POWER SPEAK
On this page we are talking about the ways in which gender is reflected in ways of communicating and how communication technology can affect gender roles & relationships. Let’s begin at the beginning.
The traditional stereotypes of the strong and silent men and the gossipy women are not born out by scientific research.
Recent studies confirm what socio-linguists… and women… have known all along, namely, that men talk more than women.
But the question is, do they also talk differently?
Men’s and women’s communication styles have been labeled ‘powerful’ and ‘powerless’, or ‘competitive’ and ‘cooperative’ respectively, reflecting, not surprisingly, the traditional gender imbalance of power
In her book “Women, Men and Language” the socio- linguist, Jennifer Coates states that whilst the evidence from research with all female groups suggests that women value highly the role of listening…similar studies with men show that they seem to construe conversation as a competition where the sole aim is to be speaker. The alpha (or any) male’s chief conversational strategy is to seize a turn whenever possible, and then try to hold onto it. This results in a typical pattern in all-men groups of a few men dominating whilst the rest stay quiet.
In mixed male-female groups ‘ men tend to infringe the normal rules of conversation, by interrupting, changing the topic, delaying or omitting altogether any minimal sign of interest or attention and sometimes simply withdrawing from the interaction altogether’.
Ms. Coates admits that such research may itself not be entirely free of gender bias. However if her findings are correct it would suggest that women’s more cooperative conversational style could place them at a disadvantage in mixed groups, and especially in work situations.
Classroom socialization is seen by Ms Coates and others as a key element in instilling the different communication styles of boys and girls. ‘All participants in the classroom collude in this: teachers by paying more attention to boys, boys by talking more and at greater length than girls, girls by talking less’ and being rewarded and approved for their docility.
Gender differences also influence communication interactions in later life.
Studies of the communication patterns between doctors and patients have shown how the former’s evaluation of a patient’s social, economic, ethnic and - importantly for us - gender - status, can effect their medical judgements and diagnosis as well as the effort they put into explaining and listening to their patient. Many male doctors spent less time informing female patients about the diagnosis or the treatment, but expected simple compliance. And indeed women patients often show more natural compliance.
It is often noticed that women alleging rape or violence are given short shrift by the ‘authority figures’ in the police and in the judiciary.
And a similar pattern is visible in media coverage of events. Content analysis of programming shows that women are more often portrayed as victims or complainers than as authoritative opinion–givers.
If indeed there are two styles of communication ‘powerful’/’powerless’, ‘competitive’/ ‘cooperative’ perhaps both men and women should be competent in both styles of communication and choose the style to fit the occasion. Women who are successful in ‘a man’s world’ have often adopted assimilation strategies in terms of becoming skilled in the communication style of the dominant group. Mrs Thatcher famously had coaching to lower the pitch of her voice though whether she pursued the other strategies mentioned by Coates…. swearing more and using taboo language… is not recorded.
However, the cross-over strategies of individual ‘queen- bees’ whilst they may work for those bees will not change the world. (Take note, Hillary).
What is more interesting is the recognition that stereotypical ‘female’ qualities…. co-operative conversational style, emotional intelligence, maintenance of good social relations…. are gradually being given greater recognition in business and political circles.
It is now the proud boast of many male CEOs that they are also ‘in touch with their feminine side’. Perhaps we are working gradually towards a third androgynous way of communicating?