Limitations Of Interpersonal Communication

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According to Adler and Procter (2015), the definition of a gender role is “socially approved ways that men and women are expected to behave.” According to SkillsYouNeed (2016), the definition of interpersonal communication is “the process by which people exchange information, feelings, and meaning through verbal and non-verbal messages.” Gender roles are interpersonally communicated within our society and their only purpose is to limit people to certain expectations. Gender roles are societal expectations put on human beings. What people need to realize is that not everyone chooses to follow or accept gender roles. Gender roles place people in a metaphorical box, and not everyone can hypothetically fit in that box. That box limits people to what they can like, enjoy, or do. The limitation is extremely unfair because if someone does not follow the gender norms, they are seen as weird or unusual. Gender roles can lead …show more content…

(Adler and Procter, 2015) What this means is that masculine is not the opposite of feminine, but a completely different behavior set. Saying that the two behavior sets are opposites would be like saying that a square is the opposite of a circle, when in all reality they are just two completely different shapes and have almost no relation to each other.
Although masculinity and femininity are two different behavior sets, it does not mean that one can act only masculine, or only feminine. One can definitely portray characteristics from both behavior sets. To portray characteristics from both behavior sets is to be androgynous. Being androgynous should be completely okay, but unfortunately in our society people who are androgynous are seen as “confused.” People who are androgynous can vouch for the fact that they are not confused, but do not choose to specify under a set of gender

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