Running head: ANIMAL TESTING IN COSMETICS 1

Animal Testing in Cosmetics

Jacqueline Muratalla

RWS 1302

Professor Ruby Pappoe

The University of Texas at El Paso

The cosmetic industry has a public image of being attractive and appealing, but there is a

different standpoint to what happens behind these successful beauty products. The use of animals

to test the toxicity of cosmetic ingredients has been the procedure beauty companies have been

using to be able to ensure the safety of humans. The use of animal testing in cosmetics has been a

controversial issue all around the world is presented through two genres that address the topic of

inquiry and share certain points to question the use of this type of testing. The Humane Society

of the United States’ website provides an interactive way to gain more information on the topic

and furnished their page as a fact sheet with common questions and misconceptions of the use of

animal testing to assess the safety of cosmetic ingredients and Discovery News video by Seeker

informs the viewers of the use of animal testing in cosmetics and questions if the process used is

the most promising way to achieve accurate answers to ensure the safety of humans. These

genres’ attributes, such as purpose, audience, structure, delivery, and rhetorical issues, will both

be discussed in this analysis, as well as views towards this matter in question.

Audience and Purpose

The first genre, the Humane Society of the United States website, is a website from an

organization that confronts cruelty against animals and promotes a “humane world for people

and animals alike” (HSUS, 2018) Their purpose is to inform the readers of the procedure, the

elements, and the alternatives for animal testing in cosmetics, as well as, to persuade the reader

into joining the cause and promoting a cruelty-free world. The second genre, “Why Do We Still

Test Cosmetics on Animals?” by Seeker from Discovery News is a video to inform the viewers

of the use of animals to assess the safety of cosmetic products and infuse doubts viewers on

whether this process is the most promising way to achieve accurate answers of the toxicivity of

cosmetics.

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The intended audience of the website are animal activist and cosmetic users, as well as,

the cosmetic companies. The discourse community it is mainly aimed at is animal activists

because it provides all the resources to end the suffering animals go through in cosmetic testing

and includes information on campaigns, cruelty-free products, and ways to make donations. The

intended audience for the Discovery news video is for animal activist, cosmetic users, and the

public who saw it, but their main focus audience is mainly aimed at cosmetic users because they

emphasis on the use of animal testing in cosmetics and the dangers it can precipitate on the users

of these cosmetic products. Many cosmetic users do not know what ingredients are in their

makeup nor the types of tests companies do to assess the safety of their products and this website

is an accessible way to discover and gain knowledge on products they use every day. Unlike the

website, the video does not focus on providing information on campaigns or organizations that

combat the use of animals for testing cosmetic ingredients, nor do they encourage the people to

donate on any specific cause.

Both genres require different amounts of time to display their information and one differs

from the amount of time the reader wants to put in it. The fact that the first genre is a website and

is interactive, which means it can provide access to different links for more information, the

reader will spend as much time as he/she desires based on how intrigued they are by the topic

and how much in depth they want to go, but if the reader only reads the fact sheet that is

provided on the first page, the reader will most likely spend from ten to fifteen minutes reading

over it. On the other hand, the video is timed and is three minutes and forty-three seconds long.

In result of the manner the topic is being presented in the video, the information they transmit

has to be succinct in order to, both, inform the viewers and retain their attention. The video is a

very efficient way to convey information because it is concise, and when it comes to topics like

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this one, where people feel uncomfortable knowing the ethical issues that are presented in the use

of animal testing, people do not like to get extensive. Moreover, the website contains loads of

information that, unless the reader is very passionate about the topic, an average person would be

too negligent to read all.

These two genres present the same information, but in different ways. The website’s

purpose is to inform the reader, but also to allow them to empathize with the topic and assist the

cause. The purpose of the video is to inform, but also entertain as they are still part of the news

media which means they still have to get their number of viewers in. Each genre has its own way

of transmitting their message by differentiating their language. The language used by the

Humane Society of the United States website is informal yet they are an organization that

represents the United States, which forces the contents to be serious and carefully selected. The

vocabulary the website uses are quotidian words that people are able to understand. Although,

they do use some scientific terminology such as “lethal doses,” “corrosion,” “toxicology,”

“carcinogenetic,” and “toxicokinetics” that are easy to understand using context clues or in the

case of “carcinogenetic” or “toxicokinetics” the website provides the definition of the word for

the audience to not feel frustrated or overwhelmed by any vocabulary used on the website.

The video also uses informal language, but in this case, it does use every day jargon. The

references that they use to explain some of their key points are adequate to the things that the

people know and are easy to follow since they compare points of the topic to everyday things

like body spray, lipstick, and nail polish. Although, the video uses scientific terms, as well, their

terms are not as advanced as the website’s because they do not have time to explain the

definition of each term so in result, they mostly use common words to connect with the people

and build a relationship. Language features present on the website are neutral; the text is pleasing

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to the eye and resourceful, due to the fact that parts of the text are in a different color font

indicating that they are a link to more information on the subject. In addition, the video also has

these characteristics with the closed captions, they are accessible and can take you to another

video by just clicking on the links. The use of the colors on the website also send a message to

the reader. The colors of the website are blue and white; blue being a color that symbolizes

loyalty and white being a color that symbolizes purity, which are very wise details to provide in

order for the organization to create their image and send their message with as much credibility

as possible. For the video, the images being used are depicting what the reported is saying to

facilitate the audience and help them make connections with the points the reporter is giving on

the topic. The background behind the reporter is blue and gray, which has the same impact

mentioned for genre one; the color blue symbolizes wisdom and confidence helping the facts on

the video seem more believable and gray symbolizes formality and sophistication making the

video seem responsible and serious about their work.

Rhetorical Issues (Ethos, Pathos, and Logos)

Both genres display rhetorical issues, but the manner in which they are demonstrated

varies genre to genre. The use of ethos is demonstrated differently in each genre. One of the

main purposes of the first genre (website), is to persuade the readers into joining the cause to

stop the insufferable tests animals have to go through for the sake of cosmetic products. They

achieve this by using ethics and questioning the readers ability to know what is good and what is

wrong. They emphasize the unethical procedures these animals have to go through and question

the readers’ morals and values to stimulate the readers to realize that these procedures are wrong

and that the people should stop them. On the second genre, they point out that many people

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consider these tests inhumane and that even the European Union already banned the assessment

of the test and the selling of products, who used these tests to assess the safety of their products.

Genre one is filled with pathos in order to provoke the feeling of guilt and wrongdoing in

the readers, making them more vulnerable when the time comes to ask them for donations. They

use the images of animals used for these tests such as mice, rabbits, guinea pigs, etc. along with

detailed explanations of the testing procedures and consequences they may have on the animals

to generate a sense of empathy in the reader. This makes the reader feel obligated to help because

the animals are giving up their life for humans to be able to live a careless life. The emotion the

video is attempting to evoke from its audience is of interest. They want the audience to go back

to their main website and look more into the topic.

The website established its credibility by being BBB accredited and placing the

certification at the bottom of the website. The evidence they provide are acts, policies, and laws

that have been passed all around the world; for example, the ICCVAM act in the European

union. They also provide the readers with links to toxicity testing results and prove alternatives

of these tests. Genre two, establishes its credibility by being part of the discovery news channel;

the discovery news media company has a good reputation and is known for its integrity and

trustworthiness when delivering news. The video also provides links to articles within the video

to get more information.

Structure and Delivery

Each of the genres had their own way of structuring their information and delivering the

message to the reader/audience. The first genre, is organized in a serious of questions with each

question being answered; It has an analytical style, with different components of the topic being

discussed. It starts with the question, “What products are considered cosmetics?” to open the

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floor to what animal testing applies for, then continues with follow-up questions. This structure

facilitates the readers a way to go straight to answer of their question or read all the answers for

every question. Genre two, begins with a funny statement to grab the audience’s attention and

then starts the section by trying to get the audience to connect with her and relate to the topic.

The way the information was being transmitted helped captivate the audience’s attention and not

bore them with just facts; the news reporter makes it interesting to keep watching. Both genres

had to make it efficient for the audience to get their information and for the website and video to

get their point across. Although, the video had to be succinct and concise to engage with the

audience and keep their attention.

Conclusion

In the final analysis, both genres were able to transmit their content effectively. The first

genre had a bigger platform to execute their information and was able to go more in-depth with

the topic, while trying to persuade the readers to end the use of animal testing for cosmetics. On

the other hand, the second genre needed for their content to be brief and synoptic and was more

neutral when it came to picking sides in the topic. Animal testing in cosmetics is a global issue

and both genres are attempting to get the people aware of the secret behind the beauty industry.

References

Fact Sheet: cosmetic Testing. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/cosmetic_testing/qa/questions_answers.html?referr

er=https://www.google.com/

D. (2016, May 20). Why Do We Still Test Cosmetics on Animals? Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lb9w-XtaYA