PSA Visual Analysis

Reilly Tickle

Professor Fielding

Critical Reading and Writing

I made this PSA, using quotes and ideas from Patricia Williams article Strict Binary Definitions

of Sex and Gender are Problematic. The purpose of the PSA is to bring to attention the ambiguity of

gender, as well as the stigma towards transgender and gender-nonconforming people. This PSA is meant

to appeal to a wide range of people, but specifically those who are interested in or concerned about the

issue of gender as a social construct in todays society, as well as hoping to help those who dont know

about or dont understand the issue to open their minds to the ideas of antidiscrimination and freedom

of expression. The focal point of this PSA is the section of four photographs of children who all look

similar, as it is near the center and the only visual on the page to help draw people in.

The PSA is constructed of an image of four children, who all look similar despite the fact that

two of the photos were of girls, and two were of boys. These pictures are meant to reinforce the idea

that gender can be a very ambiguous subject, as it is not always clear based off of how someone looks as

to what their gender is. The text is white over a darker background, meant to stand out and help the

impact of the words. The sentences on the PSA are all meant to be emotional appeals in one way or

another; the text is all quoted from the article by Patricia Williams (Williams). This PSA is meant to

convey the importance of the discussion surrounding gender and sex, as it effects everyone in one way

or another, as well as trying to show that the gender binary isnt as black-and-white as people seem to

think and is more of a spectrum, which is supposed to be conveyed by both the image and the gradient

in the background, which goes from pink to purple to blue.

 The most persuasive part of the ad is the question at the very top of What do we mean when

we ask a pregnant person if it is a boy or a girl?, combined with the quote The inquiry seems

permissible only in utero. We get edgy when we dont already know the answer when encountering a

full-grown adult and the image of the four children (Williams). Together, these are meant to show how

gender is not an innate strict code, but is learned and shaped by parents and society. When someone

does not seem to fit the schema that had been built in most people as a child, it makes people

uncomfortable. The fact quoted in the PSA about how attacks on transgendered people in public places

have been on the rise is meant to show both logos and pathos. It shows logos because it is a factual

statement. This statement is meant to make people sad and hopefully empathetic because of the tragic

reality that transgendered people have to live in paranoia of being attacked. The images of the children

are meant to evoke some thought from the audience, due to the purposefully ambiguous genders of the

children. The quote about the lessons that can be learned about antidiscrimination and freedom of

expression show the exact stance of the poster, by showing that the message is one of inclusion and

the hope for everyone to be able to be themselves. At the bottom of the poster, there are the logos and

websites for the Trevor Project, which provides resources from counseling to help in a crisis for LGBT+

people, and the National Center for Transgender Equality, a nonprofit that works to stop discrimination

against transgender people. This information helps to build credibility, as well as stating the author and

article outright on the PSA.

The greatest challenge for me in designing this PSA was choosing what text to display. There

were many excellent potential quotes that I could have chosen, and there could have been many

different PSAs made from them depending on the intended audience and message. I chose to focus on

the issue of transgender discrimination and the ambiguity of gender, but I could have easily focused on

the effects of the strict gender binary on cisgender individuals or how single-sex institutions are

rethinking their policies. One major revision that I made on my PSA is that I originally had the top text
say What is IT, but I decided that was not the proper word choice for getting my point across, as it

sounded like an attack on transgender people; saying IT sounds like a choice for showing disgust or

contempt rather than showing gender neutrality. I believe that the choice of quotes combines with the

text to tell a story and evoke thought from readers. The greatest strength is the cohesiveness of the

messages, and how they make a whole new point when connected to the photos to effectively get

across the point of the PSA.

 Works Cited

Amyelizabethquinn. Photograph of Baby Boy in a Bath. Pixabay. Sept. 10, 2013

https://pixabay.com/photo-179750/

Greyscale Photo of a Kid with Curly Hair in a Sweater. Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-and-

white-blur-child-close-up-289923/

Mills, Amanda. Picture of a Boy on a Swing. Pixnio. Oct. 13, 2016. https://pixnio.com/people/children-

kids/smiling-young-boy-was-having-fun

Photo of Baby Girl Smiling in Greyscale. Pexels. Aug. 4, 2016 https://www.pexels.com/photo/baby-girl-

smiling-grayscale-photo-160447/

Williams, Patricia. "Strict Binary Definitions of Sex and Gender Are Problematic." Gender Roles, edited by

Nol Merino, Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

ezproxy.com.edu/login?url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010908228/OVIC?u=txshrac

d2496&xid=ea996df4. Accessed 7 Oct. 2017. Originally published as "Gender Trouble,"

http://www.thenation.com, 23 May 2011.