Genderlect Theory

Members:
Asingua, Krizia Dennielle Coloma, Iana Christine Garcia, Anne Marylise Morales, Jessica Joy Paez, Reyna Liza

COMM101 MC1025

I. Rationale - The situation we chose is a very good example for us to explain our topic thoroughly in a way where everyone can relate or understand it easily. II. Research Question & Objectives Question: How do men and women differ from each other? How do they interact with each other? Objectives: To have a deeper understanding about gender difference To make people understand that men and women have different perspectives, so that mutual understanding will link the cultural gap between sexes

III. Theory Applicable to the Communication Situation Genderlect theory acknowledges and appreciates the language of the opposite sex and achieve mutual respect and understanding.

Theory

Explanation

Why We Communicate: Women seek connection, men seek status.

Women engage in communication to build and maintain relationships with others. By contrast, men are more likely to engage in talk only when it makes them look good, strong, competitive, or independent.

Style of Communicating: Women use rapport talk, men use report talk.

Women express emotions, share personal feelings, relate stories, and listen empathically (rapport talk). Men engage in competitive joking and assertive speech that wins control of the conversation (report talk).

Language: We speak the same language, but each gender has its own dialect.

Each gender has its own set of vocabulary and preferred topics, and they use spoken language differently: men talk to get things done (instrumental approach); women talk to interact with others (relational approach).

Goal of Genderlect Theory: Mutual respect and In contrast to feminist viewpoints that criticize understanding. men for inferior communication that represses women, Genderlect Theory simply identifies the differences between us and encourages us to acknowledge and accept the communicative culture of the other.

IV. Application of Theory to Communication - Our chosen situation is about interaction between a man and a woman in a relationship. The man and the woman are totally alike, but when it comes to communication, they are totally opposite. For example, if the couple is alone, the woman does most of the talking, but if they are in public places like party, the man usually does most of the talking and usually, he is the center of attention. And when it comes to narrating stories the woman shares stories about something that somebody else did or in short, it is not about her, while the man typically shares stories about him and the things that he did. Also, they have different style of listening. When the woman does the talking, the man does not show reactions and does nothing, he is almost impassive. However, when the man does the talking, the woman shows reaction. She makes eye contact and give feedback cues like mhmm and uh-huh. For our insights, we have observed that when they have problems, women do not only share their problems to be comforted but because they also seek for advice, encouragement, and even solution to their problems. For example, a friend of ours failed in one of our subjects so she went to us, crying and seeking for comfort and help. But, men are different. Whenever they share problems, they do not want your advice, they only want someone to listen to their problems, complains, and other matters. It is like they only want to voice out what they feel and will immediately feel better after that.