Caity O’Connell

Professor Ferrara

Intro to Rhetoric and Composition

November 16, 2022

Rhetorical Analysis of TED Talk “How Moms Shape The World”

There is no world without the existence of mothers. They have created our world and are

our sole providers. With mothers being the leading provider to the increasing population, Anna

Malaika Tubbs expresses her frustration with the world's lack of appreciation and representation

for the hard work of mothers. She brings this conversation to the table in her December 2021

TED Talk, called “How Moms Shape The World”. The basis for her argument is that mothers are

underappreciated and have little representation when it comes to people communicating stories.

She seems to express the feeling that people don’t realize the extents to which mothers go to

support and nurture their children. Tubbs’ claim stood out to me because I aspire to be a mother

when I am older. Tubbs can strongly emphasize to the audience that there is not enough female

representation due to the overlooking of them in the media and the presence of everyday

conversations.

Tubbs begins by talking about Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday, January 15, which is

always celebrated rightfully so every year. She makes a valid point that “no one has stopped to

consider who else was in the room that day” (Tubbs, 0:20). She then goes on to explain her trip

experience to Martin Luther King Jr’s home, which was where he was born. As she was on the

tour, she was shocked to realize that the tour guide never once mentioned MLK’s mother. This

realization invoked the clear misrepresentation in Tubbs’ eyes that occurs within historical

figures and the world generally. She transitions into an explanation of how mothers are seen.
Women have always been seen and expected to stay home with the children, have selflessness,

and lack appreciation for the amount of work they do with the children. They are not “supposed”

to be in the workforce because there has been a standard set that women aren’t meant to be.

Although a lot has changed since women weren’t in the workforce and severe misogyny existed,

it still hasn’t died down completely. Not only are mothers being misrepresented in history, but

also in the media and literature, Tubbs argues. It is very prominent that Tubbs feels frustrated

with how society has placed a shield across mothers, which I see to be very existent.

Tubbs incorporates ethos in her talk to show her credibility and legitimacy to the

audience. For one, she uses her experience of going to MLK Jr.’s home and taking a tour to

explain how the issue is being explicitly used in historical landmarks and tours. I believe that if

she saw the issue occurring front hand, it is a reliable source to agree with. Also, Tubbs is not

only a mother but a mother of color. Both of these issues traits are prominently argued about

today. I think that it is influential that she is a mother of color. It gives me more understanding as

to why she is communicating the way she is and why she is bringing up the issue. It should also

be noted that Tubbs is a sociologist, which is the study of human behavior. In her work, she

specializes in gender and race inequality, which I believe makes her points about women and

women of color perfectly believable since she studies that specifically. She adds that she has

spent “years studying three women whose life stories show how we disregard mothers…”

(Tubbs, 4:07). Her research and studying of women justify her expressing her views. It gives her

evidence and support for what she is arguing, which makes me feel even stronger about her

argument. Seeing as though Tubbs has spent years thinking about the topic of mothers brings me

to believe that she is right in how quickly we move past the appreciation of them.
 Tubbs can invoke emotions in the audience, and me, using pathos to persuade the

listeners. She uses the historical background of the mothers of MLK Jr, Malcolm X, and James

Jones to show the extreme hardship and disregard the 3 women experienced. For example, Tubbs

says that Alberta King “was forced to walk away from a formal career” (Tubbs, 5:30). Although

this was almost 100 years ago, women today probably wouldn’t be able to picture this happening

to them today. For one, it makes the women in the audience feel probably disrespected and

disappointed since that type of dynamic is not as present today, but just the fact that it used it be

normal. To hear that this type of treatment was normal for women just less than a century ago

upsets me and I’m sure it made the audience feel upset too. We advocate for change in how

people are treated, yet, there is not enough done to complete the change. Tubbs also talks about

the economy, which could inspire emotion in the possibly male figures in the audience. She talks

about how expensive child care is, and how parental leave needs to be universal, which overall

affects the economy. I find that her mentioning this aspect will make father figures see how it's

not just them providing for the family, it's their wives doing life-threatening and exhausting work

to provide for their family too. Not only will this give father figures a wake-up call, but also

higher respect for the women in their lives. Tubbs uses a hard-hitting series of sentences toward

the end of her talk. In her final statement, she says “Mothers are essential. Mothers are powerful.

Mothers have their own needs and own identities. Mothers deserve support” (Tubbs, 11:48). This

personally stood out to me most because I want my mother to make sure she feels like she has

those identities herself. I also want to be able to feel the same way about myself when I am a

mother. It is a feeling that should be universal to all mothers. Tubbs talking about mothers in this

way allows the audience to feel some sort of guilt for the way they may treat their mothers, but

also a sense of action to change that.

 There is logic and evidence to support Tubbs’ arguments too, which is known as logos.

As mentioned earlier, Tubbs talks about the background of multiple historical figures’ mothers.

She can use specific and evidential reasoning to support why mothers don’t get enough support.

She uses three mothers of famous historical features to support her argument. In these

backgrounds, she talks about how they struggled as mothers in the early 1900s. These true

examples give the audience a clear explanation of Tubbs’ arguments. The specific dates,

examples, and stories, truly capture the work and triumph that each mother put in for her

children. For example, Malcolm X’s mother, Louise Little, was institutionalized for 25 years

spreading the message of Black liberation (Tubbs, 7:25). Louise Little’s balancing of being a

mother and advocating for the discrimination of African Americans is remarkable. These stories

can give the audience a first-hand look into the struggles that famous historical figures' mothers’

went through just to raise their children. I feel as though it is disappointing that the women who

raised the successful and historical figures are never taught to society, which is why Tubbs

brings it up now. It is always about the figure themselves, not the person who raised them to be

the person they are. We don’t know about these historical figures’ mothers because they aren't

ever taught because people don’t see them as a huge part, even though they are the main

contributors.

Tubbs has used her voice to emphasize her frustration with the identification of mothers

today. There is so much to appreciate, love, and praise about mothers. They are what makes this

world turn round every day. Tubbs has given me a clear view of how the way we tell stories and

portray people goes into full effect. Without hearing about MLK’s mother, I would have never

known that she couldn’t pursue her career. Society must make people aware of things that aren’t

talked about enough. Her persuasiveness and encouragement to the audience give me that
feeling too and want to change the narrative for the future. Tubbs can give a platform for mothers

and start conversations about the issue within the world relaying to them.

Works Cited

Tubbs, Anna Malaika. "How Moms Shape the World." Dec. 2021. TED, Dec. 2021,

www.ted.com/talks/anna_malaika_tubbs_how_moms_shape_the_world/transcript.

Accessed 17 Nov. 2022. Lecture.