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Alex Stenseth

Professor Fielding

WRTC Section 0032

22 February 2018

Parenting Has No Gender

I created this public service announcement to represent the non profit organization

MERGE for Equality and the 2016 print article “The Part I was not Prepared for as a Stay at

Home Dad” by Billy Doidge Kilgore. MERGE for Equality’s focus is on transforming the way

boys and men view masculinity in order to ensure gender equality. It is based on empowerment

for individuals and places emphasis on collaboration and inclusiveness. Kilgore’s article

discusses the need for gender fluidity in parenting roles among modern families. The PSA’s

main idea is that men are able to be stay at home parents alongside women and that traditional

gender roles should no longer be a limiting factor. The PSA is aimed for an audience made up of

the future parenting generations and current parents. It is successful in drawing in viewers due to

its serious looking nature. Black and white photographs are eye catching since they contrast the

real world which is full of color. Not only that, but the father’s head is close to the center and

brings much attention to that area of the advertisement.

The PSA is devoid of color, incorporates limited word choice with punctuation, and

includes MERGE for Equality’s logo. The feeling of the PSA is serious and evokes a gender

neutral attitude. The image sets the mood while the text explains why the mood is such. The PSA

and the article are related as the article focuses on gender fluidity in parenting and breaking the

stereotype that women are the ones who are supposed to stay home and care for children.
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Presenting a man doing an activity in a female light breaks stereotypes. The colored pencils the

father and daughter are using exhibit how actions do not need to be defined for certain genders.

This ties to Kilgore’s article due to its focus on blurring the lines between gender roles and the

downplayed mental effects of breaking traditional expectations. The PSA also includes a quote

from the article directly outlining Kilgore’s desire for gender fluidity in the modern day family

(Kilgore P16). This quote supports the idea of the PSA in that daily childcare can be a task

upheld by any parent of either gender depending on the needs of the family. Unlike Kilgore’s

descriptions of feeling inferior and unproductive, the PSA strives to give men a sense of

inclusion in stay at home parenting (Kilgore P9).

The text is very striking and persuasive as it lays out the main point of the PSA in words.

The picture effectively supports the point because it provides a visual for the words. The ad

focuses on pathos primarily to persuade the viewer into agreeing with its main point, however it

still uses ethos and logos discreetly. Ethos is present upon accessing the nonprofit organization’s

website. It is also present in the quote from Kilgore: A stay at home dad. This also applies for

logos as the website includes logical reasoning as to why the organization exists and what its

mission statement hopes to accomplish, as well as Kilgore’s reasonings for desiring fluidity in

gender roles since he is a stay at home father himself. Pathos is the primary rhetorical device

present in the PSA. Families and children are typically a topic that strikes up emotional appeal.

The combination of a young family with a more somber backdrop devoid of color and a rather

serious message particularly seeks out the emotional side of the viewer. It also connects to the

article, as it too focuses primarily on pathos to deliver its point. Overall, for the message

conveyed, using primarily pathos as a rhetorical appeal is very effective. Many people are
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already aware of gender roles in society just by living in it every day, therefore logos is not a

huge concern for this topic. Ethos is important when it comes to caring about why the ad was

made in the first place and if a viewer wants more information on the topic. Overall, the ad

effectively uses pathos to convince the viewer of its intended message that parenting is for

everyone and not exclusively for one gender.

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Works Cited

https://pxhere.com/en/photo/504132

Kilgore, Billy Doidge. “The Part I was Not Prepared for as a Stay at Home Dad.” ​The

Washington Post​, 13 June 2016. Accessed 9 February 2018,

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/parenting/wp/2016/06/13/the-part-i-was-not-prep

ared-for-as-a-stay-at-home-dad/?utm_term=.035f1664d97f

“MERGE for Equality – Transforming masculinity, advancing gender equality.” ​MERGE for

Equality​, www.mergeforequality.org/.