Gender And Language Essay, Research Paper
The article that I located is Gender and Language Use is by Lydei Meunier. I found this article very fascinating and very informative. It covered the differences in gender speech patterns and the differences in gender communication. The article implies that as a child we are taught how to behave and communicate according to our gender. The writer contends that it is nurture rather than nature that molds the way males and females respond and communicate with each other. The author included various studies that show the differences in communication style between males and females that I found to be very interesting and very true according to how I communicate with friends and family.
The studies showed that females used a common communication style regardless of their race, age or their financial standings. The study also showed that female children are brought up to speak elegantly and discouraged to speak roughly, while boys are discouraged to speak “like a female” in the fear that they will sound too feminine. The standard of communication that we as parents impose on our children I feel is unintentional and probably it subconscious. Since we as children, females being taught to keep their voices down and to speak softly and boys being allowed a more vociferous approach and are encouraged to speak their mind. Males are taught to use a powerful speech style that shows authority that females are denied access to. The article refers to biblical times when a woman was to speak to her husband not as a wife and equal partner but to address him as a slave would, and the husband addressed his wife as a slave. I think our culture today is changing and we are seeing more women able to speak their minds, it is becoming increasingly acceptable for a woman to have that authority. Although if a woman has that authority and uses those powerful speech style she is considered to be an aggressive woman. I hope that in time it will one day be acceptable for a female to be able to speak her mind without these misconceptions, and parents will be able to teach their child no matter the gender that it is all right for them to speak their mind without being judged.
The topic that I found the most intriguing was the subject of interruption or overlaps in conversation between males and females. The studies showed that men were more likely to interrupt a conversation than women. I liked the way that the article pointed out that men were more likely to interrupt in the middle of a conversation with women and women were not give the proper right to speak. I notice this theory of the power speech when I talk to the men in my life. I recently went out with my brother to a bar just to talk and hang out. During the course of the night I noticed that it was in fact my brother talking most of the time. I was not to pleased about the situation at hand because every time I started to include my self into “his” conversation I was quickly cut off. My body language did not even que him into I was not happy about being interrupted and maybe he did not even care as along as he was talking. The article refers to women falling silent after interruption in their conversations showing their powerlessness. I often want to rip the hair right out of my head when in or should I say out of conversation with my boyfriend. I am never given the chance to actively participate in the conversation itself. I am constantly interrupted and if I dare to infringe upon his right to talk (I interrupt him) I am quickly asked to be quiet because he is not through with what he was saying, in the mean time I am not really paying close attention to anything that he is saying. I find it very frustrating when I finally find a chance to get a word in edgewise and I know that I will only be interrupted minutes later.
I really cannot understand why men feel that they have the right to basically blow a woman off because they do not think what she has to say could be important. The study show that men were less likely to interrupt while talking with another man. That being male you had a right to be listened to and that what you said had value and meaning. The study also showed that women hardly interrupted another woman while in conversation with them. I agree with both of these statements, I observed my boyfriend talking with his brother-in-law and there was never an interruption between the two of them. When talking to my girlfriend we each take turns, if one of does interrupts it is short and the conversation the is handed back over to the original speaker.
The article talks about women using communication to strengthen ties and build relationships . This is true when women get together we talk about things that we all can relate to within our live boyfriends, husbands, children and jobs or even emotions and feelings. You talk to a man about these things you notice him becoming bored very quickly. Men on the other hand use communication to maintain their status and keep independence. Have you ever noticed men talking about relationships, I have and every time it when they have had to many drinks. For the most part they talk about sports and world events, and themselves. I love the line in the article “A talkative woman talks as much as a man”. All in all both females and male do not have the same communication style and that create difficulty in communication itself. I think that in the end we will always have these problems because of the way we grew up and the way we teach our children, then again we might just be a different species. The best joke I have heard this week because of this assignment was “Sure God created man first, but you always have to do a rough draft before you get the final masterpiece.”