COmmuncation discussion 3

Discussion 3: Gender Communication

Please read the assigned chapters before responding to the following discussion questions:

1. Many researchers believe all behavioral differences between women and men are socially constructed. Do you agree? Can you think of any behavioral differences that might be genetic or otherwise constructed? 

2. Why do you think men claim to use more instrumental talk and women are more prone to expressive talk? What are some various ways to explain these differences? How does personality influence language styles as well?

3. Is gender important in defining the way people interact with each other? Why or why not?

Respond to 2 peers:

Peer 1: Payton Svoboda

1. I strongly believe that behavioral differences do not always have to do with gender. But more mentally, I think men and women can have the same behaviors without factoring in gender. I think behaviors can be genetic or learned, for males I believe a lot of behaviors can be caused by the “toxic masculinity” or the expectations society has put on men and women. 

2. I think men use more instrumental talk and women are more prone to expressive talk because of social constructs. Men are taught they have to be more outward and powerful in their speech whereas women are taught to be more subdued and emotional. 

3. I believe gender is a big part of peoples interactions with each other because gender is sometimes the first impression one makes. I don’t necessarily agree with this, but I do believe it is how it works. I think gender is used to make assumptions communicating with one another. 

Peer 2: Jo Cordova

I do not agree with the statement that many researches believe all behavioral differences between men and women are socially constructed. While some, if not most, behavioral differences can have a socially constructed beginning, not all do. For example, biological differences in how men and women behave start in childhood. Without any influence, biological females have the instinct that drives them to nurture, while biological males have the instinct to protect what is theirs. This can be seen in playtime in children; most often, young females will play in scenarios in which they represent members of a family, most often a mother. During playtime for young boys, they play with physical touch and roughness to establish a “pecking order.” Personally, I have seen this evidence in the classroom. I work in the autism center-based program at an elementary school, and these biological behavior differences can be seen in the students (ages 5-11).

1. Men use more instrumental talk because they are able to listen and retain information if it is blunter and more straightforward. Even in nonverbal communication, men do not pick up on any social or nonverbal ques as easy as women can. Women use expressive talk to develop a sense of closeness and relation, while men use more instrumental talk to solve issues and communicate with more concreteness.

2. Gender is not important in defining the way people interact with each other. Gender is unique to the individual, and gender in one person does not outwardly affect any other person in negative ways. How humans interact with each other is a personal choice, and gender, in theory, should not have an affect on any one’s method of communication and interaction.