This week in class we read about using humor in arguments. Humor in arguments can range from satire to sarcasm and when used appropriately they can strengthen an argument. Authors must be careful though because use of humor inappropriately can hurt credibility.
Last week we read a few chapters from the book Skinny Bitch. This book used humor in the form of sarcasm to grasp the attention of the audience. Humor made the arguments in Skinny Bitch more memorable, but the heavy use of sarcasm came off as condescending, and made me feel less likely to agree with the argument of the authors.
This week in class we also looked an pro-ana and pro-mia websites. I was surprised to see that such a controversial site would be available for view to the public. The girls on that site seemed not only to purge their food, but also purge out feelings of hatred toward their body. They all wanted to lose weight even though they were already severely thin and even asked for tips on how to lose weight from other girls. All the comments that I looked at seemed to be supportive of the feelings of hunger and hatred toward food. I never saw a comment suggesting that any of these girls receive help. In my opinion, the pro-ana and pro-mia websites seem only to be reinforcing the behaviors of anorexic and bulimic girls. I also found it odd to see the girls trying to fight their hunger with images of really thin girls and celebrities in “thinspo.”
