Chapter 35 Muted Group Theory

In chapter 35 Kramarae talks about the idea that language is "man" made. Meaning that our language was developed and based around men. In this theory she points out that it excludes women, causing them to become "muted". By muted, she does not mean silent, more like ignored or disregarded. I found this theory to have a lot of truth to it, but also feel that from my own personal experiences, it is a little severe. I think the idea that women are bilingual is very true. I know from personal experience that I have had to mold the ways that I communicate to the male people who are surrounding me. One specific example was when I took a gym class in high school where I was one of two girls. I was poked fun at in the beginning but then realised that they all messed around with each other and it was not a personal attack. After realising this both me and the other girl in the class just excepted it and joined in on there jokes. Kramarae also talks about different advances for women, her examples of "sub-version" made me think of the women's lit class that I took in high school. We had two guys out of about 35 in the class. After reading journals and biographies about women they both said they they enjoyed the class and learned a lot about women.

Chapter 34 Standpoint Theory

In chapter 34 Wood talks about the standpoints, she describes them in four different terms, viewpoint, perspective, outlook, and position. She talks about the idea that our standpoints are effected by the position that we as individuals hold on the social hierarchy. When I first read this chapter I found it a little hard to follow, but after discussing it in class I understand it more clearly. Wood's basic point is that when you are in a marginalized group you are less powerful therefore you are more objective. One example that comes to mind is when I was actually having a group discussion about feminism. I was the only girl in the group and we were discussing a case study that had to do with sexual harassment. The case was very unique and it was incredibly hard for me to get my point across to the other members in the group because they just could not understand where I was coming from. because they are not female there is just no way for them to ever fully understand where I was coming from. I feel like this is a strong example because it shows how marginalized groups are where they are.

Chapter 33 Genderlect Styles

I really enjoyed learning about this theory because I am currently taking gender and communication. It was nice to be able to relate what I am learning in that class to this theory, and it also helped me understand this theory better. Tannen talks about the difference between sex and gender, and relates these differences to communication. Men and women communicate in different ways however, women can develop more masculine ways of communicating, and men can develop more feminine ways of communicating. Tannen says that while men and women use different styles, neither one is better or worse than the other. While discussing this in class, I began to think of specific times where I have seen masculine and feminine ways of communication. I decided to watch CNN and observe the communication styles that the broadcasters where using. I observed a conversation that was going on between a male and a female reporter. As I listened, I noticed that the man had a very masculine way of communicating. He was very blunt and persuasive in the way that he talked. When I observed the women, she actually seemed to carry very similar traits. It was obvious that she was using a more masculine style of communication that almost mirrored him. I found this very interesting, and it made me wonder if this women communicated like this in her everyday life, or if she was only molding it so that she could maintain her part in the conversation. I think that this is a very interesting topic to look into, and I feel that there is so much involved in these different styles of communication.