Analysis of My Rhetorical Situation

The Big Picture

For Project 1 we need to organize the research obtained in order to clearly see what the point of our project is and who we're making it for.

Username Unsplash. "Concert People Crowd Audience Music Party Event" 4/10/15 via pixabay. Creative Commons 0 Public Domain License

Analyzing the Audience

Who would read my QRG? Well I think the audience would be pretty broad, but it would attract some groups more than others.

Economic Class

Abercrombie and Fitch was always a more expensive brand. They could sell the same t-shirt from Walmart and mark the price up 10-20 dollars more. Therefore it is usually the economically wealthy individuals who wore these clothes, so this story would pertain to them. Another factor that impacts the wealthy audience is whether or not the clothes are in style. Normally the people with the most money have more room to buy in-style clothing, like people spending 1000's of dollars Kanye's Yeezy shoe brand. As A & F went out of style, it affected its revenue from its wealthy consumers. This crowd definitely values style and trends, while not valuing the costs and harshness of the A & F clothing brand (not making the large sizes). Younger, economically inclined people are likely to be majorly involved in social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr.

Gender

The main gender affected was women, therefore this QRG will likely be read primarily by women. Due to A & F's discrimination of women (only making sizes to a large), it had a larger impact on women than men. Although it isn't gender, it will also attract a lot of feminists as well (both male and female feminists). This was a giant social issue that discriminated against women. This group values equality, as clothes for men did go into plus sizes whereas the clothes for women did not. They don't value the economics of the company. I feel that they don't value the cost effects of the controversy on the company because they don't care (I don't blame them either). Women are likely to be reading fashion trending blogs like Tumblr, and magazines such as People Magazine. Also it needs to be known that primarily caucasian individuals wore the brand.

Age

This QRG is directed towards the under 30 group, as this is the group that most likely would have worn A & F. Older people usually weren't A & F customers, at least that wasn't what the brand was directed towards. The younger generation values style and trends in clothing, along with the opinions of others. In this generation mostly everyone tries to fit in rather stand out, so the younger people value the opinion of others. They didn't really value the remarks A & F said about their audience, as they only wore the brand because it was "cool".

Where At?

A & F was popular in the United States, and didn't start seeking growth in other countries until 2015. As stated earlier, it was a brand that targeted the wealthier class, so poorer parts of the country weren't in the A & F market. Since these people had nothing to do with the brand when it was popular, they won't have much interest in it as of now. I believe the audience is the people who lived in the nicer areas.

Purpose

I want to make sure that the audience gets a clear understanding of what built up to the A & F controversy in 2013. Background knowledge will be key so that the audience doesn't get lost in the story, so detailed references will be very important in the QRG. Another key element will be sharing the view of both sides, without making this seem like a one-sided controversy. Although it appears one-sided, both sides deserve a chance to be recognized. I want to make sure the audience establishes the protagonist and antagonist themselves. I hope this controversy can bring out some fire in the readers, to make them keep reading and get an opinion out of them. 

The audience has to understand the key stakeholders' opinions to establish their own bias on who is right or wrong in this controversy. Stakeholders such as Mike Jeffries, American Eagle and the women's community as a whole played enormous parts in this controversy, and the reader has a right to understand them better through this QRG. The setting is huge because it takes place in a country (U.S.) that loves getting media to the common man, whether it is accurate or inaccurate. It offers an obstacle that we have to get around to reveal the real truths of the story. It also takes place in a time where people are extremely involved with the news due to social media, which can also cause the controversy to explode in ways that it shouldn't. I'm worried the audience might not view the details in the story as discriminant, even though they clearly are. I think establishing the definition of discrimination is a huge part of this story.

Author

This story was made for me, I'm not even trying to be cliché about it. I have struggled with weight complications for my entire life and understand how hard it is to fit in with a crowd. I've been to the point where I couldn't wear jeans because they looked so funny on me due to the size 44 waist that I used to wear. Even though I decided to change my life (I've lost about 55ish pounds), I still understand how discriminated the women must have felt. Not only do I know this story, but I've lived through it. With my qualifications, I feel that I have the best chance out of anyone to make this project great.