In this opinion piece, Annie Murphy Paul discusses her son's newfound desire for Rainbow Loom, a popular bracelet making toy. Paul, being a mother herself as well as a writer well-established health writer understands that a "girly" toy such as the Rainbow Loom usually isn't something that boys play with. Paul then takes this information to essentially say that this change could possibly lead to more gender equality in the future. In order to make her point, Paul uses a plethora of rhetorical devices to draw the reader in. Paul first starts out with an anecdote as to target her audience of parents of children under 12 years old. By talking about a common motherly experience with her 12 year old child, Paul is trying to connect with her parent audience. By using her real like to draw experience from, Paul makes her article seem less scientific, and more approachable. However, in order to substantiate the claims she makes through anecdotes, Paul then uses scientific evidence to show 97% of all boys prefer cars, weapons, etc. (stereotypical boy toys) over girly ones. Although this is the case, the bracelet making toy has stood the test of time as such a fad is still going on today. Paul shows the benefits of boys taking on this very meticulous task of looming because instead of just breaking things, boys are now spending their time quietly making bracelets. Then to wrap it all up, Paul says that this change in toy selection, one of the most gender separated industries, is a positive one because it is eliminating gender roles in society. Personally, I think this claim is a bit far fetched, however I agree that this change to bracelet making for all kids is quite unusual. I think Paul's rhetorical devices were really well used because after reading the article, I had to think about what was truly happening with these rubber band bracelets. Although at the end of the day I don't agree with Paul, I think she made really good points.
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