Thursday, September 27, 2012

Language: Men Vs. Women



I definitely feel that men and women use language differently.  I would agree with the textbook that women generally communicate about feelings and seek a connection and intimacy whereas men seek to communicate about common interests and achievements.  This is not to say that this stereotype fits everyone.  In most of my relationships, I have ended up dating men who take more of the traditional woman role and want to talk about the relationship and their feelings whereas I do not.  Also in Table 4.5 in the textbook “Conclusions Drawn from Research on Gender Differences in Communication”, I definitely use stronger expletives than most men I know. J  But for the most part, if you walk around your office or sit at your child’s soccer game and listen to other conversations, you will hear the women gossiping about other moms, or talking about a great purse they bought, or a funny thing their child did that day.  You will most often hear the men talk about the game on TV last night, or how they grill their steak on the BBQ or what kind of car they drive.  I think that communication between men often is superficial and surface level, whereas women are looking for that immediate connection and someone that will become a part of their lives.

2 comments:

  1. I agree as well. The book is definitely correct about women. We do like to talk about our feelings and connection to them. I believe this is the reason we have great conversations with other women who have either been in the same situation or have a great understanding of what we are feeling. Men who have common interest are what spark their conversations. I don’t think they get too feeling oriented with those conversations. I love your example! It’s true women are talking about whole other things together than men who speak together in conversations.

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  2. I completely agree with you. The book is right on about women as we tend to be more emotional and have to speak our feelings. I find that in my past reltionships especially in arguments I would always want to communicate right away and talk things out where my ex would never want to talk and be open about things. I think depending on the subject we differ in the way we communicate about things where women communicate on a more emotional level and feelings where men do not.

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