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Hannah Ramirez
Professor Voltz
UWRT 1102
4 December 2015
Journal 12: Artists Abstract of A Night In
In order to compose a visual argument, I knew I wanted to tackle something that
personally impacted me deeply. I thought about the things going on in the world; the mass
shootings, wars, poverty, and other injustices. Then, I thought about my own little world. As I sat
in my bedroom, I also faced injustices. These were found as I turned towards my journals and
realized how many times I had written about fear from one specific topic: being taken advantage
of. While this subject itself is broad, I focused in on the one concept of sexual assault. I was
personally able to avoid it happening on one instance when I was much younger and not in the
state of mind to consent to anything. However, the fact that I came very close to being in a
situation I could not have gotten out of haunts me still. The reason for this is that I was a lucky
one. But what about those who are not so lucky?
With a target audience of young people- particularly to evoke an emotional feeling in
young men, this visual argument focuses on the journal of a college aged woman who chose to
stay in versus joining her friends on a night out as a result of a fearful encounter with someone
who took advantage of her while she was intoxicated. She cannot even remember with clarity the
events which occurred, and as a result has not shared what happened with anyone she knows.
She is scared to put herself in a situation where something bad can happen again but also fears
for her friends. However, her own self worth is taken down by the fact that she thought she was
capable of protecting herself all along. She is brought down to the point of fearing using her
story as a warning due to looking like a hypocrite. After all, she should have known better.

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Visually, the black and white photos are metaphors for the still point in her life that feels
void of color. She states that the light has left her- she is no longer as innocent as she once was.
This places an emphasis on the societal expectations of sexual encounters to take someones
innocence. However, for this young woman, it was not her choice. As a result, she faces the
consequences of societys pressure to be pure. The empty page to the left of her journal entry
shows a lack of words in alignment with her lack of understanding. There would have been much
more to write about her encounter could she have even remembered the details. With this empty
space along with a plain room, she is left to ponder over how much of her she feels is missing.
The strongest symbol in this visual argument is that of the well-made bed that the journal
is sitting on. A bed is an important symbol as it is where a person is most vulnerable at two
specific times. The first (and likely most common) is that of sleep. Without the conscious ability
to defend oneself, being asleep leaves someone susceptible to almost anything which would walk
into the room. In contrast to the innocence of sleep, the taking of said innocence is found in
sexual acts as previously stated. Having sex in a bed is the common expectation, and one can
assume that there is a chance that when she was assaulted, the action may have taken place in a
bed as well. Unfortunately, her bed is where she is likely to remain on the night of writing this
journal, diving into questions at the end of it that make her search for an understanding of her
loss of innocence in the first place.
Ultimately, the goal of this visual argument is to show the sorrowful feelings that can be
left in someone who has experienced a traumatic sexual assault and as a result how it can impact
their lives. This young woman, who herself knew she was full of light, has been reduced to
feeling fearful after what happened to her. It is an unfair chain of events which happen
frequently. The college experience seems to include a fear in the air of rape, but the reality is that

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it can cause fear in every aspect of a persons life. The real argument here is to stay free of
allowing these encounters to occur. The word consent is one which is thrown around very
often, yet people partaking in sexual acts need to analyze it with a greater depth. Sex without
consent- which does mean given when someone is not impaired- is one way to help avoid
situations like described in this visual piece. It hits hard, and it is supposed to.

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