Pathos In The Newspaper Come Out!

In the 1960s, more and more people began coming out of the closet and were openly gay.  The newspaper, “Come Out” was published to give a voice to the rapidly growing gay community and to, “fight for the freedom of the homosexual.”  The newspaper used pathos to persuade their readers that it is okay to be gay and someone’s sexuality should not determine what rights they have.  The tone of the newspaper was humorous, yet serious.  The author made jokes to lighten the mood of the topic and raise the mood of the audience, yet still got their point across that “BEING HOMOSEXUAL SAYS ONLY ONE THING: EMOTIONALLY YOU PREFER YOUR OWN SEX.  IT SAYS NOTHING ABOUT YOUR WORTH, YOUR VALUE AS A HUMAN BEING.”  Like the protest posters, this newspaper used all caps throughout the article.  They tried to emphasize the important points and really grab the reader’s attention.  The capital letters also helped the readers feel what the writer felt, because it indicated where the author was most passionate.  The article also stated that gay people were coming out in a community

that numbers in the millions to inform readers that homosexuals were not alone and had emotional and physical support in numbers.  People reading this knew that they had people to relate to.  Finally, the article concludes with a series of questions, which caused readers to question their beliefs and how they really felt about gay rights.  This newspaper appeals to readers’ emotions and stresses that gay people are just as good as straight people and should not be treated any differently.