Gender Flashcards
Dominance model
A model that suggests that men are seen as the dominant group and women are seen as the subordinate group
E.g. that men interrupt more and are the topic managers more often than women.
Difference model
Idea that men and women just have different communication styles and conversation goals. (they are both just inherently different from each other).
Deficit model
Argues that Women are taught to use language in a limited way whereas men use standard language therefore are “superior”.
E.g. Women may tend to hedge more compared to men.
Robyn Lakoff (1975) DEF
Concluded women were at a disadvantage to men by having to “speak like a lady” said that women tend to Hedge more, use Tag questions, and use empty adjectives that don’t really bare any meaning.
Pamela Fishman (1983) DOM
Studied 52 Hrs of conversation (mixed gender) and said that just like the housework women do more of the “shitwork” within conversations.
-says women put more effort into conversations to make it inclusive to all participants.
Zimmerman and West DOM
Suggested that men were/are more likely to interrupt in mixed sex conversations.
However- they only studied middle class white males, all participants were under 35, and at university, only 11 conversations were recorded heavily undermining their investigations credibility.
Dale spender DOM
Suggests that women are trapped in a world of language that isn’t of their making, also makes a point that the most taboo word in the English Language is “C*nt” meaning a woman’s body part. Suggesting that language completely leans into the patriarchy.
Deborah Tannen (1990) DIF
Her book- “You just don’t understand. Men and women in conversation”.
Says men and women have different cultures and ways of communication. In single sex groups men and women understand each other but in mixed sex environments they tend to get mixed up.
Says men monitor for signals of power in relationships
Says women monitor for signals of alignment and solidarity.
Peter Trudgill (1972) DIF
says differences are down to social aspects rather that Biological differences. Says women tend to embody overt prestige and men embody covert prestige.
Women tended to over report their usage of standard English and men tended to underreport it.
Maltz and Borker (1982) DIF
Argued men and women have different discourse norms since they typically acquire communication skills from people of the same gender.
They argued that Women/Girls tend to learn to criticise in more acceptable ways and that they understand connotations and hidden meanings behind words easier than boys.
They argued that Boys tended to use report talk which is straight to the point and asserts dominance.
Julia Stanley male is the Norm (1973) DOM
-English language creates power imbalance between men and women.
-nouns referring to humans, “man/mankind”.
-women occupy negative semantic space.
Sex Discrimination act (1975)
-illegal to write a job advertisement in a way that implies people of only 1 sex could apply.
-Exception: if there was a particular type of recruitment required
Goddard’s Terms of endearment (1983)
Wide range of informal address (vocatives without proper nouns)
E.g.: “mate” “boss” “duck” “love” “bro”
Some are used for just 1 sex but also vary regionally (Manchester love may be used for a man)
Gender and Grammar~ Wilson (1533)
Argued a man should proceed the woman in pairs e.g.: Male/female, Son/Daughter, Husband/Wife
Nobody disagreed.
what did Otto Jesperson do/say?
often credited with the creation of the deficit model. His book published in 1922 has a section named “women”
claimed women have a smaller vocab, hedge more often than men.
