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*Gender and Rhetoric*

 In this entry, I will examine the critical questions: What gender norm is constructed or undone in this artifact, how is it rhetorically done, and/ or how does it promote a dominant ideology over a marginalized group or pushed back against the ideology or gender norms? Is it productive or unproductive?

To investigate these questions, the artifact that I have chosen to analyze is the movie Moxie. Moxie demonstrates the negative effects of the dominant ideology that women don’t have a voice. Moxie demonstrates these negative effects but also pushes against the ideology by demonstrating that unity and speaking out can make a difference. It is important to be able to openly admit that there is a divide in gender and tell women that they cannot be oppressed and silenced by men and others in the higher positions of power. Moxie is being productive in educating the viewers of the movie.

Moxie is a movie on Netflix about high school students who are tired of the gender inequality and sexist attitudes of the school. Vivian is a sophomore who has been going to  Rockport High school and has been accustomed to the way people are treated at the school. Lucy is a new student who is not happy with the way students do not speak up against the injustices against women. Lucy is the reason why Vivian has a moment of realization where she believes that there should be change in her school. Vivian anonymously creates a sort of pamphlet where she writes about the injustices calling for everyone in the school to fight back against the oppression of men. By showing the support of one another Moxie grows stronger and has an influence at the end of the movie.

Butler (2003) explains how gender is completely influenced through social norms and they also influence the way people live their lives. Butler (2003) states, “These norms have far-reaching consequences for how we understand the model of the human entitled to rights or included in the participatory sphere of political deliberation.” When a person feels entitled due to their race, social status and gender they treat others like less of a person because it. Butler (2003) also mentions how these social norms are also needed for people to know they have to live because without it they would not know how to act. That is the beginning and direction stir of how to be able to assert individuality, The ‘I’ in who a person is. 

In Moxie one of the first things that was done was to create awareness by wearing hearts and stars on their hands. This was a symbol of union to those who are tired of being treated unfairly. It was the beginning of their revolution because Vivian was unaware of how many girls in school felt oppressed and wanted change at their school. The hearts and stars was the first attempt of many that created Moxie. In the beginning there is no one with hearts and stars in at school and Vivian realizes that she was the only one who did it and tries to take it off in the bathroom where she found other girls who were proudly wearing the stars and hearts. The alliance helped Vivian gain her confidence that there can be change. 

After the hearts and starts the girls wore strap tops because the dress code of Rockport High is mainly targeted towards women. Kaitlynn was wearing a strap shirt and the principal asked her to put on a jacket. “Just cover up so that we can all get back to learning,” (36:44) said the principal. One of  Kaitlynn’s classmates was wearing the same tank top but was not called out for it due to her body looking different. Every woman is different in shape and size. Moxie expressed how the dress code is only to accommodate  men because they can’t control themselves and women's bodies are a distraction at school. There weren't any regulations regarding the men from wearing tank tops to school The education system is singling out women only in the movie. 

Towards the end of the movie the Moxie is put in a difficult situation because of the challenges they face and with one of Vivian’s friends suspended there is a class walk out to protest the injustice in Rockford High. The administration and teachers did nothing to help those who were trying be vocal with their concerns and wanted a bigger impact. The walk out caught the attention of the principal. During the walk out anyone who wanted to speak and tell their experience they had many people to hear them out and their experience. For example, Emma was sexually assaulted by the football captain and felt like no one would believe her because of his position and his gender. Mitchell, the football team's president is held on a pedestal at the school which made her uneasy to voice.  

There are a few things I would like to point out that were the leading cause of the oppression of women at the school. The list that was sent out every year with who got best at something or worse. For example, there were categories such as most bangable and best ass. This list is sexualizing students at the high school making many of them feel uncomfortable. One thing that students could have done is ignore it and move on but it seemed like that was a normal recurring thing. Instead of using such sexualizing terms maybe use uplifting categories. Another problem was the administration there were several times when Lucy went to the Principal's office expressing her concerns  like Mitchell harassing her. The principal used bothering instead or the term harassing because it meant more paperwork. The attitude of the principal was already concerning but when the principal was shown the list she immediately said because it was social media it didn’t involve the school. The principal being a woman too would not help the girls at the school with their concerns. Especially with the football team being the root of the problem.      

Phillips (2012) states that by understanding that males are more likely to oppress women due to their exposure to the patriarchy.

“Understanding that men learned masculinity through oppressive systems helps us make sense as to why men who are exposed to vast amounts of misogynistic hip-hop music are more prone to objectify women (Kistler & Lee, 2010) and why men who view more pornography are more prone to accept rape myths as well as uphold harmful attitudes about women (W ei, Ven-Hwei, & Hsiaomei, 2010).”

These oppressive systems are being embedded into our society through teachings from the home, the media and socially. Philips’s article discusses how men and children should be involved in conversations that focus on gender violence. In doing so we can break away from the cycle of violence from men. Like how Mitchell from the movie Moxie was aggressive towards Lucy and sexually assaulted Emma in her own bedroom. Even though it is a movie and it's for entertainment purposes I do believe that it is harmful for young teens to be watching such actions and be influenced by it. They could take it as their guidance to being liked and cool at school because it’s being portrayed that way on a screen.    

In summary, the movie Moxie is challenging and pushing back the societal gender norms. Women have a voice and united they are more powerful capable of change. United, everyone can be treated fairly. Although it is just a movie it is one step closer to equality for all. Our country is still trying to achieve equality for all and it’s taking too long. Women are climbing the government ladder and we will eventually get there. 

Butler, J. (2004). “Introduction: Acting in concert.” In Undergoing gender (pp. 1-4). New York: Routledge. 

Poehler, P., Lessing, K., Sackett, M. 2021 Moxie. Netflix. https://www.netflix.com/watch/81078393?trackId=14170286&tctx=2%2C0%2Cde1274a1-aa43-4cc3-a00f-4210e7a43f92-22469582%2C485fa20d-7a3c-4988-8317-585581a95722_72720579X3XX1621197602349%2C485fa20d-7a3c-4988-8317-585581a95722_ROOT%2C

PHILLIPS, J. D. (2012). Engaging Men and Boys in Conversations About Gender Violence: Voice Male Magazine Using Vernacular Rhetoric as Social Resistance. Journal of Men’s Studies, 20(3), 259–273. https://proxy.augustana.edu:2138/10.3149/jms.2003.259

[yvillegasvera18]

*Multiculturalism*

In this entry, I will examine the critical questions; Where does the rhetoric of this artifact position the “right” balance between the collective and the individual in the situation? Between “sameness” and “difference”? How is this “spot productive or unproductive?

To answer the questions, I examined the TikTok and an article on the term Super Straight as my rhetorical artifact. The term super straight is allowing to cover up transphobic people by saying they are only attracted to women born women, this is unproductive because it excludes a group of women to be looked like less of a woman by only being looked at from sexual intentions. This term also includes women who would not date men who were not born men. The super straight alliance has many shown to be taken in by straight men.

Super straight is a new terminology that was introduced on TikTok by a user named Kyleroyce. He expressed the new findings of his so-called “new sexuality” where he openly expressed his interest in women who are born women. He is not attracted to transwomen because they are not real women as he makes it seem. This video received a lot of backlash from the LGBTQ+ community and supporters of the community. It was unclear if it was just a joke or the sole purpose was to stir up the community but many people took it seriously. By taking this seriously they now have official colors of orange and black and even a flag.

Multiculturalism is a sensitive subject to talk about in communication. It is hard to talk about it because of the many differences there are it causes a lot of collisions. The only way we can move forward is by accepting those new perspectives and ideas but they also have to be willing to accept the criticism. According to Goldzwig , “By recognizing and accounting for indigenous and marginalized communities, we begin to fill in the empty spaces and missing patterns of a highly complex rhetorical quilt. Questions of religion, race, gender, class, ethnicity, and sexual orientation seem to slip away” (pp. 280). By starting conversations and openly listening to one another and also listening to the voices who cannot be heard. We can bridge this gap that is needed for understanding one another. Just like starting the conversation about the super straight group.

To start I want to take a look at what Kyleroyce, the creator of super straight, said in his video. His statement is excluding a group of trans women and making them look like they are not equal to other women. “Straight men get called transphobic because I wouldn't date a trans woman. Now, I'm super straight. I only date the opposite gender, women, that are born women. So you can't say I'm transphobic now because that is just my sexuality." The issue with this is that men don’t even know if someone is trans unless that specific person tells them that they are. Then suddenly men are no longer attracted to them because of their sex organs. This leads to my second example.

In the Insider article, there are several Twitter posts throughout it. This tweet in specific was a perfect example of seeing women as sex objects. In particular, a tweet states, “No sane man wants to fuck the inverted penis hole/opening flesh wound of a man LARPing as a woman.” This begins to raise questions like is this really about preference in attraction or the intentions men have. That itself is very much unproductive and harmful to all women.

Kyleroyce was interviewed by Insider. His intentions with the video and the intentions that those who support the supper straight group are completely different. According to Insider Kyleroyce said, “It was never meant to be hateful towards anyone” yet the Twitter posts that are also part of the Insider article state otherwise, “It’s super-straight however more associated with the right and /pol/, which hold hatred against trannies, Basically the extremist super straight.” this is pointing out that they hate transwomen. Those who are against trans are transphobic. Using the term super straight to cover up their hatred for the trans community. That is unethical.

Although Kyleroyce said he meant no harm by saying what he said it was taken out of context by many who did want to be labeled as transphobic. Looking at this from another perspective everyone has their preferences in a person. Everyone has different ways of choosing their partners. Here I want to mention that Kyleroyce wanted to specify that yes, he’s attracted to women but is not okay with trans women. Is that his preference? This is still problematic because trans women are still women. We don’t know if he is accepting of trans women. Accepting in the terms of the supports those who have transitioned but just won’t date them? Or could Kyleroyce just be afraid of being labeled as gay or dating a trans woman? This is how we start a conversation to clear up the confusion in this. No one is labeled as gay just because they are dating a trans person. If you are a straight man attracted to a trans woman it is perfectly normal to be attracted to her because she is a woman. I think people don’t understand that.

To further explain multiculturalism, I will be taking a look at how multiculturism is best understood through education and teachings of a topic to start a conversation. If we have conversations about the LGBTQ community then people wouldn’t have to make assumptions. The journal article written by Meyer, Elizabeth J., et al helps explain the education process in schools is the gateway to talking about a sensitive subject. First, the definition of GSD- inclusive education as stated in the journal, “The term GSD-inclusive here signifies a transformative form of education that incorporates issues related to gender and sexuality into the school curriculum in ways that recognize the diversity of genders and sexual identities in our culture and across history and works to challenge the oppression created by heteronormative and gender-normative school cultures” (221). With wanting to bring in GSD-inclusive teachings into the school curriculum comes many challenged and like in the journal some are the support of the administration, colleagues, and parents. With these challenges, it is difficult to teach. More straight teachers are likely to feel uncomfortable talking about these topics. To remove these uncomfortable feelings it is necessary to start a conversation. It’s okay to ask questions especially when you want to know more about others and not wanting to offend anyone either. Some teacher has already pushed for their inclusive curriculum according to the article it states, “A smaller number of teachers (61.8%) have gone further towards a GSD-inclusive curriculum and worked on challenging homophobia and transphobia, bringing in outside speakers, including queer theory, or critiquing heterosexual privilege” (227). By challenging these norms by talking about the LGBTQ community we help build a healthy and inclusive environment for children who are struggling with their identity. By being able to explain and share different perspectives it helps children not only understand who they are but understand others. Thus this acceptance connects the gap of harmful stereotypes.

In summary, the LGBTQ community needs the society that we live in to get educated on what the community is. They don’t need to necessarily have to accept it but it is a starting point to a conversation. Having every voice heard and counted for. If we have these conversations, education on the LGBTQ community then we wouldn’t have videos like the one Kyleroyce posted. Again, he may not have meant harm by what he means but it sparked a rise in transphobic people. Hate comes from difference and fear. How we eliminate differences and fear, it’s by openly talking about these topics.

Goldzwig, S. R. (1998). Multiculturalism, rhetoric and the twenty-first century. Southern Communication Journal, 63 (4), 273290.

Meyer, Elizabeth J., et al. “Perspectives on Gender and Sexual Diversity (GSD)-Inclusive Education: Comparisons between Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual and Straight Educators.” Sex Education, vol. 15, no. 3, May 2015, pp. 221–234. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/14681811.2014.979341.

Asarch, Steven. A social-media trend has people identifying as ‘super straight,’ The transphobic campaign was meant to divide LGBTQ people. Insider. 8 Mar. 2021, https://www.insider.com/super-straight-flag-meaning-tiktok-superstraight-ss-movement-origin-2021-3

[yvillegasvera18]

*Isocrates*

In this entry I will be taking a look how my chosen artifact fits or does not fit with Isocrates' criteria of good rhetoric by looking for examples of Kairos, appropriateness, and originality. Is the artifact an example of rhetoric ethical/productive for democracy and/or limiting to society?

To examine these questions the artifact that I have chosen is a speech that Ginny gave in her classroom. Ginny if from the Netflix show Ginny and Georgia that has also been trending on Netflix’s top 10 choice. Ginny demonstrates good rhetoric that Isocrates defines through her speech in front of her class. Ginny shows kairos through her personal experience, she’s appropriate with challenging racial norms and she’s original by defying the prompt and explain why she doesn’t feel like she belongs.

Ginny and Georgia is a new Netflix series that is has been very popular since it’s release. Ginny is a fifteen-year-old who wants to have a normal life like having friends, a boyfriend, and a stable home. Georgia is Ginny’s mother who is the reason why they move so often. They move to Wellsbury where Ginny finally feels like she can be a normal teenager. The show especially focuses on identity, Ginny struggles with her identity due to her being biracial. Having a white mother and a black father causes her identity issues and the weird questions and treatment from other students and even her own teacher. Ginny’s AP English teacher has everyone write an essay for a scholarship contest where the prompt is ‘Where do you feel you most belong’. Ginny was very passionate when she wrote her paper only to not have been chosen by her teacher.

According to Isocrates in order to demonstrate good rhetoric in a speech it should have all three components of Kairos, appropriateness, and originality. All three components must be present for Isocrates’s definition of good rhetoric. According to my lecture, with Kairos it is a question of was it the correct time for this speech. Although appropriateness and Kairos can seem to overlap Kairos can be looked at the timing through the crowd was it what they needed to hear? Was it the correct timing for the speaker personally? Was it an event of a memorial? Looking at the appropriateness, in the lecture it is defined as, “Propriety and decorum/community traditions, including values.”  Meaning in the way that the speaker speaks to it’s audience is it meaning full does it have values. With originality it’s pretty self-explanatory, has it been done before? Would anyone has thought about doing it? There are also some creative ways in which a speaker can give their speech and be very effective.

Starting off with Kairos, it’s shown through Ginny’s speech because it was the right time for her to talk about who she is and how she has coped with her identity crisis. Throughout the series Ginny is struggling with feeling if she really belongs where she is. In her essay that was read she states, “Always lost, always asking for directions and people point my way like the scarecrow. Like tornadoes blowing me which ever way the wind blows. Well Dorothy doesn’t want to play today.” Ginny is always wondering if she fits in and if she’s accepted in either group. She is being tossed up and wherever she lands in being identified by others she would go on with it. Ginny is tired and ready to start determining who she is and where her identity takes her. Playing an identity game is harmful to the person who feels like they don’t belong in either group. Does Ginny feel like she fits in with white people or black people? Only Ginny can determine that and by giving this speech it was the time for her to admit it to herself. On another note, she also had to read her essay out loud which also contributes to the timing.

The appropriateness of Ginny’s speech is her determination to value who she are as a person. Ginny is sharing her experience as a biracial teenager. In the beginning Ginny starts off with, “Boxes… check one, check another.” What she means with these boxes are the categories of race. In applications where it says race, choose one. Only one? Ginny wants to point out that she can effortless be labeled as a black girl because of her physical characteristics but what if she identifies as white. It’s a social stigma of being only labeled as the race you are views by society. Ginny think is it’s time to break free from that. What happens to those who can’t just ‘Choose one’ that’s not who they are. Ginny then ends her speech with, “Check all that may apply” inferring that there should be a socially acceptable standard that there are more than one boxes to check when it comes to an identity.

Ginny’s originality is beyond what I would have imagined for its original aspect. The essay competition’s prompt was to write about a place where they most feel like they belong. Ginny did the complete opposite; she wrote about how she feels like she doesn’t belong. Ginny stated, “work and succeed and bury the lead like a switchboard of traits that decide my fate, yet I’m always an imposter?”  which she refers to feeling like in the group in which she feels like she fits in the most she is always the one who is the fraud. She can’t feel like she’s entirely belongs to the group when she get’s singled out sometimes. Not only does she feel this way with her friends at school, but she also refers to not belonging by stating, “My whole life can fit inside it, [boxes] and I’ve got it down to a science. I can pack my entire identity in an hour ‘cause where there’s roots, there’s power, but I’m just topsoil.” The boxes that Ginny is referring to in this stanza is because of constantly having to move she feels like she does not belong anywhere. She has never lived in a place long enough for her to make friends or call a place her true home. In that aspect she refers to boxes and being able to fit everything in boxes. Both her identity and her living conditions prevent Ginny from actually having a place where she feels like she truly belongs. I would also like to point out that when Ginny didn’t win the contest, she asked her teacher why and he said it was because her essay was ‘unconventional’. Meaning it wasn’t what they wanted for the competition, but it was still very impactful for her classmates and most importantly for herself.

Going against the essay prompt did cost her to lose the competition. In that aspect it was a realization that even though her essay was very well executed it did not follow the rules. We have rules for everything, that’s how we keep people safe but sometimes these rules are meant to be challenged. If you look at it Ginny didn’t just write about something that had no meaning and threw words out to make her world look like rainbows and cupcakes. Instead, Ginny decides to paint the real truth of what it’s like to be her. To be a biracial girl with a single mother. It is not always easy, and she wanted to shed light onto issues that maybe others may be going through. Maybe the classroom might not have been the best place to show off her poetry skills and maybe instead should have done it at a poetry reading place. If Ginny had not done this as her essay, I think what would be lost is how different she is and how much courage there was in order to recite that in front of her classmates.

In summary Ginny demonstrated all three components that Isocrates would consider having good rhetoric. Ginny’s kairos showed how she was ready to face her identity, her appropriateness shoed that its time to challenge society and its thoughts on race and her originality by talking about how she doesn’t belong. Ginny sure wrote a poem instead of an essay for this competition, but her words were just as powerful and meaningful as any other essay. Although it did not get chosen for the scholarship competition, she discovered that her identity crisis and is trying to understand it.

Lonely disasters. (2021, Feb 17), Ginny reads out her essay (S01E08) [Video]. YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P1dWcr6xiY

Margaret Kunde. (2021, Mar 12), Day 10 Isocrates [Video]. YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9OvqgBZ4Dc

[yvillegasvera18]

*Rhetoric as Narrative*

The critical questions that I will be examining are What is a narrative that is important to me or U.S. culture? What truths does it promote? What truths does it limit or ignore? What are the societal/ethical advantages and the disadvantages of this narrative?

To examine these questions, I chose an American YouTube channel Cocomelon as my rhetorical artifact. Cocomelon is all about educating children especially toddlers through nursery rhymes. The show narrates the important knowledge that a toddler should know from learning essentials like using the bathroom to learning how to make friends in school. The nursery rhymes use language and actions through the characters that function in a way to encourage the image of the stereotypical traditional family by representing the mother as a caregiver of the whole family from the father taking care of all the hard labor for the family. Children should be shown by parents through a lens of equality especially through early childhood education. 

Cocomelon has been both on Netflix and on YouTube for a couple of years now. Cocomelon has not been taken off of Top 10 on Netflix because children watch it a lot. Cocomelon is educational through nursery rhymes that children love to have on repeat. Learning how to do the potty dance, who to go to when they have an injury, to learning the wheels on the bus.  The main character of Cocomelon is J.J who is about two years old along with his older siblings Yoyo and Tomtom. Mommy and daddy are also a big part of the nursery rhymes that teach toddlers about eating healthy, loving your family, and staying safe. J.J also goes to daycare where he and his friends learn things such as primary colors and secondary colors, how to prepare for the first day of school, and how to be creative. There are also some songs that come from books, traditional nursery rhymes, and breakfast songs with his stuffed animals. 

Palczewski, Ice, and Fritch (2012) explain that narratives are knowledge that is taught to one another with morals. Whether these morals are right or wrong they are being influenced by everything around us. Palczewski, Ice, and Fritch (2012) state “Narratives create culture and community by teaching cultural values, explaining casualty and entertaining”. Through this Cocomelon is seen as a teaching cultural value by teaching children how to say their first words, their knowledge of important social skills they need for going to school and life in general. The values and morals that Cocomelon has projected through their videos. Their views on parental guidance and interactions with siblings along with interactions with friends. These influences are most targeted to these children watching and singing along to the songs. The most important part of early childhood education is being able to show them ethics and morals at an early age.

One of the narratives that are shown in Cocomelon is that it presents children with the stereotype that all mothers are all caregivers. When a child gets hurt they immediately go to their mommy. In the song “The Boo Boo Song” J.J, YoYo, and Tomtom get hurt and cry out to mom. In which they use the following phrase, “Mommy mommy make my boo boo better now”. This emphasizes that the mother is the only caregiver who can make everyone feel better. This limits the parental role where dad is not seen as a suitable person for the job where he could be perfectly capable of being able to address wounds also. Every child cries out to their mother but if one of them could have at least cried out to their father then it would show that Father is also someone who they can go to when they get hurt. The father is also portrayed as incapable of treating his own wound when he hit his thumb. Again this emphasizes the mother as the immediate caregiver of the family. 

Another narrative that is portrayed through Cocomelon is again showing that the mother is the immediate caregiver of the children in the family. Through the song “I want to be like mommy” Yoyo sings about how she wants to be like her mother. Yoyo sings “Look at the many things my mom can do she cares for me and you” she also proceeds to confirm that she can do it too by stating “Look at the many things my mom can do I can do it too!”. Yoyo is determined she wants to be like her mother by stating “I want to be a mommy like you and do the things that mommies do”. In the song the mother’s duties require getting the baby ready after waking up, feeding the baby, taking the baby a bath, putting the baby to sleep. Yoyo follows everything her mother does by using her doll and pretends that it is a baby. Yoyo is motivated to be just like her mother using many of the examples the mother is being the nurturing mother by taking care of her baby all day. In Yoyo mimicking the actions of the mother this is is the image that many other children are seeing through this song. Women are mothers who are supposed to attend to their children all day every day and they should be like their mothers. The mothers are portrayed as being gentle. caring, and love is being a mother.

 The last narrative that is portrayed through Cocomelon is the masculine qualities that fathers should have. Through the “My Daddy Song” J.J is being tucked into bed and he states “He helps me not to be afraid when he turns out the lights”. With this verse in particular it is emphasized how J.J says he’s not afraid because dads are tough and are not scared of anything such as turning off the lights at night. To a child that can be quite scary and in seeing this on a screen a child can understand that a father has no fears placing the stereotype that all men should be fearless. Furthermore, in the song, Tomtom states “He always takes us places like camping or on bikes”. These are outdoor activities that dads are supposed to do with their children. Out in the wild again, showing a tough and fearless image of a father. The last verse stood out to me the most because the mother states “He listens to my problems. He knows just what to do. He’s my biggest hero”. In this verse though, the mother gets a flat tire and calls father to tell him about the problem. He fixes the flat tire as she proceeds to call him her hero. This gives an image of only men being able to do the hard labor of changing a tire. This image shows that fathers have to do all the manual labor for his family. 

Although this narrative might be unproductive for toddlers to understand the roles of parents, overall Cocomelon is very productive when it comes to educating children on basic knowledge. A child knowing their alphabet, numbers, and understanding that vegetables should be eaten is productive. It helps parents with their children. However, there are a few lessons that a child could learn through this narrative and it’s that parenting roles have changed. Traditional parental roles require the mother to be a stay-at-home and care for the children along with taking care of the house. The father’s traditional role is to work and provide for the family along with taking care of the heavy lifting in the household. The disadvantage of still having this mindset is due to the changing roles in parenting. Mothers are more than capable of doing more than just taking care of children and fathers are more than capable of being able to take care of their own children. Fathers can help a child take care of a wound, they can feed their babies, and they can most definitely stay at home if they wanted to. These changes are important because children should know that either parent will be there for them. It’s unfortunate that some children grow up without one or both parents. That’s also something to look at too. Being inclusive although is not the best picture to paint. 

Hegde, R., & G. M., T. (2016) explains how narrative works with how teachers are able to teach their students from their knowledge how to tell stories and see how their students approach the world through these teachings. Through the experiment, the students were told to tell a story and questioned throughout it. The whole point was to see how organized and how well it flowed together. Hegde, R., & G. M., T. (2016) states, “The “truths” of narrative accounts are not in their faithful representations of a past world, but in the shifting connections, they forge among past, present, and future”. The way the students were able to tell their narratives allowed us to see how the teachers were doing with the knowledge they had learned. Just like teachers are meant to teach children toddlers are being taught through Cocomelon. Again through nursery rhymes children can learn the slightest thing which can also affect the way they see the world. When Cocomelon reflects their own values it also has an effect on those who watch their videos.

Cocomelon is taking over the televisions and parents’ phones. Children love Cocomelon because of its rhymes and ability to keep children entertained. This narrative that Cocomelon uses is very productive for educating children with life skills they should learn at an early age. Yet, it is excluding the parental roles and how they are changing. Society is changing with accepting the shift in traditional parenting. It would be best if that was shown to the children. Stereotyping is what we are trying to discourage and being able to teach children that first makes it easier for society to accept. 

  Cocomelon - Nursery Rhymes. (2019, Apr. 9) Boo Boo Song | CoComelon Nursery Rhymes & Kids Songs [Video]. Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YltYCrPZos

Cocomelon - Nursery Rhymes. (2020, May. 5) be Like Mommy | CoComelon Nursery Rhymes & Kids Songs [Video]. Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ypyksuijLs

Cocomelon - Nursery Rhymes. (2019, Jun. 11) Daddy Song | CoComelon Nursery Rhymes & Kids Songs [Video]. Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1QcEGDbnjI

Hegde, R., & G. M., T. (2016). Exploring Teachers’ Perceptions with the Narrative Inquiry Approach. Language in India, 16(7), 150–158.

Palczewski, C., Ice, R., Fritch, J. (2012). Narratives. In Rhetoric in Civic life (pp.117-146). State College, PA: Strata Publishing, Inc.