code isn't a clear defined line of rules.