Voice Post
https://medium.com/the-response/the-fabric-of-appropriation-772dc2f67c7a#.wueh3bo5g
https://medium.com/the-response/initial-thoughts-on-the-woman-in-blackface-9b86c45c8474#.bvwavlmw5
My blogger’s name is Whit Taylor and she writes her posts on Medium. In Whit’s first post entitled The Fabric of Appropriation: Where does cultural inspiration end and cultural appropriation begin?, she has a very formal voice as she is informing her audience of the guidelines of cultural appropriation while giving examples of cultural missteps in the fashion industry.
She uses very formal vocabulary words such as “ubiquitous” and “paradoxically” to show her intelligence as she is speaking about an issue that requires a lot of background research. She increases her credibility by using elevated language because the reader perceives her as more aware of the issue that she is discussing.
She uses many illustrations in her post to give it some personality. It looks as if she draws them herself because they are so specific to her examples and are all of the same style. Attached is one where she talks about the “trendiness” of Native American clothes by big clothing brands such as Urban Outfitters and Forever 21. The expressions on the characters faces show that they are “too cool” and are just wearing the outfit for the trend. Their faces add to the voice of the post with a hint of sarcasm and mockery towards people who wear such things.
Whit uses the example of Americans not wearing the purple heart when she asks the question of why cultural appropriation matters. This adds a feeling of sensibility to her voice because it is an example that resonates with Americans. She continues to gain credibility through her examples.
White continues to write about issues of appropriation in her next post entitled Initial Thoughts on the Woman in Blackface. Whit is much more opinionated in this post about Rachel Dolezal. She mainly uses her cartoon drawings to describe her frustration with the situation.
In her first drawing, she says “I am slightly flattered by WHY would you choose to be black in America?”. The drawing of the woman being pinned down by a police officer adds a layer of harshness to Whit’s voice because police brutality is a heavy topic.
She continues to mock Dolezal in more of her cartoons. The next is about Dolezal’s hair and how it is not natural. The way in which Dolezal’s face looks in the drawings makes her look aloof and goofy. It is clear in Whit’s voice that she is very unhappy with this woman so she has no problem making fun of her in her post.
In her last cartoon about Rachel, Whit makes the comparison of Rachel to Cailtyn Jenner with the caption “#Transracial No, just no”. Whit makes it clear with her “no, just no” that she does not approve of being transracial. More of her personality comes out in this post as she casts her disapproval on Rachel.
Whit’s voice is very different between these two posts. In the first, she is very informative and professional and in the second she is angry and brash. She shows two very different styles of writing in these two posts, which shows how dynamic her writing is.
