Muted Group Theory
Cheris Kramarae, professor of speech communication at the University of Illinois, would probably feel closer to satisfied if the summary section of this paper were not necessary, if the connotations and ideas that muted group theory entails came to mind automatically. Unfortunately though, I would confuse a great deal of people if I used the terms "muted group theory" in writing and conversation without further explanation. This demonstrates a fundamental concept in Kramarae's theory. Muted group theory was designed to explore the experience of a subordinate group, particularly women, and therefore, the majority of the general public does not recognize it. In order for the theory to become wide spread the dominant group must acknowledge and encode it. For many, women and other marginalized groups' lack of voice remains "the problem with no name" (Kramarae, 1981) or worse, not a problem at all.
An underlying premise of Kramarae's theory asserts that the division of labor has created different experiences for women and men. Therefore, women and men perceive the world differently. Historically, and to a large degree, still today, men inhabited and controlled the public and political domain while women were restricted to the home and personal matters (Griffin, 1997). Men developed the language of our culture to express what they knew to be reality accompanied by how they wanted their world to be. The experiences, values, beliefs of men became institutionalized whereas women's concerns, needs and rights became marginalized and devalued. Edwin Ardener (1975) captures this phenomenon in his statement "groups that are on top of the social hierarchy determine to a great extent the dominant communication system of a...
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...t give up their views. Derogatory attitudes toward women often involve circular reasoning- something that is tremendously challenging to overcome. Also, to overcome these attitudes at least nationally, the attention of the dominant group indispensable. At present, this is lacking. But how does one go about encouraging the dominant group to accept a theory that will diminish their power and advantages for the sake of justice? This is a question muted group theory does not answer and neither can I.
References
Griffin, E. M. (1997). A first look at communication theory. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies.
Jenkins, M (1980). Woman to woman: speaking the common language. In C. Kramarae (Ed.). The voices and words of women and men (pp. 319-323). Elmsford, NY: Pergamon Press Inc.
Kramarae, C. (1981). Women and men speaking. Rowley, MA: Newbury House Publishers, Inc.
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“If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell”(47). The words of Mr. Auld seemed to foretell Douglass too perfectly. It would be too unsafe for whites to educate their slaves because a slave “should know nothing but to obey his master—to do as he is told”(47). Still, Douglass progressed to learn how to read and write without a formal teache...
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