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Emma Anderson

Prof. Fielding

WRTC 103

October 11, 2017

Visual Reflection Essay

I created this PSA myself. The main purpose is to discourage people from participating

in beauty pageants. I based it off of the article by Vernon R. Wiehe titled Beauty Pageants are

not Appropriate for Young Children. Its located on the website Gale Group. The purpose of the

PSA is to show how beauty pageants are demeaning to women and girls. I want to discourage

people from competing in them. The intended audience is anyone who participates in pageants,

the parents who force their children to participate, and anyone else who doesnt support them.

The prominent focus is the large pink text on the black and white picture. The ad draws in the

viewer because it shows a picture that was obviously taken many decades ago. That creates

curiosity, and the pink text is alluring.

Ten women competing in the Miss Universe pageant in the 1930s are standing

presumably in front of the judges and audience. I added large pink text to correspond with the

idea of beauty pageants- a typically girly, feminine activity. I added a statistic as well as the non-

profit organizations logo and their URL. I liked that the image was black and white because it

was easy to have the text stand out on the page. My PSA would make someone feel guilt or

shame. Although they did nothing wrong, I used specific language and included a sad statistic to

make someone feel as though they should help stop beauty pageants. The image is purposely an
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old one, to show how long beauty pageants have been going on. The text and image are related to

my article because both show the negative side pageants bring. I convey cultural and social

concerns in my PSA. It is cultural because pageants are common in the United States in this time

period. Socially, I show how beauty pageants harshly judge women, usually specifically on

looks. It should be deemed socially unacceptable to judge women in such a context.

The statistic I included is the most persuasive part of my PSA. The picture I chose is

persuasive as well because it shows the history of pageants. I provoke the ethos fallacy because

pageants are relevant to the 21st century. Our nation makes pageants acceptable to watch and

judge girls in pageants. I am drawing attention to how that should be inappropriate to do. I

include logos because I show the non-profit organizations logo and website. I mentioned how

over 150,000 girls in pageants were diagnosed with depression. Lastly, pathos is shown because

one feels guilty when they see that pageants have been happening for over a century. The

statistic about depression is also emotional. My design choices persuade my audience because

the text is large and in an eye-catching color. The photo is interesting because it is clearly from a

long time ago.

The greatest challenge I faced while designing my PSA was coming up with emotional,

statistical, and interesting text. Anything boring wouldnt be persuasive, and something straight

off a website is boring to read. After my initial draft, I actually revised my whole PSA. I got a

new picture and added completely new text and non-profit. My second draft is much better and

more effectively gets my point across. I think the greatest strength of my PSA is the pink text. It

is eye-catching and I would be interested to read it if I was someone else. I also like the picture I

chose. I think its unique and is unconventional.

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Works Cited

Learn More About NEDA Walks Across the Country! National Eating Disorders Association,

National Eating Disorders Association, www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/.

Miss Universe 1930 Winners. Wikimedia Commons, Wikimedia Commons, 26 Jan. 2013,

commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Miss_Universe_1930_Winners.jpg.