Pennsylvania State University



Haley HamschinProfessor Lori BedellCAS 137H14 October 2016I Had No Idea: Awareness from Two Different Angles“I had no idea.” Four words that roll off a parent’s tongue when hearing that their child is suffering from an eating disorder and four words to summarize the societal perception of the issue. With eating disorders affecting 30 million Americans at some point in their lives, awareness is essential to making a change (National Eating Disorders Association). The Love Your Tree Campaign created by the Sheppard Pratt Center for Eating Disorders and the National Eating Disorders Association’s (NEDA) I Had No Idea Campaign capitalize on the opportunities presented by the rhetorical situation with the use of elements like intrinsic and extrinsic proofs and the promotion of emergent ideologies to offer different approaches to a shared goal: eating disorder awareness and prevention. The Love Your Tree Campaign, developed by the Sheppard Pratt Center for Eating Disorders, uses a combination of eating disorder research and art therapy concepts to ask individuals to complete the statement: “Like a tree, my body is…” While it is designed to promote positive body image, the campaign is not just for those struggling with disordered eating; body gratitude and media literacy can be beneficial to anyone. This message is spread through the creation and sharing of “gratitude trees” and digital mediums such as a YouTube video documenting the campaign in action at Towson University in recent years. On the other hand, the National Eating Disorders Association’s I Had No Idea Campaign is driven by visual propaganda shared through social media and hard copies of posters to finish the statement, “I had no idea…” in relation to the conversation about eating disorders. I Had No Idea was the theme for National Eating Disorders Awareness Week in 2015 with the aim of dispelling myths and promoting education within the particular subset of mental illness. The campaign’s intent is to start a conversation that spans past the bounds of the week of awareness and put an end to the silence that perpetuates the stigma surrounding the issue. While both campaigns incorporate a variety of rhetorical devices that aid in their calls to action, the tone and approach differs between the two, with Sheppard Pratt using positivity to spread a call to action and NEDA relying on factual information to promote change. One of the greatest factors in the effectiveness of both Sheppard Pratt and NEDA’s campaigns lies in the use of kairos when determining the ideal time and situation for introducing the ideas. With the National Eating Disorders Association reporting that 25% of college-aged males and 32.6% of the female collegiate population struggle with disordered eating, targeting college campuses like Towson University provides the campaign with the exigence and audience necessary to share the mission of the Love Your Tree campaign. Because of the rising statistics and emergence of body-positive advertising, like #AerieReal and the Dove Real Beauty Campaign, kairos is rhetorically significant in sharing Sheppard Pratt’s message. NEDA employs kairos through the introduction of the I Had No Idea Campaign, but in a different context. With National Eating Disorders Awareness Week occurring every February, there is a window of opportunity to produce a meaningful theme that will prompt conversation and subsequent education. The I Had No Idea theme is particularly relevant based on the emergence of other mental health awareness campaigns, such as Project Semicolon and National Day Without Stigma, as all are aimed at eliminating the stigma around mental illness. By introducing a campaign that promoted conversation during a time when the emergent ideology of being vocal about mental health is at play, NEDA ignited an impactful movement that reached all 50 states and 51different countries by the end of the week (The Recovery Village). The medium of presentation was appropriate for the targeted audience, as eating disorders most commonly affect those between the ages of 12 and 25, which is also an age group particularly engaged with social media, thereby aiding in the spread of the campaign (The Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness). Both intrinsic and extrinsic proofs are at play in the Love Your Tree and I Had No Idea campaigns to reinforce the message’s integrity and to solidify the call to action in combatting eating disorders. The video presentation of the Love Your Tree campaign includes both an introduction to the project from Sheppard Pratt professionals and footage of college students actively taking part in the body-gratitude movement. By including individuals of the targeted audience in the informational video, Sheppard Pratt’s campaign is strengthened with an emotional appeal as it shows that body positivity and gratitude is possible for people of all genders and backgrounds. The explanation of the project’s background, premise, and goals by licensed mental health professionals employs an ethical and logical appeal, furthering the credibility of the campaign. Additionally, pathos is evident in the video through music choice, facial expressions, diversity in people interviewed, and open responses to the statement, “[l]ike a tree, my body is,” which, in combination with ethical and logical appeals, further persuades the audience to consider participating in Love Your Tree. In the I Had No Idea Campaign, ethos is immediately established as the content is coming from professionals through the National Eating Disorders Association. The presentation of the material: “I had no idea that my passion had become my problem,” is concise, informative, and easily translatable to the audience as the most prominent component of the announcement is an I-statement; “I had no idea.” The first-person word choice and selection of facts relevant to the audience and contrary to stigmatized perceptions of disordered eating conveys pathos and logos while simultaneously educating the population on the issue. The availability of resources and encouragement to learn more furthers NEDA’s ethical appeal while clearly conveying the call to action displayed by the campaign.While both campaigns are created with a sense of awareness of the rhetorical situation and capitalize on the evolution of emergent ideologies to dominant ones, the I Had No Idea Campaign directly focuses on education and awareness as opposed to the Love Your Tree Campaign, which emphasizes body-positivity to indirectly combat the eating disorder epidemic. Love Your Tree relies more on a “snowball effect,” with a second persona being created in response to people sharing the project and its mission, questioning a once dominant ideology of insecurity and replacing it with one of personal gratitude and acceptance. The I Had No Idea Campaign offers a straightforward approach at highlighting the prevalence of eating disorders, lack of awareness, and necessity for change, serving as a more direct call to fulfill the civic duty of becoming familiar with eating disorders as serious and common mental health issues. Both Love Your Tree and I Had No Idea, share a similar premise, but focus on differing ideologies. Love Your Tree is designed to acknowledge a shift from a dominant ideology of historically unrealistic beauty standards to the emergent ideology of self-love and acceptance, as portrayed by outside media, such as Aerie and Dove, through more recent campaigns. I Had No Idea is designed to break the silence established by the confines of the dominant ideology that mental illness is something to be ashamed of and replace it with the emergent ideology that awareness is the key to change. With different approaches that provoke a call to action in the field of mental health, both organizations capitalize on kairos and other elements of the rhetorical situation to promote a shift in ideology and convey the proposition that change is essential to promoting continued health and well-being, especially in particularly vulnerable populations like those targeted by the campaigns. Works CitedThe Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness. "Eating Disorders Statistics." (n.d.): n. pag. North Dakota State University, 20 Mar. 2009. Web. 26 Sept. 2016. <;."Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2014." The Recovery Village Florida Drug Rehab Center. The Recovery Village, 21 Feb. 2014. Web. 26 Sept. 2016. <;."Get The Facts On Eating Disorders." National Eating Disorders Association. National Eating Disorders Association, 2016. Web. 26 Sept. 2016. < Eating Disorders Association. I Had No Idea. Digital image. Fuel for Freedom. N.p., 23 Feb. 2015. Web. 26 Sept. 2016. <;. ................
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