Download Gendered Verbal Communication

Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
gendered lives
Chapter Five:
Gendered Verbal Communication
Copyright © 2005 Wadsworth
1
“The tongue has the power of
life and death.”
~ Proverbs 18.21
Copyright © 2004 Wadsworth
Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
Verbal Communication Cultural Views of Gender
• Communication is Symbolic Behavior
• Not All Symbols are Linguistic
• Symbols Allow Us to Define, Organize,
and Evaluate Phenomena
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Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
Language Defines Gender
• Male Generic Language Excludes Women
 Businessmen, Chairmen, Mankind
 “Generic” He
• Language Defines Women and Men
Differently
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Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
Language Defines Gender
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Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
Spotlighting
• Highlighting the Sex of a Person
 Sandra Day O’Connor is an outstanding
lady judge.
 He plans to be a male kindergarten teacher.
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CNN, Mass Communication, Volume 2
Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
Language Reinforces
Cultural Stereotypes
• Women Defined by Appearance or
Relationships
 Miss or Mrs. Designates Marital Status
 Prevalent Tradition is that a Wife
Adopts Husband’s Name
• Men Defined by Activities,
Accomplishments or Positions
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Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
Language Names What Exists
We Notice what We Name
• Sexual Harassment Once Named,
Got Attention
• Date Rape Similar
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Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
Language Organizes
Perceptions of Gender
• Stereotyping is a Broad Generalization
• Polarized Thinking Involves Conceiving of
Things as Opposites
Language and Gender Resources
http://www.linguistics.ucsb.edu/faculty/bucholtz/lng/
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Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
Language Evaluates Gender
• Women Often Trivialized by Language
 Baby Doll, Cupcake, Girlie
• Language Sometimes Trivializes
Women’s Accomplishments
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Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
Language Evaluates Gender
• Women Deprecated by Language that
Devalues Them
 Topics of Interest Marginalized
 Diminutive Suffixes Used
• Suffragette, Majorette
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Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
Language Enables
Hypothetical Thought
• Hypothetical Thought is Important
in Gender Identity.
 Each Must Decide what it Means
to be a Woman or a Man.
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Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
Language Allows
Self-Reflection
• People Reflect on Cultural
Views of Gender
• Can Decide They Don’t Want
to Limit Themselves
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Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
Language is a Process
• We Continuously Change Language to
Reflect Understandings
• As We Modify Language, We Modify
How We See Ourselves and Our World
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Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
Gendered Interaction:
Masculine and Feminine Styles
• Gendered Speech Communities
 Language Sustains Cultural Life
 Common Understandings of Communication
• Lessons of Childplay
 Boys’ Games
 Girls’ Games
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Wadsworth Thomson: Wood Scenarios
Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
Feminine Speech
• Centers on Relationships
• Used to Equalize Status
• Supports Others
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Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
Feminine Speech
• Invites and Includes Others
• Verbally Responsive to Others
• Often Includes Intimate Self-Disclosure
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Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
Women’s Communication
is Tentative
• Hedges: “I kind of feel”
• Qualifiers: “I’m probably not the best
judge . .”
• Tag questions: “. . .don’t you think”
Is this Powerless? OR Inclusive?
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Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
Masculine Speech
• Used to Establish and Maintain Status
• Used to Accomplish Instrumental Objectives
• Used to Dominate the “Talk Stage”
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Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
Masculine Speech
• Stated in Fairly Direct, Assertive Ways
• More Abstract and Less Concrete
• Less Emotionally Responsive to Others
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Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
Gender-Based
Misinterpretations
Women tend to listen
and match experiences.
Men tend to solve
problems.
Women tend to embed
stories with people and
events.
Men tend to express
themselves in a linear
fashion.
Women tend to view
relationships as a
process that should be
discussed and examined.
Men tend to feel if a
relationship is okay
there is no need
to talk.
Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
Does society
devalue women’s
style of public
speaking?
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Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
Women’s Communication
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www.gore2000.com
Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
Does society value men’s
style of public speaking?
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Chapter Five: Gendered Verbal Communication
gendered lives
Copyright © 2005 Wadsworth
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