GENDER THEORIES

DIFFERENCE

DEBORAH TANNEN 1990

-different subcultures, conversational goals: conflict, compromise ; information, feeling ; orders, proposals ; advice, understandings ; status, support ; independence, intimacy

CHALLENGE - reinforces stereotypes, based off of own marriage

DIVERSITY

DEBORAH CAMERON 2008

acknowledged other factors : age, ethnicity, class, occupation, context.

DYNAMIC

O’BARR & ATKINS 1980 courtroom study, “powerless language”, features connect to a lack of confidence e.g. lower social status.

DEFICIT

OTTO JESPERSON 1922

female speak is weak and deficient

CHALLENGE - outdated patriarchal society

ROBIN LACKOFF 1975

women are socialised into deferential language, men’s is the “norm”

10 features, tag questions, hedging, empty adjectives etc

CHALLENGE - biased, limited evidence, outdated basis, PAMELA FISHMAN, O’BARR & ATKINS

DOMINANCE

ZIMMERMAN & WEST 1975

found men interrupt more than women (46 to 2)

CHALLENGE - small limited data set, GEOFFREY BEATTIE recorded larger data set, interruption can indicate interest.

PAMELA FISHMAN 1983

men feel superior, women pick up slack

women sustain and start conversations