chapter 6 the great communicators language and the media

Chapter 6

The Great Communicators

Language and the Media

Spoken/written Words

• Words have power

• Words are symbols

• Words are labels

• Sexist Word Pairs– Govenor-governess brothers and sisters– Master-mistress husband and wife– Patron-matron Eve and Adam– Sir-madam boys and girls– Bachelor-spinster King and queen

2Portions © Copyright 2012 Alan S. Berger and other portions © Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, inc

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Box 6.1 Sexism and Language

Sexism and Language: What’s in a Word?

• Gender inequality characterizes much everyday communication– Reflecting differences in men’s and women’s

life experiences, social status, and power

• Common stereotype that women are more talkative than men


The Generic Myth

• Man, he, his, etc. is considered to include woman– Mankind, man-made, “the right man for the job”

• Language impacts the way we think

• Titles and occupations– Congressmen, firemen

– Linguistic markers more often used when women enter predominantly male fields

– Mr.; Mrs./Miss or Ms.

Portions © Copyright 2012 Alan S. Berger and other portions © Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, inc

5

Spoken/written Words

• Connotation of words• Male words connote power, authority, • Female words have sexual or demeaning

connotations– Eg, shrew

• Differences between male and female language– Miscommunication is frequent– Who talks and how much


What’s in a Name?

• Identity

• Surname change upon marriage for women– Loss of accomplishments recorded prior to

marriage

– Hyphenated names as an alternative

• Male place of prominence in marriage relationship

• Girls’ and boys’ names


7

Linguistic Derogation

• Derogation– Terms for women used to insult men and boys– Sexist jokes

• Sexual connotations to terminology– Master-mistress

• Immaturity connoted – Guys-girls

• Trivialization– The little woman


8

Gendered Language: Registers

Female Register

• Qualifiers

• Tag Questions

• Intensifiers

• Descriptive terminology used in “female domains”

• Adaptable communication styles

• Polite and Indirect

• Talk more than men in same gendered groups

Male Register

• Words related to objects

• Sexually related terms

• Derogatory sexual slang

• Profanity

• In authority positions: Direct, succinct, and personal

• Talk more than women in mixed-gendered groups

• Guide topic of conversation


9

The Language of Friendship

Women• High-affiliation strategies• Get together to “just talk”• Self-disclosure• Gossip more about

friends & family• Talk more in solidified

romantic relationships

Men• Low-affiliation strategies• Get together for an

activity• Neutral topics• Gossip more about

acquaintances & celebrities

• Talk more at the beginning of romantic relationships


10



• Do Women and Men Speak Different Languages?– According to Tannen:

• Women and men have different communication styles and communication goals

• Women and men speak different genderlects


• Women’s conversations have traditionally been negatively stereotyped and parodied

• Women’s communications have been considered not only different from men’s: – But also typically inferior– This pattern is not normative in all societies


Nonverbal Communication, cont.

• Eye Contact– Females use more eye-contact– Males use eye-contact when speaking and

confronting


13

Nonverbal Communication

• Women interpret nonverbal communication more accurately than men

• Facial Expressions– Females use more facial expressions– Females smile, cry, express fear or sadness

more– Males express anger more


14

Touch and Personal Space

• Context of touching is important to consider– Affection, Dominance, Aggression, Sexual

Interest

• Personal Space – Men take up more personal space– Men invade other’s space more often– Women’s personal space is more limited


15

Gender and Online Communication

Men Online

• E-communications enhance male’s relationships

• Impersonal style

• Authoritative

• Direct, terse, end abruptly

• Virtual interactions mirror physical world

Women Online• Non-verbal cues are

less present• Less likely to be

socialized to technology• E-communications

mirror verbal communications

• Write the way they speak


16

Media

• Role Models in– Movies– TV– Print media

• Magazines• Newspapers• Books

• Who appears in what kind of media?


Media

• Does Sex sell?– How is sex used to sell?– Who uses sex to sell what?


Global Focus: The Language of Japanese Women

• Style and syntax– Highly formal & polite– Honorific & humiliative– Distinctive linguistic patterns in

• Vocabulary, Topic, Grammar, Phonology

– Verb endings are required to be less decisive and assertive than male’s speech

– Japanese women in authority experience linguistic conflict

– Social change seen in the Manga


20

Explaining Gendered Language Patterns

• The Dual-Culture Model– Girls and boys have separate but equal

socialization – These subcultures may misunderstand each

other– Compatible with Functionalism


21

Explaining Gendered Language Patterns, cont.

• Critique– Separate, but not equal– Ignores cultural context– Ignores power


22


• The Dominance Model (Lakoff)– Gendered language is a reflection of women’s

subordination– Henley extends this idea to non-verbal

language– Compatible with Conflict Theory


23


• Critique– Gender differences persist between men and

women of the same status– Women can use gender communication

patterns to gain power, rather than be seen as victims


24


• The Social Constructionist Model– Language as a symbol which shapes reality– Context of the conversation– Impression management– Compatible with Symbolic Interactionism

• Critique– Difficult to generalize to different situations– Does not address gender stereotypes


25

The Impact of Linguistic Sexism

• Harmful to both men and women

• Formal change appears artificial and is resisted

• Support is increasing for inclusive language

• Language of cooperation and consensus is moving into the workplace more and more

• Impact of the media


26


Gender and the Media

• Reflection hypothesis– The media only give the public what it

expects, wants, or demands

• The media are the chief sources of information for most people– As well as the focus of their leisure activity


• Symbolic annihilation– The media traditionally have ignored,

trivialized, or condemned women

• Gender Differences in Online Communication

• The Written Word: Gender Messages in Newspapers and Magazines



– Men are more likely than women to regularly get news online or on a cell phone

– While women are more likely to turn to social networking sites (e.g., Twitter) for news

– The gender gap in newspaper readership– Women and men certainly have different

interests in news stories



– A perusal of just about any news daily gives one the impression that it is a man’s world

– Gender and Magazines

• Television: The Ubiquitous Media Socializer– Has special characteristics that add to its

potency as an agent of socialization




• One prominent socialization message is that women are less important than men

– Female characters are typically thin and physically attractive

– The incorporation of women’s rights and gender equality themes


– Gender stereotypes frequently intersect with racial and ethnic stereotypes

– Women have made also progress on national network newscasts in recent years

– Minority men and women remain dramatically underrepresented on the network news




• Gender Messages in Children’s Television Cartoons and Animated Movies

• Gender Messages in Advertisements: Does Sexism Sell?– The sexually exploitative use of women in

advertising has increased– Lolita syndrome


Images of Gender in the Media: What Are Their Effects?

• Defenders of the media sometimes argue that while media portrayals are often sexist– Their effects are benign

• Violence and the Media

• Much research points to the detrimental effects of sexist media portrayals


Language and Media as Shapers of Gender

• The gender images communicated by language and the mass media– Impact on men’s and women’s behaviors and

self-concepts

• Symbolic annihilation – Symbolically ignoring, trivializing, or

demeaning a particular group



• Language is a medium of socialization

• Semantic derogation

• Linguistic sexism– Ways in which a language devalues members

of one sex, almost invariably women

• How can sexist language be changed?

chapter 6 the great communicators language and the media

Documents