Analysis

This analysis of Kelli Jean Drinkwater’s TED talk “Enough with the fear of fat” is based on the rhetorical pentagram model.

In what follows, we will look at the topics of the text - fear of fat and fat acceptance - discussing how the speaker chooses to explore them.

We will present speaker Kelli Jean Drinkwater, looking at the image she conveys about herself within the speech through personal stories.

We will examine the audience of the speech, considering the people attending the TED Talk but also the people Drinkwater mentions in her speech.

We will explore the language used by the speaker, taking into account the choice of words, sentence structure, anecdotes, tone, rhetorical devices, and forms of appeal.

We will focus on the circumstances of the speech, looking at two opposing trends in society regarding fat people: those who fear and have a judgmental attitude towards being overweight and the movement that promotes fat acceptance.

Finally, we will discuss Drinkwater’s intentions of criticizing fatphobia and promoting fat acceptance, considering the language tools she uses to achieve them.

You can read our full analysis in the next pages.