The Deadly Mistake More Women Are Making was an article featured in Cosmopolitan magazine’s October 2011 edition. The typical readers of this magazine are college-aged females and older, and as school was just starting back, the timing of this article was more than a coincidence. Stephanie Booth, a popular blogger and MBA graduate presents her article in a stern, yet reflective manner. She uses statistics, polls and radical stories to keep the attention of the reader and to prove her point.
Booth writes about the effects of excessive drinking and it’s conniving power over females. The front page of the article features a female with long blond hair, back turned to the photographer in an effortless manner with a cocktail in her hand. This picture is automatically eye-catching. The picture possess a jenesequa that is attractive to the reader. As a female myself, when I see this, I automatically envy the women in the picture; She is beautiful and the way she is holding herself automatically displays confidence. Booth is clever in using this tactic.
She is aware of the reaction that her audience will have to this picture, being automatic intrigue. Booth opens the literature section of the article, automatically pulling on the heartstrings of the reader. She tells the story of a women who seemed to have it all… a college degree a clean record and a job at a golf course in South Carolina. That was true, Beushausen 2 until she allowed alcohol to ruin that for her. Caitlin made the decision to drink and drive after work, a breathalyzer revealed that the driver, Caitlin’s, blood-alcohol level was .
29 being four times that of the legal limit. That night she impacted not only her life by that decision, but she killed a four-year-old girl and severely hurt the father of this girl. This story that Booth opens with instantly grabs attention by creating an emotional reaction within the reader. Booth continues the article my providing shocking statistics that bring new knowledge to the reader. The statistics stated that the percentage of charges for drunk driving had skyrocketed for women and decreased for men.
This causes the female reading the article to consider the reason why theses statements are true. Booth offers a possible explanation. She goes on to say that the rise in women driving intoxicated is due to the honest fact that socially drinking for women has become more acceptable and that women now drink often times with the intention to get drunk. Two more graphics are featured on the page. Frightening, chilling graphics of two women who obviously made the life-altering decision to drink and drive. Mug shots and short explanations are a powerful scare tactic used by Booth.
Often times when drinking, make decisions that put themselves and society in danger, we know that. What we don’t fully understand is why, even when “don’t drink and drive” has been engraved in our minds, women are continuing to make the decision to get behind the wheel. The two women whose mug shots are featured on the page, are in their mid-twenties and both were so drunk that they allegedly don’t even remember driving.
This is the answer to the seemingly impossible question. Women are getting so drunk, that they remember Beushausen 3 nothing, making decision when they are unaware of the fact that they are even making a decision in the first place. More statistics are used to further back up Booths point that socially drinking to become drunk is the sole purpose for many women. Studies show that more women aged twenty to thirties are drinking more frequently and harder than ever in the past. Binge drinking has increased forty percent in the last thirty years. These statistics we know are credible because Booth explains that according to Washington University School of Medicine these are proved to be true.
By this point in the article the reader is curious and is pondering possible reasons as to why women, who are becoming more and more liberated and self-deserving, are choosing to drink with a purpose of getting drunk. Booth aids the reader with possible explanations, and opinions. Women are now accepted in the workplace as equals with the men. More stress is put on women to not only excel in the workplace, but to continue fulfilling obligations at home as a wife and/or mother. Women are also emotional beings, when we become angered or hurt by something we can drink away the pain.
Society aids females and even encourages them to drink by having “ladies night” at local bars and by appealing to women with cheap fruity drinks that seem so seductive. A graphic fills the bottom of a page that brings to readers attention the amount that one can drink before coming legally intoxicated with a blood-alcohol-level of . 08. A female who weighs 120 pound can drink on beer and two shots before being legally intoxicated, two cocktails and three sips of a friends drink or one margarita.
These are all circumstantial, of course. However, the point Booth is trying to make is understood Beushausen 4 clearly. Women can’t drink very much before being legally intoxicated and while they may not feel the effects of the alcohol, it is in their bloodstream and they need to stop at this point. This is the point that good judgement is over-ridden by the conniving, sneaky little friend called alcohol that so many women are infatuated with. Cosmopolitan posted a poll online and the shocking results from the poll are on the page.
Booth is smart in using the color red to draw the readers’ attention to the graphic. The poll asked its participants if they’d driven while intoxicated, if they’d done more than ten times, if their excuse to was “I live a short distance away and was confident I wouldn’t crash. ” And lastly if they have had to stop a friend from driving drunk. These questions that were chosen were relatable to the reader. The readers could have easily asked themselves these questions while reading over the results of the poll.
This is an intelligent method used by Booth to interest the reader, as well as to inform the reader. Booth refers to the amount of celebrities who have racked up DUIs and appear to suffer none to moderate consequences. The majority of the article is a positive re-enforcement to refrain from drinking and driving and by her mentioning the fact that many people drink and drive and can get away with it, without paying consequences somewhat negates what she’d stated earlier. This was not beneficial to the effectiveness of the article.
As Booth comes to the close of the article, she reiterates the point that driving while intoxicated is a decision that no person should make. She also gives alternatives. This is a great tactic on her part. She makes clear that women, and all people who drink Beushausen 5 for that matter, should take a stand against drinking and driving and she follows by positive reinforcement by giving those who may consider drinking and driving other options. This article was well constructed and effective to the reader.
The article was relevant to the reader, being women who typically participate in drinking alcohol. Booth delivers her information in a well-organized fashion with paragraphs divided by topics. The use of pictures gains the attention of the reader and interests them. Booth did a good job of entertaining the reader while also educating of the ignored and over-looked facts of drinking and driving. Booth is an author that delivers her information in a constructed, significant manner.
