In this blog, I will be exploring three common linguistic differences between men and women, including the stereotypes involving swearing and taboo language, the assumption that women talk more than men and complimenting.
Stereotype #1: Swearing and taboo language
It is often argued that men make more use of vulgar language than women, whereas women make use of more polite and refined language. The expectation of how a woman was to act in the past is quite different from the expectation of a woman today.
Women were previously thought to have a polite use of language to emphasize how they “ought to talk.” The avoidance of swearing and vulgar language was the aim of the ideal female because a woman whose behaviour was perceived as aggressive would not be meeting the “expectations of cultural femininity,” which included the role of being polite and nurturing. That is to say that swearing was considered to be of aggressive nature and of masculine identity. Women could either make use of refined and polite language, or they could remain silence, which was a sign of obedience to the status quo of that time. As an English proverb states, “Silence is the best ornament of a woman.”
From the past to present, there has been a constant increase in the number of women using profane language in public. In 1996, 67 percent of men, compared to 33 percent of women used profanity in public. In 2006, 55 percent of males and 45 percent of females were reported to swear in public. What does this all mean? It means that our culture today has become more accepting and lenient to the expectations of women, in this case, women’s use of swear words and profanity. An example of the increase of taboo language in women can be heard in the workplace, as women become more competitive in this field. Women’s use of vulgar language often increases when working alongside men. Although our culture has changed and will continue to change in the future, cultures differ from one another in what is acceptable of women and what is not. In cultures where women do not have equal rights, women must refrain from using inappropriate vulgar language because it is considered the property of men.
Stereotype #2: Women talk more than men
Is the presumption true that women talk more than men? I believe that this presumption is false. Depending on the situation, women or men can talk more than the other. Women can be considered to talk more and to dominate in “domestic interactions,” involving relationships between friends and family. However, men can be considered to talk more than women and achieve dominance in other contexts, including sports, gadgets and in the work environment, such as in staff meetings and in seminars.
When deciding whether men or women talk more, we should take the circumstance and the social context into account. Does the circumstance involve women talking to other women, men talking to other men, or does it involve women and men talking to each other? Interruptions are also an important factor to consider because it is a strategy used to deprive someone the right to speak. In other words, interruptions can determine whether men or women talk more. Nicola Woods, a linguist, completed a study in which she found that men “used interruptions as a way of getting the floor” and that they succeeded in achieving dominance in conversation 85% of the time. Even when women are in a position of higher-status than men, men almost always achieve in talking more than women, in the form of interruption. For example, in a study involving two interviews on Australian TV, completed by fellow linguist Joanne Winter, it was shown that in the first interview, the male interviewer held dominance throughout his interview with a female interviewee, by interrupting his female interviewee often and therefore talking more, whereas in the second interview, the female interviewer did not hold dominance throughout her interview with her male interviewee, due to the fact that her male interviewee interrupted her often and therefore talked more.
Stereotype #3 Complimenting
Is it true that women give and receive more compliments than men? I believe that this stereotype is partially true. In same-gender complimenting, women give out compliments habitually towards one another. When women compliment each other, they make personal compliments on appearance, whereas men do not compliment each other on appearance, but rather on possessions and on ability and performance. When complimenting each other, women also tend to use a larger variety of adjectives than men.
Examples:
A compliment given by a woman to another woman: “You look lovely today. The new mascara you are wearing really brings out the colour of your gorgeous eyes!”
A compliment given by a man to another man: “You played great in the hockey tournament.”
The adjectives used by the woman, “lovely” and “gorgeous” are much more complex than the adjective used by the man “great.”
Contrarily, in mixed gender complimenting, women give fewer compliments to men, whereas men give more compliments to women. Women do not give compliments habitually towards men, as they do to each other because they are afraid of being interpreted as “too forward” and “romantically assertive.” This might be considered as culturally unacceptable in our society today. Since men are more forward, they therefore give more compliments to women. Complimenting women would be considered culturally acceptable because men are usually portrayed as the initiator when involving romantic situations and when showing interest in a woman.
Bibliography
Coates, Jennifer. Women, Men And Language. Malaysia
What Language Barrier? Oxford University
Steward, Penelope. “Male & Female Differences in Swearing and Taboo Language.”Ehow. (3 May 2011). 5 par. Online.
Stapleton, Karyn. “Gender and Swearing: A Community Practice.” Questia. (2003). 5 par. Online.http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=5002066468 2 Mar 2012.
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