Week 12: Genderlect Theory

Nancy Hoar said, “Genderlect is a useful label to refer to the set of features that mark stereotypical masculine and feminine speech.” (p127) - In which genders can be viewed as a culture. Genderlect is the study of the communicative styles between genders. The analysis between genders helps us realize the inequalities that may exist between men and women in regard to legal issues, political views and personal development.

For this theory, I will use the popular meme that has been circulating the Internet with the point of showing men’s superiority and women’s inferiority. Paraphrasing Garry Chick (1999), “Meme is a cultural unit of "parts" of culture which includes "themes", "patterns", "ideas", "beliefs", "rules", "symbols", "concepts" and few others.” (p2) The term ‘Meme’ derives from mimeme, which means ‘to imitate’.

From the above image, the message is intended for women from the men to make them sandwiches. This message originated in the Internet to discredit female users whenever they post in the forums. Another interaction between the male and female can be seen through this clip from the ‘X-Files’:

Using the genderlect theory of ‘Rapport’ talk and ‘Report’ talk, we can see that men tend to do Report talk than women. In this clip, the man used a lecture-style tone to order the woman to make him a sandwich. It is also to be noted that the woman in the clip did not say any word, but retorted by the means of action. According to Tannen (), women avoid conflicts at all cost, while men initiate and are more comfortable with conflicts. Thus in the clip, we can see that the man continued his speaking even after the woman left the scene.

Genderlect Theory also suggests that if the effort to understanding one another increase, the relationship between genders will also be fruitful. The effort includes the understanding of cultural differences which are the differing expectations about the role of talk in relationships and how genders are able to fulfil that role.

Reference:

Tannen, D. (1990). You Just Don’t Understand. Ballantine. New York.

Garry, C. (1999). What's in a Meme? The Development of the Meme as a Unit of Culture. The Pennsylvania State University. University Park, Pennsylvania, USA.

Linda, A.M.P. & Lynn H.T. & Helen M.S. (1992). Constructing and Reconstructing Gender: The Links Among Communication, Language, and Gender. State University of New York Press, Albany.