Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus human services
Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus
In this assignment, you will begin to think about the effect that gender has on your general everyday conversations. Answer the following questions:Have you ever had a conversation where you were left thinking that gender differences may have created a misunderstanding?Have you ever thought to yourself that individuals of the opposite gender think differently than you do?
It is a common stereotype that men are more comfortable with stats, or so-called report talk, like a box score in a sporting event, whereas women are more comfortable with rapport talk, or conversations regarding feelings. This gender stereotype is one example of the potential effect of gender on general communication styles. It shows some gender differences that can affect all areas.
A 2007 study conducted at the University of Chicago showed how stereotypes can actually impact math performance. Even if a person doesn’t believe a stereotype is true, but does believe other people believe it to be true, performance can be impacted.
Answer the following questions:Are these stereotypes even accurate?Are gender differences in communication real or simply a result of theoretical fiction?
This assignment will encourage you to consider the effect of gender on your own interpersonal communication and the communication of those around you.
Tasks:
Think of an example of a conversation or a discussion in a situation at work, on television, or in a movie where gender differences in communication were readily apparent. In your response, address the following:Provide a brief synopsis of the conversation.Explain what role gender played in the conversation.How would this conversation be different in light of a person’s age?How have gender stereotypes and/or gender roles changed?Discuss how either the Muted Group Theory or Gilligan’s model could be used to explain the gender differences. Click here to read the article.
Submission Details:By Week 1, Day 3, post your responses in at least 3–4 paragraphs to this Discussion Area. Your response should rely upon at least two sources from professional literature. This may include the Argosy University online library resources, relevant textbooks, peer-reviewed journal articles, and websites created by professional organizations, agencies, or institutions (.edu, .org, or .gov). Write in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources (i.e., APA format); and use accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
AbstractTranslateAbstract
In her 1981 work, Cheris Kramarae provides four different theoretical positions which could be used to guide gender and communication research. One theory that Kramarae describes, the Muted Group Theory, is examined.
Full TextTranslateFull text An Analysis of Words Coined by Women and Men: Reflections on the Muted. Group Theory and Gilligan’s Model
Researchers have long been interested in the various relationships among sex or gender, communication behavior and psychological attributes (e.g., Bostrom & Kemp 1968; Bradley 1981; Cook, Fritz, McCornack, & Visperas 1985; Jespersen 1922; Lakoff 1975; Maccody & Jacklin 1974; Wheeless, Hudson, & Wheeless 1987). One of the prevailing criticisms of this body of research has been its lack of theoretical grounding (e.g., Konsky & Murdock 1982, Putnam 1982). However, in her 1981 work, Cheris Kramarae provides four different theoretical positions which could be used to guide gender and communication research. For purposes of this paper, one theory that Kramarae describes, the Muted Group Theory, will be examined.
The muted group theory argues that not all speakers are equally served by their language since not all speakers are equal contributors to formulating the language. Kramarae refers to Edwin Ardener (1975) who points out that the high status groups of a culture largely determine the communication system of that culture. At the same time, subordinate groups in the society are rendered “inarticulate” (Ardener 1975:21-22) since the language they must use is rooted in the perceptions of the dominant group, which will naturally differ from their own. Dale Spender concurs with this position, noting “[I realized that] the codified language had been constructed primarily by men, that men considered themselves representative of humanity, and that this has had numerous consequences for women” (1984:196). Spender’s argument is that, of course, men are not completely “representative of humanity” and therefore, many of women’s unique life experiences are not named in English.
Kramarae (1981) sees the muted group approach as useful in describing the situation for women with regard to language usage. Men in our society have created and shaped the language; therefore, it is well suited to their experiences and communication needs. Women, however, must go through a kind of translation process when they use their native language since it does not provide a good “fit” with their life experiences.
First, women must cognitively identify their experiences for themselves and then scan the male-centered lexicon they have to work with to find the word that most closely approximates the experience. Since, as Marcia Millman and Rosabeth Moss Kanter (1987:30) argue, men and women “inhabit different social worlds and realities,” this is a difficult process. Even if women are successful in this translation, they appear more hesitant and tentative than male speakers. If the translation process is unsuccessful, women are simply mute.
Kramarae states the following assumptions of the muted group theory as it pertains to men and women: 1. Women perceive the world differently from men because of women’s and men’s different experiences and activities rooted in the division of labor. 2. Because of their political dominance, the men’s system of perception is dominant, impeding the free expression of the women’s alternative models of the world. 3. In order to participate in society women must transform their own models in terms of the received male system of expression (Kramarae 1981:3).
As a practical illustration of these assumptions, Kramarae (1981) discusses the quandary women often find themselves in when trying to find a label for common, female-centered life experiences. An extended example from a seminar Kramarae attended makes this point clear. A women attending the seminar describes her situation. She and her husband, both working full-time outside the home, usually arrive home at about the same time. She would like him to share the dinner-making responsibilities but the job always falls upon her. Occasionally he says `I would be glad to make dinner. But you do it so much better than I.’ She was pleased to receive this compliment but as she found herself in the kitchen each time she realized that he was using a verbal strategy for which had no word and thus had more difficulty identifying and bringing to his awareness. She told the people at the seminar, `I had to tell you the whole story to explain to you how he was using flattery to keep me in my female place.’ She said she needed a word to define the strategy, or a word to define the person who uses the strategy, a word which would be commonly understood by both women and men. Then, when he tried that strategy she could explain her feelings by turning to him a and saying, `You are – ‘ or `What you are doing is called – ‘ (Kramarae 1981:7-8)
Judy C. Pearson (1985) reports success in using a variation of this situation as a classroom exercise. The exercise, which she calls “genlets” or “Sexlets,” was created in order to help students understand the three assumptions of the muted group theory (Kramarae 1981). The activity consists of having that they believe are uniquely experienced by their own sex and for which, currently, no word exists.
Based on the muted group theory the following hypothesis is advanced: H1: Females will generate more genlets than will males.
In addition to the pragmatic difference found in the number of nameless experiences, it seems likely that the content of genlets created by women will differ from those generated by men. Alan Sillars, Judith Weisberg, Cynthia Burggraf, and Elizabeth A. Wilson (1987) note that an analysis of content themes in marital conversation can be revealing of the couple’s perception of social reality. It is their contention that couples from a private culture which can be entered via an examination of content themes. In a similar vein, it could be argued that the two separate cultures represented by men and women might be illustrated in the themes of their genlets.
In a theoretical perspective different from the muted group theory, Carol Gilligan (1982) reasons that women and men perceive “reality” and moral decision making differently and that these different perceptions are manifested in the language they use. Thus, Gilligan voices; one informed by an ethic of justice and one by an ethic of care. For Gilligan, women’s moral domain is informed by an interpersonal logic while men’s moral domain develops from a justice approach derived from the formal logic of fairness.
As Gilligan and her colleague Nona P. Lyons (1983) argue, men and women may conceive of and experience the “self” differently, Men’s conception of self is separate from other or essentially autonomous. Women’s experience of selfhood is one of connection to others. These differing perspectives lead women and women to different moral codes according to Gilligan and Lyons and to different themes underlying their communication behaviors. These two separate approaches point toward different understandings of morality and different thematic concerns. “Women’s sense of integrity appears to be entwined with an ethic of care, so that to see themselves as women is to see themselves in a relationship to connection…” (Gilligan 1982: 171). However, for men, identity is forged through separation and “instead of…
