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Differences between male and female communication
Cultural diversity in interpersonal relationships
Gender roles – male/ female stereotyping
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Recommended: Differences between male and female communication
Many people would agree that men and women are complete opposites. Our physical appearances, actions, and behavioral patterns are frequently contrasted by researchers and the general population. However, with modern day feminism, and what some would call, a gender revolution, it can be difficult these days to hastily stamp labels and categorize men and women. On the other hand, it would be incorrect to deny the fact that there are a few conspicuous behavioral patterns which are known to appear within certain sexes, many believe that this is the reason why men and women tend to miscommunicate and have issues with the opposite sex. Regardless of sex or gender identity, no two humans think the same or behave the same; This is what makes each human being unique. At times men and women indeed have difficulty understanding each other. However, I would say that instead of blaming the opposite sex, we should simply comprehend that we all differ from each other due to our many unique learning experiences.
If a person were to ask a random woman on the street to describe the way her husband communicates to her, she would likely say he is, “straight forward” and tends not to communicate at all in their relationship. She may also feel as though he does not listen to her. According to Deborah Tannen, this is a common misconception of men, and most men tend to listen, but differently than women do. To elaborate on this idea, Tannen refers to this as “silent attention”, where men remain quiet while listening to others in order to concentrate on the subject matter. (424) In addition to the misconception previously listed, it has been theorized that men also aim for different conversational goals than women. While Tannen has said that men create c...
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...ilical cord. Yet, it is still true that men and women behave differently, and this is because they tend to socialize with their own gender; Which has been taught certain patterns on how to communicate. Those groups continue with their own patterns in a never-ending cycle. However, none of these women or men choose to follow every pattern and that is why not all men get along with all men and the same for women. This is because although they encountered the groups as a child, they had other impacts in their life which affected them drastically. Thankfully we have this system which creates wonderful combinations of unique and fascinating people that keep the Earth in balance. With every person, we meet, we learn from each other and learn that no one is the same as another. This is what keeps the world in colorful motion instead of in a grey box with uniform ideology.
Deborah Tannen wrote “ Talk in the Intimate Relationship” to help people learn something about how men and women's interactions differ. She is a language scholar and has past experience of failed relationships and she feels as though this was because of lack of communication. Her main focus is on metamessages, these are messages that go beyond what we say. She states that the people that are literal minded, miss out on the context of what communication is. What this essay will consist of being what Tannen calls metamessages, summarizing her article on how men and woman talk, deciding whether Tannen is favorable to both genders and last but not least if I agree to an extent with Tannen says in her article.
At birth, we are a blank slate, regardless of gender. We are introduced into a world that wrongly believes gender defines who we are and what we shall be. Everything we see, hear, taste, smell, and feel impacts our minds and how we react. Therefore, behaviors between the sexes are learned from our interactions with the opposite sex and how we, as individuals, see our world. In the literary piece, The Distrust between the Sexes, Karen Horney asks this question: “…What special factors in human development lead to the discrepancy between expectations and fulfillment and what causes them to be of special significance in particular cases” (Horney)?
Communications generally occur in body languages: how the individuals interpret each other. Her essay is an event that is reoccurring more and more lately. The event results in a failure in marriage. In today’s society more and more people are splitting up or having divorces due to miscommunications. The essay, “Sex, Lies and Conversation,” that Deborah Tannen wrote is much use of today because it explains where miscommunications happen and she has her own studies and research to back it up. The essay goes into depth about her ideologies that cause miscommunications. Look at a miscommunication twice and do not be quick to judge because it will save plenty of
Petersen, J. C. (2007). Why don’t we listen better? Communicating & connecting in relationships (1st ed.). Portland, OR: Petersen.
Petersen, J.C. (2007). Why don’t we listen better? Communicating & Connecting in Relationships. Tigard, OR: Petersen Publications
Do men and women effectively communicate in the same way, or is it just a conversation of misunderstanding? There is constantly a new interest in whether men and women converse successfully. Professor and journalist, Deborah Tannen writes, “Sex, Lies, and Conversation: Why Is It So Hard for Men and Women to Talk to Each Other?” Tannen compares and contrasts all conversational styles, and explains how the expectation of dialogue affects how men and women converse. Tannen focuses on the subject of marriage and the imbalance of interest between male and female couples. The contrasting perspective however comes from, Deborah Cameron, author of, “What Language Barrier”. Cameron conveys that the stereotypes left upon male and female communication
Deborah Tannen is the author of the book You Just Don't Understand where she analyzes the different meanings of communication between men and women. Her research shows that women and men use the same words and phrases and yet can interpret and react to those same words and phrases differently. Tannen compares the two sexes to find men use their conversation as a type of competition or to preserve their independence. For example, men talk about their knowledge regarding sports, cars, women, exc. Meanwhile, women try to foster intimacy through communication. For instance, women often talk and relate on a personal level. Throughout Tannen's book she uses "cross-cultural communication" to describe the differences between the language of men and women. Tannen observed that, "For males, conversation is the way you negotiate your status in the group and keep people from pushing you around; you use talk to preserve your independence. Females, on the other hand, use conversation to negotiate closeness and intimacy; talk is the essence of intimacy, so being best friends means sitting and talking. For boys, activities, doing things together, are central. Just sitting and talking is not an essential part of friendship. They're friends with the boys they do things with" (Tannen 95).
Communication between males and females has always been somewhat complicated. Because we are arguing that males and females have different cultures we wanted to take a look at what some of these differences might be. According to our research the inherent differences between male and female culture are the different roles that society holds for them and the ways these roles lead to different communication styles. The stereotypes that men and women grow up with affect the types of ways in which they communicate. We first wanted to take a look at how they specifically differ while men and women are arguing or having normal conversations. We also looked at the different types of networks that men and women share. These networks also differ and as do the reasonings for their formation. Although we do not think that men and women need to change their cultures to effectively communicate, we do think that better communication is possible. One of the researchers we took a look at was Deborah Tannen. According to Tannen the reason that men and women do not communicate well is that men and women use language differently. Women take the attitude that conversation is to explore solutions to common problems while men concern themselves more with getting information and hard data from conversation. Tannen states that what women look for in communication is human connection, while men consider status to be most important. They are looking for independence and are constantly looking for higher accomplishments. Intimacy threatens this independence, so men have a tendency to avoid it. One of the old sayings about women is that they talk more than men. It turns out that it is not necessarily true. Women seem to talk more in private conversations than do men. Women do not generally have a fear of intimacy and therefore are much more open with one another during private conversations. It is more difficult for women to use this type of communication style in the public arena. In that case it is men that do most of the talking. Tannen ultimately argues that men use communication as a weapon. They use long explanations to command attention from who it is they are speaking to. They use it to convey information and to ultimately gain agreement. Tannen suggests that through even simple conversation men are continually protecting their status. She sugg...
“Sit with your legs closed, act like a lady,” or “Boys don 't play with dolls.” I 'm sure many of us heard this growing up. Women aren’t allowed to be bossy, because only men are supposed to be leaders or because it 's a manly trait. Men aren 't supposed to show their emotions because that is thought to be a weakness and men are supposed to be strong. Men and women have specific qualities that are dictated to their gender by their society. Men and women are not allowed to pick up traits from the other gender, although it is said to be the very thing that makes us human. Men get momentary advantages in this lifestyle, while women suffer most. Although, both sides suffer in the end.
...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.
How can men and women be different? Everyone knows that there are some significant differences between males and females, even if those difference are physical appearances only. Others see both physical and social differences, emotional and intellectual differences between male and female. Gender roles, by definition, are the social norms that dictate what is socially appropriate for male and female behavior. In earlier times, American culture showed that it was common for women 's job to be a homemaker contrary to the males’ breadwinner role.
Tannen, D. (2007). You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation. New York, NY: Harper.
...ure that tells you how to define the genders, their differences are inconsequential. Men and women both have masculine and feminine qualities, there is no pure form of either of these. Not only that, but what we define them by is dictated by our culture and merely a social construct. We act the way we are expected to, and if we don’t we are shunned as being deviant for crossing these gender norms. This burden of attempting to meet the criteria of our designated gender role can even be damaging as we attempt to exert our gender in inappropriate settings. The only true difference between the genders is biological, and even in our contemporary age that is being challenged so that anyone can be a man or woman. I believe in the times to come we will see more of this burden of gender falling away as our cultures shift, although I suspect there is quite a ways to go.
For many years society has embraced the idea that the differences between men and women are biologically determined and certain roles, behaviors and attitudes constructed by society assign and control how men and women behave and are perceived. Sex is determined by genetics while our gender is programmed by social customs. Some theories interpret that a women is tender and a loving mother while on the other hand men are aggressive hunters and are the dominant one of the family. Gender roles prescribe norms, which instruct people to pursue specific careers and lifestyles.
Gender roles and identity are constantly shifting throughout different societal generations. Men and woman both have notable similarities and differences in genders and they each contribute to their personalities and actions. In the past men have been viewed as a more dominant sex in society over women, both in careers, home life, and sexually, however, today women have bridged many of the gaps and society is accepting a more equal view of genders. The following examines the similarities and differences between men and woman by looking at biological characteristics, gender roles, and sexual responses.