Thursday, February 3, 2011
Week 7: Adapting to Differences: Personality, Culture, and Gender
Gender-based communicatin... Is there a difference between sex and gender? How do you define both? Should women and men communicate differently using conversational rituals? Or should they continue to use powerful and powerless language? And who should use powerful and powerless language?
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Yes there is a difference between sex and gender. As defined by the sociologists sex refers to the biological differences; chromosomes, hormonal profiles, internal and external sex organs. Were gender describes the characteristics that a society or culture delineates as masculine and feminine. Many people consider the same thing, however by definition they are not. In reality sex as male or female is a biological fact in any society, in other words sex means a 'man' or a 'woman' in society. In turn the term 'gender role' refers to the characteristics and behaviors that point to the sexes.
ReplyDeleteI believe men and women should communicate differently based on their sex and gender differences. In a workplace the way men and women give orders, manage people and communicate are completely different. Men tend to be more direct when giving orders while women have a tendency to be more indirect, “lessen their strain and statements”. I also believe that women are more likely to let other speakers into the conversation or to allow another speaker to dominate the discussion. Moreover women and men communicate differently on a daily bases men usually interrupt conversations more than women, women provide more praise and compliments to employees in a business, women most likely to use language much toned down and less direct than men. However neither style is right or wrong, it is just different. As a result women communication style is more compatible with leadership activity than men.
Sex is determined biologically and refers to an individuals physical anatomy – genitalia, facial hair, body structure and composition. Sex refers to the biological characteristics that separate male from female.
ReplyDeleteGender is determined by social interaction, exchange, and absorption of peer, familial, and larger cultural values that determine gender identity and affiliation. Gender can be considered fluid in the sense that one can challenge their own gender identity, in some instances holding it completely opposed to their sex.
For males, conversation is the way you negotiate your status in the group and keep people from pushing you around; you use talk to preserve your independence. Females, on the other hand, use conversation to negotiate closeness and intimacy; talk is the essence of intimacy, so being best friends means sitting and talking. For boys, activities, doing things together, are central. Just sitting and talking is not an essential part of friendship. They're friends with the boys they do things with each other.
Men and women have different ways of getting a point accross to people. I feel that there is no wrong or right way for people to communicate, as long as the coversation is appropriate and ethical they should use what ever way of communication that they deam effective.