Communication -- Gender and Communication
The parameters of gender have undergone a dramatic expansion through the efforts of Science and enlightened feminists such as Nancy Mairs. Their contributions allow a multitude of genders and new definitions that account for the richness of human sexuality. As a result, femininity can be defined in the broadest and richest terms as a set of psychological traits unconstrained by classically masculine and feminine boundaries.
"Femininity" is best defined as sensitivity and awareness, a firm set of psychological traits that is not reflected in behavior. Actions are not masculine or feminine, but approaches to them are masculine or feminine. The classically oppressive confinement of "normal" gender to male and female is no longer viable, for humanity exists in a far greater array of sexual characteristics than genitals can distinguish or dictate. Anne Fausto-Sterling offers many examples of Science's growing acceptance of broad gender range, reaching back to biblical times and through the year 2000 to illustrate the five genders of male, female, hermaphrodite, male pseudo hermaphrodite and female pseudo hermaphrodite in the 1993 portion of her work (Fausto-Sterling, 2000, p. 1), then expanding to nearly every gender possibility in the 2000 portion of her work (Fausto-Sterling, 2000, pp. 11-12). Fausto-Sterling's 1993 work was seminal in its ready acknowledgment of 5 genders and its illustration of the systematic suppression of all but two genders. Furthermore, Fausto-Sterling's knowledge of human sexuality expanded considerably between 1993 and 2000. Through her own continual study and empirical data, Fausto-Sterling determined that criticism of her initial estimation of merely 5 genders is well-founded (Fausto-Sterling, 2000, p. 12). Secondly, Fausto-Sterling found that transgender births, while lower than her initial estimate of 4% of the population, held firm at 1.7% of the population and, therefore a significant portion of the population (Fausto-Sterling, 2000, p. 9). Finally, Fausto-Sterling found that other researchers had stunningly outstripped her own research with astounding conclusions regarding the multitude of possible genders (Fausto-Sterling, 2000, pp. 11-12). Given the numerous possibilities of gender within human sexuality, feminism is open to a broader and more fluid definition according to psychological traits.
Nancy Mairs also supports the broader concept of femininity, particularly regarding the psychological traits of sensitivity and awareness in calling for both from her son in "A Letter to Matthew" (Mairs, 1986, pp. 55-61). Acknowledging the social influences eliciting classically American male and female behaviors, Mairs states, "Women have long been schooled in this sensitivity to others; but men have been raised to hold themselves aloof, to leave the emotional business of life to their mothers and sisters and wives." (Mairs, 1986, p. 56). Nevertheless, Mairs cites clear instances of sensitivity and awareness in her 14-year-old son (Mairs, 1986, p. 56), and strongly encourages the blossoming of those feminine characteristics in him. For Mairs, the feminine psychological traits of sensitivity and awareness are naturally found in her undoubtedly male son and should be cultivated rather than quashed.
Opposition to this concept is deep-seated, particularly by those who deem femininity to be the opposite of masculinity and those who believe there are certain behaviors that are essentially feminine, and other behaviors that are not. These confining ideas can be at least partially attributed to circumstances and experiences so narrow that certain individuals cannot entertain the broader concepts of gender and psychological traits (Mairs, 1986, p. 55). For example, Mairs points to William F. Buckley, a staunch conservative, as an older, fully-formed and complete man whose limited experience would make him unreceptive to Mairs' ideas of femininity, sensitivity and awareness (Mairs, 1986, p. 55). Yet another reason for opposition to the broader concept of femininity may be the empowerment of men by classifying, subjugating and dividing individuals and groups by gender and other labels (Mairs, 1986, p. 56). As Mairs states, this is the patterned response of men who refuse to experience and explore ambiguities (Mairs, 1986, p. 56). A third reason illustrated by Mairs is the projection of one's own feelings onto another. Mairs...
In a situation where the domain of the opposite gender is simply different than that of the other this can occur. Using the previous stereotypical example when a woman drones on and on about some aspect of cooking that is important to her but not to the male listener in the room, the quite participant may simply "tune out" and the same is true of a man speaking within
Men tend to talk more than women do and have habit of talking over them or interrupting them when they are speaking. In the nonverbal sense, some the differences from men and women are the majority of men do not interpret body language, a nod from a woman means to a man that she agrees with what he is saying and that she is listening to what he is saying.
Gender Communication and Language In the "enlightened" age of the 21st century, it appears logical to assume that men and women are finally accepted as equally competent and intelligent, both in the workplace and social settings. It is therefore interestingly shocking that communication studies reveal wide-ranging differences in the way in which men and women communicate. Many of these communication styles date from social systems where women were seen as incompetent
This means that in so much as a direct and solution-oriented conversational style is preferred in the business setting, it does not mean that this style is the most efficient. There are "cultures" or other sectors in the business environment that uses female communication style because they are able to appeal more to the people or audience. A woman handling a focus group discussion on a product may be
Communication and Gender in Movies Cinematic Gender Communication Gender plays a fairly important role in regards to communication and its effectiveness and nuances. This fact is largely due to the immense value which people have always placed upon language, which can be thought of as a means of identifying and, in some instances, even defining what it means to be of a particular gender since "communication is thought to be, at once,
Communication theory is described as any systematic explanations of the nature of the communication process. It's important for businesses and organizations to understand communication theory because they can't accomplish their objectives and goals without effective communication between workers. Since it focuses on analyzing the processes with which information is transmitted from the sender to the receiver, communication theory also focuses on the various ways with which information is transferred from
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