Lynndee Kirk

Dr. Haslam

English 1010

Word count: ​1,138

Rhetorical Analysis - “Why so many of your favorite beauty personalities are Mormon” by Alice

Gregory

Link to Article:

​https://www.allure.com/story/why-so-many-beauty-bloggers-are-mormon

Alice Gregory’s article was published on October 11th, 2017, in response to the growing

curiosity of the multitude of women who had successful beauty careers, blogs, and more, and

who also belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This article was written to

basically dissect the reasons behind why Mormon women are so commonly found in the beauty

industry, and how their beliefs and their religion serve as a backbone for everything they do. This

was her analysis and observation of how Mormon women typically present themselves and

behave in the beauty industry, and she wanted to discover why they act the way they do. This

text was definitely aimed at those who are curious to learn more about why so many Mormon

women have an interest in beauty and self expression, and how they live. ​The purpose for this

text was for Alice Gregory to demonstrate the emphasis that beauty appears to have on Mormon

women.

Gregory appeals to ethos in several ways. She is trying to showcase that she understands

the Mormon culture, if you will, and how the things they believe and practice impact the ways in
which they use beauty and take care of themselves. She says, “When I visited Pink Peonies

blogger Rachel Parcell at her sprawling house in a tony suburb of Salt Lake City, she had just

returned from a Zumba-inspired class led by a friend. With her lanky limbs and glossy brown

hair, Parcel, 26, could pass for an aspiring model in New York or L.A., but in Utah, she looks

like an ordinary mom.” (Gregory, 2017). With this first hand experience and description of the

way her friend Rachel appeared, she is describing how a Mormon woman might appear in Utah.

Model-like, but at the same time modest about her beauty. She is not trying to excessively flaunt

herself. Author Gregory uses this to her advantage to demonstrate her credibility by nodding at a

friendship in her life that demonstrates how a typical Mormon woman uses beauty and moves

through society.

Another example of ethos that she demonstrates is using her own personal experiences

she had traveling to Utah and the time she spent there. She describes almost every Uber driver

asking her if she was here for Young Living, a company that produces essential oils and other

products. The reason? So many Mormon women are involved with the company in some way, be

it in the marketing operation or selling their products. By doing this, Gregory demonstrates a

very prominent example in her article of the “standard” for most modern women who belong to

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints: “These businesses allow Mormon women to

make money and be ambitious, all while not working outside of the home, which in a lot of ways

is still frowned upon.” (Jones, 2017). Businesses like these allow these women to maintain the

typical standard for Mormon women (stay at home moms, being a good wife and mother) and

also being allowed a window of opportunity to grow and expand within the business and

marketing industry. Similar companies, like nail and tanning companies, are similar to Young
Living, allowing them to do the same. This was an effective use of ethos because it showed how

she was questioned by those who lived in Utah, and they treated her like a local.

Gregory displays logos in her article by using facts and writings from the Church of Jesus

Christ of Latter Day Saints itself, showcasing the importance of beauty and also maintaining

modesty and dignity for women in the church. Gregory uses a direct quote from Brigham Young

to show how the church has always placed some importance on outer presentation, whether it be

from the members themselves or whatever else they present to the world, including their other

belongings. “Beautify your gardens, your houses, your farms; beautify the city. This will make

us happy, and produce plenty.” (Young, 1847). To this day, this statement still demonstrates that

people who belong to this faith understand that their inner selves are more important than their

outer appearance, but that it still matters to look your best, display your best and be put together.

Another example of this display of logos is how she uses a quote from a section of the church’s

website, which states, “To minimize the appearance of dark circles under your eyes, use a yellow

or pink-toned concealer lighter than your skin tone. Use your fingers to gently apply and blend

the color under your eyes, along the lash line.” (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,

2017 (no author)). Gregory is using facts and information directly from the website to prove how

they condone wanting to beautify yourself and satisfy the need for self expression, and how they

want their members to take care of themselves and look their best.

Gregory effectively demonstrates pathos in her article by using several stories from

several women, about their experiences fitting within this standard and about their personal lives

as well. For instance, there is a slightly eerier section of the article where Gregory highlights the
plastic surgery industry in Utah, and how it is extremely popular. She also points out the subtle

hypocrisy of it, because if the nature of this faith is all about natural beauty and looking your best

to present yourself before the Lord, then why is plastic surgery encouraged, especially to young

mothers and women feeling insecure about their bodies? Well, she gave us the answer. “When

you come from a patriarchal religion, your best bet for gaining power is to be appealing to the

men in charge.” (Kendrick, 2017). I found this very interesting and also eye opening. Also,

another compelling quote was as follows: “Many Utah mothers respond to cultural pressure to

undergo the Mommy Makeover, which local doctors advertise as a solution to young mothers’

bodies “trashed” by motherhood.” To me, I thought this was effective at gaining the audience’s

attention and pulling at their heartstrings because it shows how it doesn’t all quite add up. She

shows, effectively, how Mormon women are told to be naturally beautiful, but to never let their

outer beauty become more important than their inner beauty. However, they are also flooded

with advertisements right after giving birth, it seems like, and they may feel all this pressure to

change their bodies to look more appealing. Gregory effectively showcases the strange situation

here, and it makes you wonder how young mothers must feel sometimes, especially in Utah. Not

to mention young women awaiting marriage, and wondering if they will be considered “naturally

beautiful” enough. This could, however, be effective fuel for Mormon women to consider going

into the beauty industry, because they like the feeling of some competition.

Gregory effectively conveys how it is for Mormon women in the beauty industry, and

why it is so prevalent in Utah. She uses many examples from her personal life as well as from

religious figures and texts themselves to show why this is, and she gives plenty of information as
well as the rhetorical strategies ethos, logos and pathos to show her point of view. I also feel that

she had effective persuasive techniques throughout the entire article.

Works cited:

Gregory, A. (2017). Why Mormon Beauty Bloggers Are Taking Over Your Instagram

Feed. Retrieved November 11, 2020

Reserve, I. (2017). If you choose to wear makeup, here are some basic tips. Retrieved

November 11, 2020, from

https://missionary.lds.org/clothing/sister/grooming/demo/skin?lang=eng

Jones, M. S. (2017). Why So Many of Your Favorite Beauty Personalities Are Mormon.

Retrieved November 11, 2020

 Peer Reviews:

Audree Hunt

Rhetorical analysis - Mormon women in the beauty industry.docx

Wow, this was a really well written essay! It was hard for me to find things wrong with it, so I

had to dig really deep haha. I feel like you did a really good job at giving your claims and

finding logos, ethos, and pathos in your article. They were all really strong points. I thought your

introduction was done very well. It effectively included everything needed and introduced the

overall topic very nicely. Good job! I couldn’t find where a clear summary of the whole article

was. You kind of went right from the introduction straight into stating your claims. So I would

add a brief summary to help the audience know a little more backstory of the article. I also

couldn’t find a clear thesis statement. So I would just add one of those too. But your claims were

done very well and they were really strong points. Your conclusion was also done very well. I

didn’t see any clear problems with it. The only things I found were some of the quotes you used

didn’t really go along with your claims or what you were talking about. I don’t know if this is

because I just didn’t get a summary and so I was confused or what, but I would maybe think

about those quotes a little bit. You didn’t have very many grammar errors at all, so very good
 job! Again this was a very strong and well written essay, so these were some things that I would

maybe just fix to make it a little stronger. Good job! I really enjoyed reading your essay.

This is a really strong first sentence 

I can't find a summary of the whole article or a thesis statement, there should be a summary and 

thesis statement before you start your claims 

This quote doesn't really have anything to do with what you say after about how she has friends who 

she has interviewed and tell her about the Mormon faith. Maybe get rid of the quote or find another 

that will tie in a little better. 

probably just a mistake, but get rid of one or 

I do see where you are trying to go with this quote, but it does not really say anything about 

beautifying Mormon women's outer appearance. Idk just a thought because it doesn't make a lot of 

sense here 

This quote is a really good one because it does effectively give evidence of Mormon women and the 

ideology of looking good on the outside 

Not very important but maybe think about starting this paragraph in a different way since you have 

already started some with "Gregory appeals" it just feels very repeating to me and could make your 

essay a little better 

-Audree Hunt
Peer Review:

One of the strengths of the essay was your organization. I especially liked your topic

sentences. They helped me to not get lost when reading and better understand what I

was reader. The introduction did an excellent job at establishing the context of the text.

It was just enough information that I could understand what I was going to be reading

about. I couldn't find the summary in your essay. You should add one if you forgot to put

it in or make it more clear where it is. I also couldn't find the thesis statement. Like with

the summary, you should add it in or make it more clear where it is in your essay.

Though I couldn´t find a thesis statement, there were some claims in the essay that I

found. The essay showcased how the original article used various rhetorical elements to

connect with the audience. I found each of the claims to be well founded and explained.

There was a sufficient amount of claims and they were thoroughly explained and

developed. The conclusion was a great addition to the essay in persuading its audience.

It mentioned all of the main claims in the essay in a new and interesting way. The essay

focused on the use of logos, pathos, and ethos in the original text. Each of these

rhetorical elements were sufficiently explained and weren´t overplayed. The essay has

amazing organization. Each section flows smoothly and I never felt lost when reading

the essay. There weren't any major grammatical errors that need to be corrected. This

was a great analysis overall! I loved the flow and explanations that you had. I would

suggest adding a summary and thesis statement prior to the paragraphs about how the

author used ethos, pathos and logos.

I would take this word out. This would make your essay sound more assertive since youŕe saying the 

exact reason why it was written. 

Love this word choice! 

I love the topic sentence here. It sets up the rest of the paragraph nicely and it helps the reader to 

not get lost when transitioning between different thoughts. 

ove this sentence structuring! Its a great break from the rest of the paragraph that makes the reader 

pause and think for a moment. 

I love how you took the time to thoroughly explain your reasons! 

Love this description! It made me intrigued about what was coming next. 

Great question! It really makes the reader think deeper about what they are reading. 

I would replace the colon with a period. This sentence is running long so adding a period would 

break it up a little bit. 

I love this different perspective on the issue. I´ve never thought about wanting competition as a 

reason to go into the beauty industry. 

Great conclusion! It wrapped up the essay quite nicely and revisited all of your main points. 

ABIGAIL CRAWFORD , Nov 4 at 7:11pm

Some of the strengths include how Lynndee brings up the plastic surgery rates in

Utah and how although not openly supported by the church, it's a very common thing to

be talked about and even supported by members.

I think it’s a pretty good introduction. I would like it to include some stats if they

are available. Maybe a percentage of women in Utah are involved in these beauty

business vs national average or similar stats. II know Utah is a hotspot for many
different MLM companies of which most focus on health and beauty so some factual

context could help.

I think you could summarize the article a little better as I still don’t know if it truly makes

you understand “how it is for Mormon women in the beauty industry” it. I don’t know if

the original article includes it but it would be nice to actually get more first hand

experience accounts from the women in these businesses vs just outsides giving their

view from the outside looking in.

The purpose for this text was to show how Mormon women are so capable of thriving in

the beauty industry. - I think the thesis statement focuses on the original argument and

the points it brings up vs actually focusing on the analysing the text itself.

I think to support the thesis, the writer should include more first hand experiences vs

hearsay and secondhand accounts. Many of the points provided in the text seem to be

biased opinions vs tangled evidence and facts.

Delete duplicate word 

Delete "its" and add "of there" 

update "and" to "as" 

I think you should list out the full name of the church here 

I don't think this is adding anything to the sentence. 

I feel this is a very strong argument 

Effective wording used 

No comma needed 

 
BRANSON MEZA , Nov 5 at 6:20pm