Rachel Wildermuth

Prof. Trotter

English 1101-01

October 19, 2018

More Than A Man

Tony Porter’s Ted Talk, “A Call to Men,” is an impassioned plea for men to step outside the

“man box”(1) and begin to treat women as more than just objects. Porter presented this topic at

TedWomen in 2010. Porter’s message to men is to rethink what it means to be a man in our

world today, and how men should treat women. He speaks from his experiences growing up in

New York City and the beliefs he learned as a boy that shaped him into the man he is. He also

speaks about his experience as a father to his children and what he has learned from his differing

treatment of his son and daughter. His words are clear and easy to understand and his message

to men comes across as understandable for his audience. He demonstrates ethos, pathos and

logos in his talk and is very persuasive in his words.

Porter demonstrates ethos in his Ted Talk by sharing, first of all, that he is a man who grew

up in New York City being taught by the men in his life. He was taught their perception of what

it means to be a man. These ideas shaped him into the man he became. He shares that he learned

growing up “that men are in charge, which means women are not; that men lead, and you should

just follow and do what we say; that men are superior; women are inferior; that men are strong;

women are weak; that women are of less value, property of men, and objects, particularly

sexual”(1) (He speaks with authority as a man who was taught to be a man in this way by the

men in his life. He also includes his belief that there are many wonderful things about being a
man but that our society has let men get away with a “twisted” view of manhood that needs to be

challenged.

Tony demonstrates pathos in his talk by sharing personal experiences that are emotionally

charged. He first shares that he, as a parent, realizes that he has treated his daughter much

differently than he has treated his son. He shares that his daughter was allowed to cry and be

consoled by her daddy and that was considered acceptable for a little girl. He explains that he

treated his son much differently. Whenever he would cry, he says it was as if he set an automatic

timer and after about 30 seconds, his son was not allowed to keep crying. He says he would tell

his son “Just go in your room. Just go on, go on in your room. Sit down, get yourself together

and come back and talk to me when you can talk to me like a --" what? (Audience: Man.) Like a

man. And he's five years old”(2). He is upset with himself that he had treated his son in a much

different way than his daughter. He wonders why he has done that , then he remembers his

upbringing. He goes on to share a story about his own father and the tragic death of his brother.

He remembers his father not showing any emotion until the women are absent. He states that

“the thing that sticks with me the most is that he was apologizing to me for crying in front of me,

and at the same time, he was also giving me props, lifting me up, for not crying”(4). These

personal stories show Porter’s concerns about men and he encourages men to be aware of their

own backgrounds in order to change perceptions of what it means to be a man.

Porter also then shares that a 12 year old boy commented to him that if he would have been

called a girl while playing sports that it would “destroy”(5) him. That makes Tony wonder what

that boy has been taught about girls? Tony is convinced by comments like that that men see

women as second rate and inferior. Finally, Porter shares another personal experience designed

to arouse passion in his audience. He shares that he was “invited”(6) by the tough and “cool”(6)
older 16 year old to sexually assault a girl that was in the older boy’s apartment. Tony iterates

that he did not want to say no because he believed the “man box”(1) and all men would of course

jump at the chance to take advantage of a woman. He even shares that though he was remorseful

at the time, he was more concerned that he knew he had gotten away with something than how

the girl was being treated. He emphasizes, with these stories, his message that men see women

as lesser beings and as objects that men can use and discard.

Finally, Tony shows logos in his speech. He shares “the center for disease control says that

men's violence against women is at epidemic proportions, is the number one health concern for

women in this country and abroad”(11). He is encouraging his audience to consider this

evidence and understand that men need to be pushed to change their thinking of what it means to

be a man and how men treat women.

Overall, Porter paints a very convincing picture of the change in attitude that is needed with

men in our country and world today. He demonstrates ethos, pathos and logos throughout his

speech. He believes that men need to rethink the attitudes that have been pervasive in the“man-

box”(1) that they have been taught most of their lives. He concludes his speech with a call to

change for the audience. Porter displays his message that men need to rethink how they treat

women, and what it takes to be a real man in our world. From this speech the audience was able

to gain a better understanding of how men should behave, and portray themselves to others and

women.

Works Cited

Porter, Tony. “A Call to Men.” TED: Ideas Worth Spreading,

 www.ted.com/talks/tony_porter_a_call_to_men?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium

referral&utm_source=tedcomshare.

https://www.ted.com/talks/tony_porter_a_call_to_men?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium

=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare