Rhetorical Theory Of The Bitzer Body Positive Movement
In America, the number one cause of death is heart disease, coming shortly after is diabetes and obesity (World Health Organization, 2014). Most of the population of America knows that there are health concerns that continue to increase as generations progress. The current average body weight and sizes for males and females in the U.S. have drastically increased compared to what they were 50 years ago. Currently, the average size for women’s clothing in the U.S. is between a size 12 and 16. For men it is a size 44 (Striegel-Moore, 2002).
The movement roughly began around the late 90’s by two women named Connie Sobczak and Elizabeth Scott. Of course there had been many movements and mindsets in place before the “body positive movement” came …show more content…
One that I figured would work best with the issue is Bitzer’s theory of rhetorical situation. In this theory, Bitzer had designed three parts to the problem. These parts include exigence, audience and constraints. Exigence, defined by Bitzer is “an imperfection marked by urgency. It is a defect, an obstacle, something waiting to be done, a thing which is other than it should be”. It is the problem or what is trying to be solved. In an exigence, there are some guidelines that one must follow in order to solve the problem through the use of rhetoric. The issue must be one that can be altered through the use of communication. It cannot be a natural disaster, or death as Bitzer quotes. One must be able to control and manage how we respond to the problem through the use of language in order for the issue to be an …show more content…
For his first category in his theory, exigence, this talks about what the problem is and what makes it a problem. For the movement the problem would be the health concerns of the people who are looking past the way they look and normalizing the thought of obesity. This would be considered an exigence because it is an issue that is about to be changed through the use of convincing and educating. It is not destiny for someone to be unhealthy, but it is destiny for someone to have additional health concerns due to how they treat their bodies. Poor nutrition and lack of physical movement can contribute to a poor lifestyle, resulting in more serious
The movement roughly began around the late 90’s by two women named Connie Sobczak and Elizabeth Scott. Of course there had been many movements and mindsets in place before the “body positive movement” came …show more content…
One that I figured would work best with the issue is Bitzer’s theory of rhetorical situation. In this theory, Bitzer had designed three parts to the problem. These parts include exigence, audience and constraints. Exigence, defined by Bitzer is “an imperfection marked by urgency. It is a defect, an obstacle, something waiting to be done, a thing which is other than it should be”. It is the problem or what is trying to be solved. In an exigence, there are some guidelines that one must follow in order to solve the problem through the use of rhetoric. The issue must be one that can be altered through the use of communication. It cannot be a natural disaster, or death as Bitzer quotes. One must be able to control and manage how we respond to the problem through the use of language in order for the issue to be an …show more content…
For his first category in his theory, exigence, this talks about what the problem is and what makes it a problem. For the movement the problem would be the health concerns of the people who are looking past the way they look and normalizing the thought of obesity. This would be considered an exigence because it is an issue that is about to be changed through the use of convincing and educating. It is not destiny for someone to be unhealthy, but it is destiny for someone to have additional health concerns due to how they treat their bodies. Poor nutrition and lack of physical movement can contribute to a poor lifestyle, resulting in more serious