Genderlect Styles

Have you ever had an argument, conflict, or miscommunication with a person of the opposite sex? Most likely you have, but have you ever considered the reason for these mishaps being a result of cross-cultural communication based on your differing genders? I definitely never considered this, until I learned about the communication theory of genderlect styles.

            Men and women, although more similar than different, are still raised differently, treated differently, they act differently, think differently, and have different gendered experiences and expectations within society. So with this, it is not far off to say that men and women come from, and interact within two separate cultures. The term genderlect, according to Griffin et al. (2005), suggests that masculine and feminine styles of communication are best viewed as two distinct cultural dialects. In other words, when men and women communicate they do so cross-culturally. Genderlect styles is often associated with the work of Deborah Tannen, a linguistics professor at Georgetown University who specializes in conversation styles. In other words, not what people say but the way they say it. Through her research Tannen claims there are definite gender differences in the way we communicate. Women, more often than not in communication, seek human connection whereas men are mainly concerned with status. Talking interculturally without realizing it plays a big role in the everyday miscommunications that happen between the sexes. Who knew?

Everett Follow, B., Ralston, C., & Stein, C. (2010, November 30). Gender comm presentation.     Retrieved September 30, 2017, from                                                                                               https://www.slideshare.net/BrittNichEve/gender-comm-presentation

Griffin, E., Ledbetter, A. M., & Sparks, G. G. (2015). A first look at communication theory (9th    ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.