Analysis of Megan Thee Stallion: Why I Speak Up for Black Women

The ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement has become ever present in our lives. Everywhere we look we can see banners, signs, and social media posts on this topic, though sometimes we fail to fully comprehend the issues that movement has brought to light in recent times. One such topic is the treatment of black women by parts of our society whether it is failing to recognize their achievements, matters of health and safety, or conforming to the boxes society tends to put black women into. Originally from Houston, Texas, Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, also known as Megan Thee Stallion, is an American rapper and songwriter and an advocate for Women’s Rights. On October 13, 2020, Meghan Thee Stallion published an article in the New York Times, ‘Megan Thee Stallion: Why I Speak Up for Black Women.’ She gives examples of her own personal experience, and the experiences of other black women, both specific and common experiences many black women share. The author, Meghan Thee Stallion, uses a strong combination of ethos, pathos, and logos in the text to demonstrate her points to the audience, mostly women, specifically women of color, using both facts and personal experience to appeal to the audience. 

In this article Meghan Thee Stallion relies heavily on pathos and does so by repeatedly using the word ‘we.’ “That is if we are seen at all.” “...we are vilified and disrespected.” “We know that after the last ballot is cast and the vote is tallied, we are likely to go back to fighting for ourselves. Because at least for now, that’s all we have.” These are just a few examples of the many uses of the word ‘we’ in the article. The use of ‘we’ in the article creates a sense of community with the author and other readers. It makes the reader feel as though the author is speaking directly to them and makes the reader feel more personally involved. So, when Meghan Thee Stallion says ‘if we are seen at all,’ ‘we are vilified,’ ‘that’s all we have,’ it can lead the reader to think about themselves in the position of the black women she is speaking about. The use of the collective ‘we’ makes readers feel connected to what she says in this way, engaging with the readers directly, it can make them more likely to agree with her later points. 

In the beginning of the article, ‘Megan Thee Stallion: Why I Speak Up for Black Women’ she tells a person story about a recent act of violence against her with helps to build ethos by sharing a personal story. This helps to build trust with the audience. 

I was recently the victim of an act of violence by a man. After a party, I was shot twice as I walked away from him... My initial silence about what happened was out of fear for myself and my friends. Even as a victim, I have been met with skepticism and judgment. The way people have publicly questioned and debated whether I played a role in my own violent assault proves that my fears about discussing what happened were, unfortunately, warranted. After a lot of self-reflection on that incident, I’ve realized that violence against women is not always connected to being in a relationship. Instead, it happens because too many men treat all women as objects, which helps them to justify inflicting abuse against us when we choose to exercise our own free will.   

By sharing her story with the audience, sharing a part of her personal life, she builds this trust with the audience, and makes her more credible as a speaker because she too has experienced some of the things she later discusses in the article. Even if she had not shared this story with the audience she can still be viewed as a credible speaker in this matter because she is a black woman. But, because she did choose to share this story with the audience she is seen as a more credible source on this topic. 

Meghan Thee Stallion also uses logos throughout the article, but the majority of the logos she uses is in her final few points. Meghan Thee Stallion’s use of logos in the article further supports her credibility because she is supporting her claims with facts. One fact she uses is about the maternal mortality rates of black mothers, " Maternal mortality rates for Black mothers are about three times higher than those for white mothers, an obvious sign of racial bias in health care.” Following this point she says, “In 2019, an astronomical 91 percent of the transgender or gender-nonconforming people who were fatally shot were Black, according to the Human Rights Campaign.” By using facts, she further emphasizes the health and safety concerns and risks within the black community. She cites the Human Rights Campaign, a credible organization many people will have heard of, and if need be, anyone who would want to check her sources would be able to do so without much trouble. 

She again uses logos when mentioning the achieves of black women that often get overlooked such as how, “Alice H. Parker filed the patent for the first home furnace, or that Marie Van Brittan Brown created the first home security system.” and “...six of the Little Rock Nine students whose bravery in 1957 led to school integration were Black girls.” and that “...Black Lives Matter was cofounded by Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi.” Meghan Thee Stallion uses examples of well-known devices, events, and organizations, of which most people likely do not know who created said things, to further emphasize her point that the achievements of black women often get overlooked. 

In another point Meghan Thee Stallion makes she uses a combination of ethos, pathos, and logos. She states, “If we dress in fitted clothing, our curves become a topic of conversation not only on social media, but also in the workplace. The fact that Serena Williams, the greatest athlete in any sport ever, had to defend herself for wearing a bodysuit at the 2018 French Open is proof positive of how misguided the obsession with Black women’s bodies is. I would know. I’ve received quite a bit of attention for appearance as well as my talent.” She again uses the collective ‘we’ to appeal to pathos, this again helps the audience to visualize themselves in this situation. She then uses logos when talking about Serena Williams and how she was treated for what she wore at the 2018 French Open, though all of this part of the quote is not fact and contains Megghan Thee Stallions opinion that Serena Williams is “...the greatest athlete in any sport ever...” She then builds her credibility, ethos, by stating she has faced controversy for some of the clothing she has chosen to wear. 

In the article, ‘Megan Thee Stallion: Why I Speak Up for Black Women.’ Meghan Thee Stallion uses a strong combination of ethos, pathos, and logos to demonstrate her points that parts of our society fail to recognize the achievements of black women, are not aware of matters of health and safety concerning black women, and parts of society can put black women into harmful ‘boxes’ or categories.