The study of gender communication plays a crucial role in the existence and maintenance of the gender system. Communication problems originate due to the differential patterns of communication in me and women. In fact they are the major cause of marital conflicts. Difference of sex in communication locates gender rather social relations. Critics claim that women are responsible for both miscommunication as well as minimizing the conflicts. In the article, Louann Brizendine describes that gender communication results from the biological differences in the brain. On the other hand, Brenda Allen argues that gender communication depends on differences in power and status. The paper analyzes the different patterns in men and women as argued by Brizendine and Allen.
Thought the genetic coding in men and women is 99 percent similar, the minor difference plays a great role in altering the feelings, emotions, thoughts and perceptions of the two genders. The size of the brain in men and women differs by nine times . Though the number of brain cells in both the genders is the same, the packaging of cells in women is dense due to the smaller size of the brain. The hormonal influence on the female brain shapes the values and desires of women. The different stages of life in women, namely, girlhood, motherhood and menopause affect the neurological connections of the brain . Men and women react differently to conflict and stress. Due to the functional differences of the brain, the capacity to solve problems, emotions and process language differ in men and women. Right from the fetal stage, the programming in the girl’s brain ensures to keep social harmony, thereby they preserve harmonious relationships . The social bonds of girls depend on communication and compromise.
On the other hand, boys do not employ the affiliative style of speech; instead they command and override the conversation due to the presence of the testosterone hormone. In the juvenile pause stage, though the levels of testosterone and estrogen are lower in both the genders, girls still have certain levels of estrogen, which restricts them to stay away from boys until the age of six. On an average, girls speak and listen more when compared to boys. While, the speech rate in girls is 250 words per minute, it is 125 words per minute in men . Also, girls indulge in their favorite activities to reduce the stress of life. The presence of estrogen in women increases the levels of dopamine and oxytocin in the brain, which trigger pleasure and intimacy. Teen girls are prone to creating arguments and conflicts in the same way as women do. Women have more verbal fluency than men during situations that provoke anger. While men’s brain circuits return anger to a physical expression, women’s brain circuits calm down the aggressive reaction . Emotion circuits responsible for safety and anger are different in the male and female brains.
Brenda Allen, on the other hand argues that power and status differences influence gender communication. Communication refers to the diverse nature of processes through which humans interpret and share meaning. Social identity and discourse influence the nature of communication. While discourse refers to the system of talk, ranging from public to private, social identity refers to a person’s self-image deduced from the society to which the person belongs . A majority of human beings group themselves into categories and groups, and compare their groups to the individuals of other groups. In other words, social identity refers to the distinction of individuals and their social relations with other individuals and communities. However social identity is different from self-identity for self-identity refers to personality traits rather social membership .
An individual can belong to any number of social identity groups because social identity groups are infinite in number. However, the significant social groups that exist in the contemporary society are race, gender, sexuality, age, ability and social class . Other important aspects of identity are religion and nationality. Communication is the central feature that is responsible for social identity in human beings. It represents the concept of social constructionist thought through the relation of linguistic process. Interactions give rise to identity through language. From the time before birth, socially constructed categories influence the interactions and perceptions of individuals. The immediate question people ask after the birth of the child is its sex, because it is sex that determines the growth of the child. Parents, friends and relatives of the child create a gendered world, which the infant adopts after gaining social consciousness .
If the baby is a girl, she learns from the environment, parents, teachers and peers as to what a girl can do and cannot do. The process of adapting to the environment, also called as socialization affects the child’s growth. In the case of a male child, the same kind of socialization applies, which molds his self-perception. As the male and female children grow, they come to know about additional forms of identity, such as race, ability and class . The communication styles depend on the identity composites of the children, though the factor of masculinity does not change. The individuals learn different forms of communication styles, such as gestures, vocabulary, eye contact and private space. As children adapt to their social groups, they identify the differences between various groups and the rules whether or not to interact with the other groups.
The individuals also learn about hierarchical and sexual identity . The study about the distinction between the groups last throughout the lives of the individuals. The process of socialization forces children to accept their social identities as natural designations. However, as a matter of fact, social identity categories and hierarchies depend on the characteristics of the groups. In addition to socialization, essentialism also plays a major role in racial classification systems. Essentialism is an assumption that social differences arise from intrinsic human variations. Essentialism in terms of racial groups is a science that surpasses cultural and historical boundaries . While social identities are natural, they are also essential and subject to change. Physical characteristics, such as skin color, body parts and facial features compartmentalize humans into distinct groups. Problems arise among people when the social categories cause discrimination and domination of the social identities.
Categorizing individuals based on their identities sometimes cause negative effects on the interactions between groups . The social identity theory refers to the tendency of the humans to seek similarities and distinctions between groups. Some individuals tend to react to the characteristics of a group as a whole rather as an individual. The perception of individuals leads to social construction of inequality, which might favor a particular group but offend another group. Privilege helps to understand the influence of differences between various social identity groups. Privilege refers to the special status enjoyed by individuals depending upon their social identity . While privilege is an advantage for certain social identity groups, it is a disadvantage for others who receive an unacceptable treatment. Privilege also results in a feeling of hypersensitivity in individuals who do not enjoy privilege in various fields.
Internalized oppression is another characteristic, which refers to the feeling of the non-dominant groups that they are inferior when compared to other superior groups . Preconceptions about social identities affect the mode of communication. Scholars argue that it is the language, which reflects sexism and patriarchy. Masculine pronouns in a language maintain bias based on gender and inappropriateness in careers. While some words, such as bachelor imply gender hierarchy, some other words, such as Mr., Miss and Mrs. differentiate individuals based on their marital status. The use of masculine words, such as man-kind infuses ideas that men are superior over women . Another form of linguistic practice that reveals patriarchy is the use of masculine phrases, such as men and women, boys and girls, husband and wife, and many others. Although there are certain feminine phrases, such as mom and dad, ladies and gentlemen, people do not realize the importance of women. There is a vast difference in the communication styles of men and women.
Women mostly use polite forms of words, especially qualifiers, such as “like” or “um,” also called as powerless speech style unlike men. While the communication style of women is “rapport,” in which women negotiate relationships, men employ the report form of communication style, in which they impart information . The major reason for the communication differences among men and women is due to the socialization process. While men talk about their accomplishments, women talk about the assistance they received from others. Also, research shows that men interrupt more than women during a conversation. In the present time, individuals consider language as a tool to maintain social relationships rather a mode to identify sex differences. To conclude, communication is a tool, which facilitates progress of life and pursuit of happiness.
Works Cited
Allen, B.J. (2004). Difference Matters: Communicating Social Identity. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.
Brizendine, L. (2006). The Female Brain. Morgan Road Books.
Crawford, M. (2001). Gender and Language. Psychology of Women and Gender , 228-244.
Galvin, K. M., & Cooper, P. ]. (2006). Making Connections: Readings in Relational Communication, 4th ed. Los Angeles: Roxbury Publishing Co.
Tannen, D. (2001). Talking from 9 to 5: Women and Men at Work. San Francisco: HarperCollins.
