Impact of Gender on Communication

1206 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Society's expectations of gender roles

Throughout human history gender has had a significant, if not the most significant, role in human life. It is clearly a fork in the road at birth that will determine many things you will barely ever have any control over. What you wear, what you eat, what you do; all is directly influenced all throughout your life based on your gender. These “gender-roles” have been long assigned without personal say, or even our parents say. In fact, it stems from almost pre-historic times to the beginning of our evolutionary chain. Regardless of more current acts that have meshed these rolls together, I think it is obvious to say we will always look at a man and women differently. It only seems logical that they two will also communicate very differently, which they do.

Now we all have expectations of what the roles of each gender are. We all have an idea in our head about what the “real American man” is. He should boast a confidence that he is the main competitor. He can probably accomplish any task almost entirely on his own, and always does it better than anyone else. A male child is raised to aspire to have these qualities, therefore striving to display them in almost everything they do. Almost every “boy activity” revolves around some type of competition, always one versus the other. This ranges from recreational sports, like soccer and football, to silly games boy play on their own, like cops and robbers. Growing up in a highly competitive environment leads to standard characteristics we say amongst adolescents to young men.

Men tend to be honest, direct, and factual. This leads to a communication environment where the main goal is to exchange information in order to solve a problem. This is where women will fi...

... middle of paper ...

...any corporate cultures would even consider this innovative, and very effective. You are seeing more rising female executives and more stay at home dads than any other generation. Mainly, because now it is not out of the norm, and genders are encouraged to explore all opportunities. Not just those historically restricted to their gender.

Obviously these gender roles are almost impossible to escape, but our society has shown great growth in regards to social equality. We have grown able to mesh the polar opposites together, and possibly have more robust communication now than ever before in history. We definitely are born and bred to have certain traits, but more than ever before we have more choices to actually satisfy what we ourselves want. The home is no longer a definitive place for women, and the executive office no longer a private lounge for men.

Show More
Related

  • The War Against Boys By Christina Hoff Sommers

    586 Words  | 2 Pages

    The War Against Boys is the story of our cultural attack on the modern male. Twenty-first century men are looked down-upon, laughed at, and many times emasculated in our day-to-day lives. In her book, Christina Hoff Sommers does an excellent job reminding us that men are responsible for a lot of good in the world: “This book tells the story of how it has become fashionable to attribute pathology to millions of healthy male children. It is a story of how we are turning against boys and forgetting a simple truth: that the energy, competitiveness, and corporal daring of normal, decent males is responsible for much of what is right in the word.” Our culture has promoted a skewed view; most people believe that women are treated unfairly, that

    Read More

  • Analysis Of What It Means To Be Gendered Me

    944 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gender is not about the biological differences between men and women but rather the behavioral, cultural and psychological traits typically associated with one sex. Gender is socially constructed meaning it 's culturally specific, it 's learned and shared through gender socialization. What it means to be a woman or man is going to differ based on the culture, geographical location, and time. What it meant to be a woman in the US in the 19th century is different than what it means to be a woman in the 21st century. As cultures evolve over time so are the ideals of what it means to be man or woman.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in Society

    1030 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most of the time these issues are taken lightly, and go unnoticed until someone or some group pays attention to the inequality and typical roles. It becomes interesting when roles are reversed in society to see how others react to those situations. Society seems to be getting more comfortable with female success, and less obsessed with women staying home to do housework. No matter how successful, there is always a struggle for dominance. It also seems to depend on how children are brought up as to how strongly those individuals strive to achieve their specific role. It will be interesting to see as society changes over time how the defined gender roles will continue to change as well. Whether it is the conflict of success, supremacy, or need for perfection roles will sustain time just as they have from the beginning.

    Read More

  • The Outdated Views in a Doll House

    1175 Words  | 3 Pages

    Roles seem to be changing gradually over time and no one is sure if this will be a positive or negative effect for the future. Women have come a long way from being house wife’s and being under the control of men.

    Read More

  • Gender Stereotypes In Pleasantville Betty Parker

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    The human species is qualified as a man and women. Categorically, gender roles relative to the identifying role are characterized as being either masculine or feminine. In the article “Becoming Members Of Society: Learning The Social Meanings Of Gender by Aaron H. Devor, says that “children begin to settle into a gender identity between the age of eighteen months and two years (Devor 387). The intricate workings of the masculine and feminine gender roles are very multifaceted and at the same time, very delicate. They are intertwined into our personalities and give us our gender identities (Devor 390). Our society is maintained by social norms that as individuals, we are consciously unaware of but knowingly understand they are necessary to get along out in the public eye which is our “generalized other” and in our inner circle of family and friends which is our “significant others” (Devor 390). Our learned behaviors signify whether our gender

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Gun Violence

    877 Words  | 2 Pages

    From an early age, boys learn that aggressive behavior is an acceptable norm and fighting is essentially a male gender role. Young men are taught by watching TV or from social media that sports figures who are involved in violent crimes usually end up with lucrative contracts and regarded as sports legends. Throughout adolescents boys are guided by various agents of socialization, from family to school, media and peer groups become keys to a young man’s social stability. As boys mature they eventually develop their own gender expressions evident in the ways they dress, act or ...

    Read More

  • Communication between Men and Women

    867 Words  | 2 Pages

    There is a large problem when it comes to communication between men and women, whether it is between children, teenagers, or adults; because of a cross gender society. Once both sides understand this “cross-culture communication” problem, so that no gender is blamed, improvement will naturally occur. Deborah Tannen, is an award winning writer and a best selling author for her eccentric essays based on differences of male and female conversations. In the essay, “Sex, Lies and Conversation” she writes on the many distinctions of the style of conversations on both men and women.

    Read More

  • Men And Women Communicating

    1828 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...ind this to be a typical male trait. Our surveys and research found however, that these types of traits are normally associated with men within the business world. Through our research, we found that in a male dominated society, adapt to the male styles of communication. As we have previously stated, the styles of communication between genders differ greatly. Men tend to use conversation to obtain data whereas women use conversation to create connections. Through our research, we also came up with some solutions for bridging the communication gaps between males and females. To reduce miscommunication, males and females must learn to interpret the messages being sent to them. They must learn to understand the speakers' motives and background. In effective communication, one must realize the experiences of the speaker and listener, and work to create a common understanding of the messages being created. Males should try to understand the female need for connection whereas females need to understand the male need for data. If the two cultures can learn to combine their styles by offering information while creating a connection, the male and female communication gap will be bridged.

    Read More

  • Deborah Tannen

    568 Words  | 2 Pages

    Conversation is like two well matched wrestlers that are facing off. In both situations there is a constant struggle back and forth to gain control. Deborah Tannen discusses the differences between the ways women and men converse and how the defference may cause conflicts between the two in her essay “Sex, Lies and Conversation: Why Is It So Hard for Men and Women to Talk to Each Other?” Although Tannen researches both genders’ method of communication tendencies, Tannen supports the woman’s method more throughout the essay.

    Read More

  • Observing Gender Communication Differences

    524 Words  | 2 Pages

    Further evidence of communicative differences exist between men and women in various other social settings as well. Consider, for example, those individuals employed in customer service-related Jobs. While in JC Penny, I noticed that female customer service representatives were more apt to offer immediate friendly assistance than the male reps. Men are not as cocky nor as confident in this sort of situation; their eyes tend to dart around the area of the store while the eyes of a women remain focused upon the eyes of the customer. The men seem to communicate with a lot less smiles. Apparently they have to get past a certain “ice-breaking'; point before they will feel comfortable with a genuine look of happiness.

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart Masculinity

    786 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a child develops, their surroundings have a major influence on the rest of their lives; if boys are taught to “man up” or never to do something “like a girl”, they will become men in constant fear of not being masculine enough. Through elementary and middle school ages, boys are taught that a tough, violent, strong, in-control man is the ideal in society and they beat themselves up until they reach that ideal. They have to fit into the “man box” (Men and Masculinity) and if they do not fulfill the expectations, they could experience physical and verbal bullying from others. Not only are friends and family influencing the definition of masculine, but marketing and toys stretch the difference between a “boy’s toy” and a “girl’s toy”. Even as early as 2 years old, children learn to play and prefer their gender’s toys over the other gender’s (Putnam). When children grow up hearing gender stereotypes from everyone around them, especially those they love and trust like their parents, they begin to submit themselves and experience a loss of individuality trying to become society’s ideal. If everyone is becoming the same ideal, no one has a sense of self or uniqueness anymore and the culture suffers from

    Read More

  • Differences in Male and Female Communication

    914 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...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.

    Read More

  • Gender Similarities And Differences

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    Men have assumed a more aggressive and dominant role “Many traditional gender-based stereotypes are widely accepted in our society. Someof the prevailing notions about men maintain that they are aggressive” (Crooks and Bauer, 2014: p 134), whereas, woman are supposed to nature and run the household “Women are frequently viewed as nonassertive, illogical, emotional, subordinate, warm, and nurturing (Crooks and Buaer, 2014: p 134). However, in today’s society gender equality has become a more common practice where both sexes take on masculine and feminine roles to in every day life “Research suggests that women are less entrenched than men in rigid gender-role stereotypes and are more inclined to embrace positions of equality with men (Ben-David & Schneider, 2005)” as cited in (Crooks and Bauer, 2014: p 135). Due to ability to work from home, woman have accepted a modern role of holding a career as well as raising a family and men are seen working and helping out with regular house hold chores. People are beginning to conform to are less traditional view, but in my personal experience woman still hold a more traditional role and men are still the primary providers for a family. Women tend to be stay at home moms and only work part time jobs, while men establish a career and focus primarily on their work. In smaller communities this seems to be more of a

    Read More

  • Why Do Gender Roles Matter

    293 Words  | 1 Pages

    I think gender roles do not matter as much anymore, or as you get older. When we are kids, you can ask a little girl if she wants a truck, or what she wants to be. It is usually a vet, or hairdresser. While if you ask a boy to touch something pink, he will quickly push it away. Most boys want to be builders or trash men. As we get older, we realize those things don't matter. A girl can get dirty, and a man can do the laundry. I think the view as we get older is much more positive. We realize we set the roles ourself, and we are the ones who can break them. Nowhere does it say that a man can't be a nurse. When we recognize any gender can do anything, everyone becomes less judgmental, and we widen our horizon on things to do and like.

    Read More

  • Gender and Society

    2171 Words  | 5 Pages

    The differences between women and men are not solely biological. Our society’s culture has established a set of unwritten cultural laws of how each gender should act, or in other words society has ascribed a stereotype. Men’s gender identity has been one of masculinity, and masculinity is defined as referring to a man or things described as manly. What does manly mean though? Is a male manly if he is “Mr. Fix-it”, or the jock, or if he sits on the couch on Sunday watching football? This latter statement is a stereotype of men, that has been around for decades, and is current as well, but starting with the 1960’s a man’s role started to change, despite the stereotype not changing to accommodate it. For the past 40 years one can see how men have taken on roles stereotypically ascribed to women, such roles including being the “stay-at-home mom”, which we can find an excellent example of in the 1980’s film “Mr.

    Read More

More about Impact of Gender on Communication

Open Document