Poster child

Poster child

:"For the 2004 film, please see Poster Boy:"For the Street Artist, please see Posterchild (street artist)The phrase "poster child" (sometimes "poster boy") originally referred to a child afflicted by some disease or deformity whose picture is used on posters to generate sympathy, in order to raise money, enlist volunteers, etc.

However, the term has entered the popular vernacular, and is frequently used rhetorically to refer to a person whose actions or behavior seem to support or to be the perfect representative of a cause, a movement, idea, etc. In this metaphorical sense, it is often used ironically, or as a term of Fact|date=August 2008. In this case the term has evolved in some cases of vernacular use to rhetorically refer to someone who is used as an egregious example.

Examples

*An example of its rhetorical use by George Voinovich: "It is my opinion that John Bolton is the poster child of what someone in the diplomatic corps should not be". [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4542917.stm BBC NEWS | Americas | Bush pressured to drop UN choice ] ]
*Bobbi Campbell was a self-professed "KS poster boy" in the earliest years of the AIDS epidemic.
*Willie Horton who became a "poster boy" for the Massachusetts prison furlough program and the liberal sensibilities of Michael Dukakis in the 1988 US Presidential Elections.
*In the debate over capital punishment, Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh is often cited by anti-death-penalty activists as a "poster child for the death penalty" because his indifference to his victims, especially those who were children, made him appear irredeemably inhuman. [ [http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/forum/forumnew21.HTM "JURIST": Why We Shouldn't Execute Timothy McVeigh, April 23, 2001] and [http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june01/mcveigh_5-12.html Online NewsHour: "Witness To An Execution", April 12, 2001] , among many other examples]
*Ryan White was considered a poster child for social acceptance of AIDS, after he contracted the disease from a blood transfusion and was expelled from his school.

References


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • poster child — UK US noun [C] (plural poster children) ► a person or thing that is seen as a typical example of something: a poster child for sth »He is the poster child for excessive chief executive compensation. a poster child of sth »The company has been the …   Financial and business terms

  • poster child — poster children also poster girl 1) N COUNT: oft N for n If someone is a poster child for a particular cause, characteristic, or activity, they are seen as a very good or typical example of it. [mainly AM] Zidane has become the poster child for a …   English dictionary

  • poster child — poster ,child (plural poster ,chil|dren) noun count 1. ) a child with a particular illness or physical problem who is used in a poster advertising the work of an organization that helps children with that illness or problem 2. ) HUMOROUS someone… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • poster child — poster .child n [C usually singular] AmE 1.) a child with a particular illness or physical problem whose picture appears on a poster advertising the work of an organization that helps children with that problem 2.) someone or something that… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • poster child — n. a person, originally a child, or thing presented as a symbol or archetype as in advancing some cause: now also poster boy (or girl, etc.) …   English World dictionary

  • poster child — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms poster child : singular poster child plural poster children mainly American 1) a child with a particular illness or physical problem who is used in a poster advertising the work of an organization that helps… …   English dictionary

  • poster child — noun a child afflicted by some disease or deformity whose picture is used on posters to raise money for charitable purposes she was the poster child for muscular dystrophy • Hypernyms: ↑child, ↑kid, ↑youngster, ↑minor, ↑shaver, ↑nipper, ↑sm …   Useful english dictionary

  • poster child — 1. a child appearing on a poster for a charitable organization. 2. a person or thing that exemplifies or represents: She could be a poster child for good sportsmanship. [1990 95] * * * …   Universalium

  • poster child — /ˈpoʊstə tʃaɪld/ (say pohstuh chuyld) noun (plural poster children) 1. a child who is regarded as a focus of some community sentiment or aspiration, especially one with appealing looks used for advertising for donations. 2. any person,… …  

  • poster child — post′er child n. cvb a person or thing that exemplifies or represents: She could be a poster child for good sportsmanship[/ex] • Etymology: 1965–70 …   From formal English to slang

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