The rhetorical situation that I am analyzing is advocating for feminism through the #MeToo movement and ultimately through Kesha’s song: Praying. The #MeToo hashtag is a movement created by feminist, so women will no longer feel alone after going through abuse or assault. It is a movement focused on women coming together and sticking up for each other after what they have been through. “Activist Tarana Burke founded the Me Too campaign in 2006, but it did not take off until October 2017 when actresses started using the #MeToo hashtag on social media to demonstrate the widespread prevalence of sexual assault and harassment” (Your Dream). It is worth analyzing because so many people are finding it hard to speak out about what has happened to them and with the added support of other women they can do so in a safe, supportive environment. So many women have been affected by harassment or assault, sadly most we do not know about because they do not feel safe or comfortable coming forward and confronting their past/situation.
Using the layout of Grant-Davie’s article Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents I am going to evaluate and analyze an advocate for feminism and ultimately the question: what does the nature of the communication reveal about the culture that produced it? Kesha created this song after the continuous abuse from her music producer that had been going on since the beginning of her music career. According to Grant-Davie “what the discourse is about becomes a more interesting and important question, and a source of exigence…” (491). Her motivation for writing this song was to tell her side of the story without further prosecution and to be able move past what had been happening to her. She needed to bring to light She needed to bring light to an issue that she and many others across the world suffer from. Before writing this song in order to escape the abuse that she has been enduring she went to the judicial system to try and break the contract she had with her record producer. During her hearing people found it hard to believe that Kesha was telling the truth when this had happened to no one else that Dr. Luke was producing. After her court hearing about getting away from her abuser was ruled against her she decided to do what she does best and create music to make her voice heard. “What values are at stake” Kesha put a lot at stake to make her message concerning feminism and the #MeToo movement heard (491). She made herself as vulnerable as she could and put as much emotion and as much of herself as she could into her song. She has since then found the support and credibility that she had desperately been searching for through #MeToo.
The rhetors behind Kesha’s song Praying include Dr. Luke, women around the world, Ryan Lewis, and Ben Abraham. Dr. Luke was a rhetor for making Kesha feel like she needed to bring attention to the women that are facing abuse in and out of the workplace. Her encounter with Dr. Luke opened her eyes to just how prevalent workplace abuse is, it was also the final straw that made her decide to bring attention to how people can rise from anything that they have been going through. ‘I hope this song reaches people who are in the midst of struggles, to let them know that no matter how bad it seems now, you can get through it…don’t give up on yourself’ (Bustle). Women were a big influence behind the song because Kesha was not only writing it for her but for women all over the world. Ryan Lewis and Ben Abraham cowrote Praying with Kesha, they helped her in the healing process and in effectively getting her message across to her audiences. “When i wrote praying, with ben abraham and ryan lewis, i just felt as if i had gotten a huge weight off of my shoulders…one step closer to healing” (Glamour). Corder elaborates on this in his writing by saying “Language is a closure…”, language can give you a sense of healing by allowing you to move on (616). As stated by Grant-Davie in Writing About Writing, “the roles of rhetor and audience are dynamic and interdependent” (498). Kesha had many audiences that were intertwined with her rhetors, they include Dr. Luke, women who were going through similar circumstances, and lastly her fans or anyone who might listen to the song. She primarily wrote the song to tell Dr. Luke how she felt, how she forgave him and wanted him to find peace. When explaining her lyrics Kesha said ‘Being angry and resentful will do nothing but increase your own stress and anxiety — and hate is the fuel that grows the viruses’ (Bustle).
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As stated by Jim Corder when we go into an argument with love we allow ourselves to come together in the end, “We can learn to speak a commodious language, and we can learn to hear a commodious language” (616). Her other primary audience were women who were going through or went through similar situations, she wanted them to hear this song and know that if going through what they went through made them anything it made them stronger. She wanted them to know that they will always be supported and lifted up by her and women like her. Her secondary audience are those who have just listened to her song without initially knowing the meaning. Dr. Luke never responded to Praying but Kesha’s other audiences did, and with an immense amount of support. This is supported by the multitude of responses that Kesha received or were put out on social media after the release of her song.
Many fans congratulated Kesha on her emotional song/story; one fan wrote, “i wanna cry when i listen to kesha’s new song she sounds so powerful and confident in it. it’s so amazing im so glad she picked herself up”, while another said Wow! @KeshaRose iam so sooooo proud of you!!!!! 💜🙏” (College Candy). Others had different reactions to the release of her song, Dr. Luke-via a spokesperson-said, “There was no change in Kesha’s contractual recording obligations — she has not succeeded on any legal claim or motion to avoid them. Instead, she was always free to record and refused to. Now, as legally required all along, the album was released with Dr. Luke’s approval by Kemosabe which is a joint venture label of Dr. Luke and Sony” this was him trying to tell everyone that despite her efforts he still had control over Kesha and her career. (iHeartRadio). By releasing this statement Dr. Luke demonstrates how the integrity of something is not always kept when it starts to circulate around social media, some people lose the meaning in a sea of comments.
Although he listened to the song and probably read Kesha’s comments concerning it he did not take away the message that Kesha gave, that she is no longer affected by him and that she is stronger than her struggles. Others connected to the song given their past more than others and wrote what it meant to them; one person wrote, “Overall, this song signifies resilience… She has remained humble, open, and honest through her struggles and it has given the world a reason to change: to recover, to survive, to thrive, and to love” (breakthecycle). While another wrote, “I can’t help but think that she is simultaneously mourning what was lost, and yet looking for some sort of redemption from the situation” (breakthecycle). These people are interpreting the song how Kesha wanted them to, these responses are from her intended audience, proving that the values that Kesha put at stake to do this were worth it. During the production process and release of her song, Kesha was faced with many constraints. Some of the constraints that she was faced with are how people would interpret the song, what meaning they would give to it, how fast it was going to spread, and how fast it spread through the aid of technology. Since we live in the age of technology anything can go completely around the world at the touch of a button and in a matter of seconds. Once something ends up on the internet it never comes down and it spreads like wildfire.
How acceptable it was in todays culture also played a role in the thought process, when creating anything when you have social standing you have to think about how acceptable it will be in todays culture. That was almost the opposite of what Kesha did, she used her platform to make herself heard. She created much needed discussion on a subject that is almost taboo in todays society. Kesha knew what she was risking when she released her song but she not only did this for others but for herself, she felt as though it had to be done. Kesha used exigence, discourse, her rhetors and audiences, and constraints to her advantage to help advocate, to her fullest potential, for feminism through comparable experiences.
What does the nature of the communication reveal about the culture that produced it? By relaying her message the way she did, Kesha was almost guaranteed a wide range of discussion about her song and what it stood for through media outlets and her fans. The way Kesha relayed her message on rising from abuse and standing together is a form of showing versus telling. Showing versus telling is showing people what you mean with emotions to back up your statement rather than just blandly communicating with someone through reciting a monotone speech or facts. By showing people what you mean and how you feel you have a better chance to make an impact on them and the future.
Works Cited
- Carlin, Shannon. “Kesha’s New Single Is About Something Bigger Than Herself.” Bustle, Bustle, 17 Dec. 2018, www.bustle.com/p/assuming-keshas-song-praying-is-about-dr-luke-misses-the-point-68557.
- Corder, Jim W. “Argument as Emergence, Rhetoric as Love.” Writing About Writing, Bedford/St. Martins, 2017 pp. 600-618. Grant-Davie, Keith. “Rhetorical Situations and Their Constructs.” Writing About Writing, Bedford/St. Martins, 2017 pp. 484-511.
- Kornfeld, Tess. “Kesha Just Opened Up About What Her Powerful Song ‘Praying’ Means to Her.”
- Glamour, Glamour Magazine, 28 Jan. 2018, www.glamour.com/story/kesha-just-opened-up-about-what-her-powerful-song-praying-means-to-her.
- LiveYourDream.org. “Every Feminist Hashtag You Need to Know, from #MeToo to #TimesUp.” Your Dream Blog, 1 Oct. 2018, yourdream.liveyourdream.org/2018/02/feminist-hashtags-metoo-timesup/?utm_term=me too&utm_campaign=LYD+Blog&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=3468286777&hsa_cam=108779833&hsa_mt=e&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_src=g&hsa_ver=3&hsa_ad=249895157890&hsa_tgt=kwd-49560322&hsa_grp=57271175892&hsa_kw=me too&gclid=CjwKCAiAv9riBRANEiwA9Dqv1ZKRQ7Y-YnztVLS5edrbdPuXO7irNhvFbrSxzjQjuyhRXMekOUcbcBoCDn4QAvD_BwE.
- “Praying: A Moving Portrayal of Survivor Resilience.” Break the Cycle, 25 July 2017, www.breakthecycle.org/blog/praying-moving-portrayal-survivor-resilience.
- Thomson, Molly. “Kesha New Single ‘Praying’: Twitter Reaction Roundup.” College Candy, 14 Jan. 2019, collegecandy.com/2017/07/07/kesha-praying-single-twitter-roundup/. Thorpe, Isha. “Dr. Luke Reacts To Kesha’s ‘Praying’ Single In The Most Shocking Way.” IHeartRadio, 7 July 2017, www.iheart.com/content/2017-07-07-dr-luke-reacts-to-keshas-praying-single-in-the-most-shocking-way/.
