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The effects of gender on communication
The effects of gender on communication
Gender and communication chapter 5
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Communication between men and women can be seen as a struggle to understand each other. Our gender is one of the main filters when encoding our experiences. Gender is a dynamic and fundamentally communicative process and language is essential to comprehend our gendered selves. We create and enact gender largely through dialogue so language plays a vital part in showing ourselves as gendered beings.
We learn to use language as we grow up and because we age in diverse geographic areas, have dissimilar religious beliefs, are in different levels of the class system, and etc. All of these factors, and more, can lead to diverse ways of communicating. It could be expected that even being male or female leads to different conversational styles. The differences between male and female speech is a variation of language that is not tied to geography or family background but to the speaker’s sexual gender.
The idea that men and women are different because they belong to different subcultures and the resulting conversational styles reflect these subcultures have been adopted by some linguists. Men and women use different language because they were brought up in differing sociolinguistic subcultures. The process of socialization, including home life, school, sports, friends etc. add to our maleness or femaleness.
We obtain our verbal capability from a young age. Socialization begins in childhood and boys and girls are socialized in dissimilar ways. What is gender appropriate is also taught at an early age. Typically, girls play in small groups or in pairs and commonly find someone that they can call a best friend. The games that girls play in childhood commonly aim to establish connection. In these games, everyone gets a turn and it is not ...
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..., we do speak the same language. Some expectations regarding men’s and women’s conversational styles have been shown to have no scientific basis. One of the most common stereotypes is that women talk more, this is just not true. In this day in age, women are attaining more positions of status in the workplace and are using more “man style” ways of speaking.
The differences between men and women are mostly the result of socialization. Although men and women differ in their communication skills and behavior, this does not mean that one sex is superior or inferior to another. Both communication styles are equally valid and the goal in gender communication is not to change the other’s communication style but to adapt it. These differences are not caused by an imbalance of power but by different norms of conversational interaction. Each gender has its own pros and cons.
Deborah Tannen has achieved scholarly and public praise for her conclusions about how women and men differ in conversational styles. You Just Don’t Understand[6] clarifies stylistic differences in how the two sexes communicate with each other.
According to Tannen, differences in childhood can impact individual’s communication with each other in relationships. At a young age, children tend to play with other children who are the same gender as them. Both groups of genders have different ways of building a friendship. Tannen says that “Little girls create and maintain friendships by exchanging secrets” (276). It is important for girls to share secrets to get closer to one another and to have a mutual understanding unlike boys whose bonds are “based
In recent years, gender differences have already been one of the most controversial issues in various research. As an important communication tool of mankind, language is inevitably involved in controversies. However, Rachel Rafelman, a Canadian journalist and the author of “The Party Line” express her thought and opinion in her essay. She not only have some great points on what and how women and men are likely to talk, but also have different points on the talking environment. She comes up with facts and fit real and particle examples in her essay to make it understood. Whereas, Ronald Macaulay, a professor of linguistics and the author of “Sex Difference” uses words of novels to argue and promotes them as a cause of reinforce to men’s and women’s stereotypes in his essay. He argues through his whole as rebuttal and gives some examples to oppose the preconceived notion of sex differences. Over all, both Rafelman and Macaulay are the good writer but Rafelman is having upper to prove her essay better organized using her tones as per requirement.
Deborah Tannen is the author of the book You Just Don't Understand where she analyzes the different meanings of communication between men and women. Her research shows that women and men use the same words and phrases and yet can interpret and react to those same words and phrases differently. Tannen compares the two sexes to find men use their conversation as a type of competition or to preserve their independence. For example, men talk about their knowledge regarding sports, cars, women, exc. Meanwhile, women try to foster intimacy through communication. For instance, women often talk and relate on a personal level. Throughout Tannen's book she uses "cross-cultural communication" to describe the differences between the language of men and women. Tannen observed that, "For males, conversation is the way you negotiate your status in the group and keep people from pushing you around; you use talk to preserve your independence. Females, on the other hand, use conversation to negotiate closeness and intimacy; talk is the essence of intimacy, so being best friends means sitting and talking. For boys, activities, doing things together, are central. Just sitting and talking is not an essential part of friendship. They're friends with the boys they do things with" (Tannen 95).
Communication between males and females has always been somewhat complicated. Because we are arguing that males and females have different cultures we wanted to take a look at what some of these differences might be. According to our research the inherent differences between male and female culture are the different roles that society holds for them and the ways these roles lead to different communication styles. The stereotypes that men and women grow up with affect the types of ways in which they communicate. We first wanted to take a look at how they specifically differ while men and women are arguing or having normal conversations. We also looked at the different types of networks that men and women share. These networks also differ and as do the reasonings for their formation. Although we do not think that men and women need to change their cultures to effectively communicate, we do think that better communication is possible. One of the researchers we took a look at was Deborah Tannen. According to Tannen the reason that men and women do not communicate well is that men and women use language differently. Women take the attitude that conversation is to explore solutions to common problems while men concern themselves more with getting information and hard data from conversation. Tannen states that what women look for in communication is human connection, while men consider status to be most important. They are looking for independence and are constantly looking for higher accomplishments. Intimacy threatens this independence, so men have a tendency to avoid it. One of the old sayings about women is that they talk more than men. It turns out that it is not necessarily true. Women seem to talk more in private conversations than do men. Women do not generally have a fear of intimacy and therefore are much more open with one another during private conversations. It is more difficult for women to use this type of communication style in the public arena. In that case it is men that do most of the talking. Tannen ultimately argues that men use communication as a weapon. They use long explanations to command attention from who it is they are speaking to. They use it to convey information and to ultimately gain agreement. Tannen suggests that through even simple conversation men are continually protecting their status. She sugg...
Steven Pinker distinguishes the difference between talking to man and women. Pinker showed a lady that was comfortable talking to another lady and the lady became angry when her talking to a man, not women (Pinker 2007 .p112, 113). People used intricacies method to achieve their needs and emotion instead of saying what they need to say directly. (Pinker 2007 .p113) Furthermore, even in a sexual situation, people twist and turn around and turn around their words. For example, “would you like to come up and see my etching?” (Pinker 2007.p113) Moreover, people use a kind word to order something from someone else without making a demand to the receiver or using indirect speeches to avoid a problem that may happen by mistake. (Pinker, 2007
Do men and women effectively communicate in the same way, or is it just a conversation of misunderstanding? There is constantly a new interest in whether men and women converse successfully. Professor and journalist, Deborah Tannen writes, “Sex, Lies, and Conversation: Why Is It So Hard for Men and Women to Talk to Each Other?” Tannen compares and contrasts all conversational styles, and explains how the expectation of dialogue affects how men and women converse. Tannen focuses on the subject of marriage and the imbalance of interest between male and female couples. The contrasting perspective however comes from, Deborah Cameron, author of, “What Language Barrier”. Cameron conveys that the stereotypes left upon male and female communication
In the introduction of Deborah Tannen’s “Conversation Style: Talking on the Job”, she compares and contrasts the ways men and women communicate. This reminds me of what I tell people that are struggling in their relationships. Women and men express themselves differently. Women think, but men act. If you can’t wrap your head around this, being in a relationship with anyone is going to be hard. Yet, this is such a basic way of looking at this issue. Not only are the genders vastly different, but each person relates to the world around them in a certain way. He or she also needs to be related to in a specific way. Looking at personalities and personal histories can give a better look at the way we communicate with each other. Tannen examines
In her essay titled “It Begins at the Beginning”, professor of linguistics Deborah Tannen describes how girls’ and boys’ communication and language patterns differ from an early age. Tannen’s essay, which is adapted from her book titled You Just Don’t Understand, she states that in the world of communication boys and girls have vast differences, which makes itself apparent in the way that they play. The author backs this up with two explanations. First, is that people not only talk to boys and girls differently, but also accept different ways of talking from them. Second, children learn communication not only from their parents but also from their peers, and there are major differences in the way boys and girls play together and speak to each other.
...a meaningful communication to take place. In conclusion, there are differences between men and women that go beyond social nurture. These differences have their origin in their genes. The differences evident in men and women are translated in their behavior and communication. There are possibilities of these differences in their turn raising the problem of failing to understand one another because in a communication men and women have a different set of expectations from each other. It is essential to understand and appreciate these differences for a meaningful communication to take place.
Language and communication are affected by gender and language style. Currently, we live in a world filled with a diverse group of individuals. Therefore, men and women differ in ideas on how to communicate effectively. Consequently, this causes a barrier in relationships between the opposite sexes. Language, on the other hand, determines the level of intelligence a person has and what region of the world they live in.
One of the most important topics in communications is gender communications and that is why I decided to write about it. Gender communication is communication about and between women and men. It is the most important thing to almost everyone in the world. I learned about gender communication in a class last year with Naaeke and I think it is really important to have if any ones wants to have a good relationship with someone and everyone usually wants to build there life through a relationship between a man and a women.
In terms of “genderlect” the language of women is mainly driven for making a relationship or connection with the person that is reading or listening to them (Lyons). Women like to, ask questions, avoid conflicts, and sometimes listen in which the reader is satisfied with the writings of the author (Lyons). Though this focus on connection is shown in writings it is also shown in public. If you notice in your classes that most women sit in front of the class than men, because they prefer to ask more questions than men do. Asking questions gives that teacher -student relationship that women seek. They try to avoid conflicts that generally go on because it can affect the relationship with their audience in a negative way. Also if you observe a conversation that goes on with two women or even a woman and a man, you will notice that the woman will “maintain eye contact, nod her head, and respond in some way” (402).
Wardhaugh states different social norms defining the standards of being men or women, which has a profound influence on the language behavior shown by different genders. In other words, both men and women should possess the ability to show either masculinity or feminity through the language they use. When this ability overlaps with the other gender, however, one might be considered as as outsider of their own gender. He then lists the main differences between males and femals with the connection with language: genetic differences, social differences (e.g. various roles people take within a certain society), and linguistic differences (e.g. speech style and word choice). Doing so, he gives readers an indepth idea about how gender differences link to various language behaviors. He further explains how these differences are possibly created and constructed in society. Wardhaugh also examines a few common gender stereotypes, such as women talk more than men, and proves most of the stereotypes are wrong.
Essentially, we are all different. We use language differently and interpret language differently. This is what we base our perceptions of others on, thus it is ultimately what dictates our interaction with others. The fact that men’s and women’s interaction differs because the two sexes generally interpret things differently is not a strange phenomenon, because we are all different.