Chapter 9 | Exercises
Exercise 9.1
In keeping with the notion that women’s speech is “less powerful” than that of men, it has often been asserted that men interrupt more than women, in order to seize control of conversational interactions.
Choose a mixed‐sex group (e.g. a class, club meeting) and conduct a simple study of the cross‐sex patterning of interruptions during the group meeting. You will need to count how many males and how many females are in the group, since the overall tabulation will have to take into account the proportion of males to females. If the group has a designated leader, do not tabulate the frequency of interruptions by the leader for this exercise (although, as a separate study, it would be interesting to observe the leader’s patterns of interruptions, especially as regards the sex of the speaker being interrupted by the leader). You can set up a simple coding sheet something like the following. Be sure to be discreet in recording your tabulations at the scene of the gathering.
Setting: (e.g. class discussion, club meeting, etc.)
Choose a mixed‐sex group (e.g. a class, club meeting) and conduct a simple study of the cross‐sex patterning of interruptions during the group meeting. You will need to count how many males and how many females are in the group, since the overall tabulation will have to take into account the proportion of males to females. If the group has a designated leader, do not tabulate the frequency of interruptions by the leader for this exercise (although, as a separate study, it would be interesting to observe the leader’s patterns of interruptions, especially as regards the sex of the speaker being interrupted by the leader). You can set up a simple coding sheet something like the following. Be sure to be discreet in recording your tabulations at the scene of the gathering.
Setting: (e.g. class discussion, club meeting, etc.)
No. of males present
No. of females present Total participants Interruption |
___________
___________ ___________ Female |
% of group
% of group Male |
___________
___________ |
What problems did you encounter in carrying out the project?
Do your findings seem to support the notion that men’s language is more “powerful” than women’s?
Do your findings support the idea that interruptions are primarily a strategy for seizing conversational control?
Do your findings seem to support the notion that men’s language is more “powerful” than women’s?
Do your findings support the idea that interruptions are primarily a strategy for seizing conversational control?
Exercise 9.2
Do various media still promote the deficit approach to gender and language? Choose a particular form of media, such as advertisements, film trailers, or internet memes. Find examples of women being represented as “weak,” “unsure,” or “subordinate.” Then find examples of women being portrayed in the opposite way, or of men being portrayed as “weak,” etc. Do you find a balanced portrayal?
Alternative or additional exercise:
Locate a media story about men’s or women’s use of a particular language feature (e.g. “vocal fry,” “uptalk”). Write a sociolinguistically informed response to the article in the form of a letter to the editor, an online comment on the article, or a blog post.
Alternative or additional exercise:
Locate a media story about men’s or women’s use of a particular language feature (e.g. “vocal fry,” “uptalk”). Write a sociolinguistically informed response to the article in the form of a letter to the editor, an online comment on the article, or a blog post.
Exercise 9.3
Discourses represent culturally shared ways of thinking. Because we “perform” gender in the context of these discourses, gender is structured through discourse. Furthermore, our performances can be constrained by or evaluated within the context of these discourses.
How can dominant discourses constrain behavior? Or, how do dominant discourses about femininity or masculinity constrain our behavior(s)?
In what ways can individuals resist dominant discourses? Or, in what ways can we defy gender norms, through physical or verbal manifestations?
How does this make categories (e.g. gender categories, sexuality categories) volatile?
How can dominant discourses constrain behavior? Or, how do dominant discourses about femininity or masculinity constrain our behavior(s)?
In what ways can individuals resist dominant discourses? Or, in what ways can we defy gender norms, through physical or verbal manifestations?
How does this make categories (e.g. gender categories, sexuality categories) volatile?
Exercise 9.4
One of the exceptions to the ordering of masculine and feminine coordinate constructions (e.g. husband and wife) is found in the public address salutation, “Ladies and Gentlemen!”
How might you explain this apparent exception to the more general pattern of placing the male first?
Can you think of any other exceptions to the male‐first pattern in coordinates?
How might you explain this apparent exception to the more general pattern of placing the male first?
Can you think of any other exceptions to the male‐first pattern in coordinates?
Exercise 9.5
A critical notion in debates over reforming sexist language use is the determination of what constitutes “realistic” reform. Suggestions for reform have ranged from fairly radical proposals, such as changing words like history to herstory, to more modest proposals such as changing address forms (e.g. using Ms for women regardless of marital status) and altering generic noun and pronoun reference (e.g. using people instead of man and he/she instead of he).
Are there any general guidelines we might follow in determining what constitutes a “realistic” reform in this area? For example, one principle might be that we should only change items of clear masculine association. In other words, we know that speakers are apt to associate generic he with males, but they may not associate history with his story (versus her story); thus, we should change generic he to something like he/she, but we do not need to alter a word like history. What general principles can you think of to guide non‐discriminatory language use? Are there principles based on practical considerations, such as the likelihood that a change will be adopted? As a point of reference, you might consider an actual set of guidelines set forth by a newspaper, a professional organization, or some other agency.
Are there any general guidelines we might follow in determining what constitutes a “realistic” reform in this area? For example, one principle might be that we should only change items of clear masculine association. In other words, we know that speakers are apt to associate generic he with males, but they may not associate history with his story (versus her story); thus, we should change generic he to something like he/she, but we do not need to alter a word like history. What general principles can you think of to guide non‐discriminatory language use? Are there principles based on practical considerations, such as the likelihood that a change will be adopted? As a point of reference, you might consider an actual set of guidelines set forth by a newspaper, a professional organization, or some other agency.