Deborah Tannen's Oh, Honey

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Oh, Mom. Oh, Honey by Deborah Tannen is irrevocably an eye-opening article into the complex gender relationships more so mother-daughter relationships. In her research, Tannen explores the conversational differences from a feminist standpoint. Her point of interest is the expression of interpersonal relationship based on conversational interactions within the gender. As she investigates, conversations interactions within her sex are very complicated, and as a result, fraught relationships. As we learn talking is a fundamental aspect of mother-daughter relationships, and inherently, “talk is the glue that holds a relationship together and the explosive that can blow it apart.” That said, the conversational interactions between mothers and daughters are central to the expression of interpersonal relationship within the gender. …show more content…

A comparative analysis of the conversational interaction between mother and daughter, primarily speaks out many differences in their earlier conversational styles. Tannen recounts how conversational differences regarding advice versus understanding have shaped the expression of her interpersonal relationship with her mother and subsequently their conversational interaction. She narrated the story of one of her students, Kathryn, when her mother asked her why she quartered salad tomatoes instead of slicing them as it was her mother’s norm. Significantly, the conversational difference is exemplified as her mother meant it has an advice conversation, but conversely, Kathryn’s understanding is that she perceives her mother as controlling and a know-it-all. Tannen notes daughters perceive that they do not know what they are doing and their mothers know

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