Communication & Gender - Midterm exam
How do childhood games for boys and girls differ? How might this affect their adult communication styles?
Childhood games for boys and girls differ in different ways. For girls, any kind of dolls (Barbie, etc.), dress-up, play with a kitchen set in which girls pretend to make food, tea, etc. Girls put on make-up and also play around with toy kitchen utensils (pots, pans, cups, etc.), stuffed animals, board games, hide-and-seek, and with other girls. Boys, on the other hand, play with toy cars (Lighting McQueen, Disney, etc.), toy trains, dinosaurs, sports, board games, hide-and-seek, etc. Their childhood games affect their adult communication styles. Since boys learn to play individual and team sports early, their communication style is more aggressive, they speak firmly and are outgoing. Sports influences their communication style and behavior since sports teaches them to be highly competitive and to win. Sometimes, boy's fathers, uncles, grandfather, etc. also influence them to be masculine and have a very competitive drive. For girls, they are not as aggressive as boys, even if they are playing team sports. Overall, girls' communication style will be more reserved (timid). They are taught not to be aggressive. They are instead taught to be polite and respectful, etc. Some girls, however, are aggressive. They play sports at high levels, and do not follow the typical behaviors that should be expected from a girl. They are outspoken (not shy about giving their opinions) and are determined to win just like the boys.
What is the difference between sex and gender?
Gender refers to one's identity (male, female, LGBTQ, pansexuals, etc.) Sex pertains to one's own biology (X and Y chromosomes. Females have XX chromosomes while males have X and Y chromosomes. Humans have 23 pairs or a total of 46 chromosomes).
Language both reflects and reinforces cultural views and values. Pick one of the six connections between language and gender and explain the connection.
I chose gender-linked language effect. It notes that language differences between women and men are influenced by a variety of factors, including topics, speaker status, salience of gender in a communication situation, and other people present. Women tend to be tentative when talking about masculine topics (politics, sports, car repair, cars in general, house repair, etc.). Men do not know much about fashion and style, make-up, cooking, etc. (although, some men do know how to cook and some men are fashion designers like Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, etc.). These days, men and women's roles are shared almost equally. The traditional style that men are responsible for the car and house repair while women are tasked with cooking, etc., are almost not applicable in our modern society since both men and women work and contribute to raising children. As a result, they divide the task.
Pick one of the forms of nonverbal communication and explain the different expectations for men and women.
I chose proximity (space) and personal space (territoriality) as a form of nonverbal communication. People with power (mostly men) tend to enter the spaces of those with less power (mostly women). Men also do it to other men who have less power, are less smart, have less wealth, etc. Some men travel into someone else's personal space or territory either because they want to prove they are dominant or they just do not have manners or do not know any better. Women/girls tend to not get too close to others because they respect their space. They usually have more manners than boys because they are brought up to be respectful and not being aggressive.
There are different characteristics of women and men's speech styles. Select a feminine speech style (such as "support for others" or "tentativeness") that you recognize in yourself if you are a woman, and a masculine speech style (such as "instrumentality" or "abstract") in yourself if you are a male. Define this characteristic and provide an example of when and why you use it.
I find myself as offering "support for others" because I care for people. I use this speech style when I see and hear someone not being treated fairly or is being dominated/blamed for no reason. This is when I step in and/or intervene. I confront the person who is doing all the blaming or dominating. I say to the person "step away", or "stop bossing or blaming the person". I would let the person (who is being dominated) express himself/herself and his/her thoughts. This is how people get bullied and I hate seeing someone being bullied. Bullying had been, and continues to be, a problem in our society. I just want to make sure that the person who is being bullied or harassed or does not have a voice, should not be let down. If we can prevent bullying, then we can avoid people from getting upset or maybe even committing suicide. Since I have a voice, I will use it to speak and stand up for someone when I need to for men and women.
We've discussed multiple women's movements and men's movements in United States history. What movement did you find particularly interesting? It could be a movement that shocked you, moved you, or that you think had significant impact but is often overlooked.
I found the Women's Rights Movement particularly interesting because it gained basic civil rights for women. This movement started in 1840 when Lucretia Coffin Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton met in London at an anti-slavery convention and they were denied entry because they were women. Eight years later (1848), Stanton and Mott arranged and/or organized the Seneca Falls Convention in Seneca, New York. This convention's keynote address entitled "Declaration of Sentiments" was modeled after the Declaration of Independence. The goal of this convention was to record or register "specific grievances women had suffered, including not being allowed to vote, exclusion from most forms of higher education, restrictions on employment, and loss of property rights upon marriage." Another goal of the Seneca Falls Convention was to obtain support of women and men for women's rights. In fact, 32 men and 68 women supported the movement by signing a petition. The most significant supporter, however, of this movement was the former slave and abolitionist, Frederick Douglass. The only problem the Women's Rights Movement had was that it excluded African American women. Black women were not happy since the focus was on white women. So, most of the members of the movement were white women. Other supporters included lesbian women because they were not treated equally since they did not have husbands to rely on for protection. They could not vote, have access to education, etc. Women rights activists were imprisoned, beaten up and violently forced fed. Seventy-Four long years after the Seneca Falls Convention and fighting and protesting, the women won the right to vote with the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920. I think it was a good thing for women to set up a Women's Rights Movement so that they can establish the right to do anything they want just like men. It is too bad that women had to fight so much over so many years and still continue to even though they are human beings. I hope that in this 21st Century, we can put an end to such behavior and treatment of women and together as men and women, we can move the world forward. I hope to contribute my part to make this a reality. I am so glad because these women paved a path for young women like me by sacrificing and enduring the physical pain to advance women and their rights.
What is something you've learned so far this semester from the class that you found yourself thinking about outside of class (about yourself, your relationships, workplace, etc.) I do hope you've had at least a moment or two when you've thought about what we've learned so far and applied it to your life!
In this semester, I have learned about the women's and men's movements, how men have more rights than women, gender inequality, what are the interactions between men and women, different types of theories and branches of feminism, LGBTQ rights and discrimination against them, etc. I also learned how verbal and nonverbal communication impacts and affects people, including me and how messages are being conveyed and interpreted by others. In addition, I have learned how much effort, time, sacrifices, and the strength needed to bring about all the changes to respecting women, men and LGBTQ community. It just surprises me (mostly men) treat women and other men with contempt and devaluing others as if most men are the owners and deciders of what others can or cannot have or be. It is tragic that we cannot respect each other regardless of one's race, sexual orientation, culture, etc. Why do some humans want to make life complicated and miserable for others? Society or the universe can be so much more ahead and progressive if we can come together, share our ideas/opinions to advance our nations and help each other. Instead, some of us have turned each other into adversaries. This is not what our life is supposed to be. Whenever I go out to the mall, clothing and department stores, I observe and learn what other people are doing. I look for some of the nonverbal cues that I learned in the textbook "Gendered Lives", how people are spoken to by the store staff members, etc. I pay particular attention to how girls, young ladies and women are treated by men.
Why is it important to research and discuss nonverbal communication?
It is significant to research and discuss nonverbal communication because it can improve one's ability to involve in and/or start communication in everyday life. People have to learn to pick up nonverbal cues to determine if someone is interested in you or not. For example, if person A is talking to person B, Person B turns away then this tells that Person B is not interested in Person A. Unfortunately, some people do not understand nonverbal cues and therefore, their relationship with somebody could be impacted. The more research you do on nonverbal communication, the better understanding people will have of nonverbal communication.
There are many different theories of gender, such as Social Learning Theory, Symbolic Interactionism, and Standpoint Theory. Select one of the theories discussed in Chapter 2 (does not have to be one of the three examples above) and describe what this theory claims about gender.
The theory I selected is Social Learning Theory. This theory claims that individuals learn to be masculine and feminine by imitating others and getting responses from others to their behaviors. To me, this theory means that children, for example, will copy or mimic others around them, what they see on television, what they are being rewarded for, etc. A little boy could imitate his father in terms of how the father speaks and behaves. The little boy may also copy older children around him. A little girl may do the same thing by copying her mother or whoever else she is around with on a continuous basis. Just like adults, little boys and girls are looking for role models to imitate them. The boys will learn to be masculine by following their fathers and other masculine figures (grandfather, uncle, etc.). The girls will learn to be feminine by following their mothers and other feminine members (grandmother, aunt, etc.).
What are the main functions of nonverbal communication?
The three main functions of nonverbal communication are supplement verbal communication, regulate interaction, and convey the bulk of the relationship level of meaning. Supplemental Verbal Communication - for example, saying that I am fine while I am crying. This is a contradictory/paradoxical message that I am giving to others. Regulate Interaction - for example, we can use body posture or eye contact to convey our meaning. Bulk of the Relationship Level of Meaning - to express relationships between the people who are talking to each other. · Responsiveness - indicates interest in and attentiveness to others through eye contact, good body posture. · Liking - Nonverbal cues of liking include standing and sitting close to others, holding/maintaining eye contact, frowning, etc. · Power or Control - Power refers to the degree to which people are equal to, dominant over. Nonverbal cues include touch and speaking softly or in higher tone, giving up personal space (women tend to give up their personal space and are less likely to enter others' space except when they like or have a good relationship with someone.).
