As I understand it Deborah Tannen views communication between men and women as cross cultural, and follows the rules inherent in learning another language. That language is Genderlect. She goes on to say that men speak with the idea of giving a "report" whereas women communicate in terms of gaining" rapport". This matches the idea that men seek independence and women community. There are certain signs to the language. For instance women engage in what is called cooperative overlap. men view this as a power move to take control of the conversation. Another term, the "tag question" again tries to create community even in a one on one situation such as "That movie was pretty good, don't you think? Tannen has many sharp critics completely opposed to her theory, suggesting that she forgot to consider male domination of women, both physical and mental. In essence this arguement states that men and women are not equal. this is the belief of Carol Gilligan. Gilligan's idea is where the article on Feminine Communication Theory picks up. That article states again that communication as a study has always been to better a white male society. It considers that even calling Feminine Communication a theory is political, basically saying we are not theorizing, Feminine communication is real. The two media texts I have are from movies. The first is from "Diner" by Barry Levinson. just watch the scene and see, but it is an example of two ways of communicating going on here. The man is reporting the signifigance of his records, and the women is looking for rapport with the man, and even with the records. The second clip is a montage of scenes from Annie Hall, BY Woody Allen. After the voice over the scene with them after tennis is revealling. Annie catches herself doing a cooperative overlap, she refers to it saying "oh how dumb, you said I was good, so i had to say you were. I'd like to know what anyone else picks up in the rest of the clips.
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I think the first clip is a great example of what Genderlect Theory calls what women are said to engage in, "cooperative overlap." The woman in the first clip tries to overlap the conversation to resolve the issue, and the man with the records views this "as a power move to take control of the conversation," only causing more friction and a very heated argument between them. I think that this is often how conversations go between people with personality differences and miscommunications, but would not say it is true for every man or woman. I do not agree with Genderlect Theory because I do not think it is universal and applies to every male or female.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lauren I don't think it is a theory that can apply to everyone we all have different views and ways of seeing things it all depends on your life and expierences, and knowones are always the same. They may be similiar and you can relate to it but not 100%. I think when men and women try to argue they always try to out duel each other. It may start out civil but as it developes people get annoyed of keep hearing the same thing and, they get angry and it causes a more heated argument. In my personal opinion men think more logically, while women think more with their hearts and feelings.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Lauren and Jim in that the genderlect theory doesn't apply to everyone. It's more of a norm that someone drew out. I do agree with some of what the theory claims, and it shows in the clips above. But I think conversation between a man and a woman has many more components than what the theory narrows it down to. In my experience, many girls are similar to guys when it comes to arguing. They command attention and want to win arguments just as much as men do. This of course goes the other way too in that I know guys who would rather settle for rapport.
ReplyDeleteTannen makes some very detailed observations about the male and female communication process. Although it doesn't seem as though understanding cross-gender communication is a very objective subject, Tannen presents important and interesting observations about men and women. The clip posted from the movie “Diner” seems like a perfect example of common communication between men and women. The man takes control of the entire conversation by over powering the women. His volume and tone of voice have much to say about how upset he is feeling and his disapproval of the way that the women put his records back on the shelf. Her responses are calm and collected and, in a way, lead the viewer to feel sorry for her. She just wants to get along with her partner and doesn't understand why the organization of the mans records is so important to him. In many cases, male and female communication really does represent a convergence of two different culture. By taking a deep look at gender culture, it is apparent that gender plays a large role in how we communicate. It is often that we hear of discrepancies between male and females whether it be in a work setting or personal. The battle between men and women has long been a defining form of communication on our society. Stereotypical male and female views are the basis for much of what men and women understand about one another and the conflicts that arise.
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