• It’s common knowledge that men and women do things differently, isn’t it?
• It’s easy to assume these books must be bases on valid scientific research
• Indeed, even a cursory inspection of the literature of linguistics and gender reveals that men and
• Take the notion that women talk more.
• A book in 2007 reported that … but when the claim was challenged, the author, Louann Brizendine, couldn’t provide a source
• textIn fact, research in the journal Science has shown both sexes talk equally as much
• Then there’s the belief that men interrupt more because biologically more aggressive and programmed to use language more competitively.
• Evidence from Janet Hyde actually suggests that in neutral situations, women and men interrupt equally.but this is not to do with gender but rather the power relationship between the speakers.
• When talking to a boss we won’t butt in, but they will..
• In short, no difference whatsoever!
• Finally, if these supposed language differences were biological, we would expect them to be universal
• However, to take just one example,the men pride themselves on their ability to speak indirectly and never say what they mean, while the women frequently give voice to their anger by launching into lengthy swearing sessions
• behaviour which is a reversal of the Mars and Venus stereotypes of aggression and indirectness
• Well, sweeping generalisations such as ‘Women are more in touch with their feelings’ appeal because they match longstanding stereotypes
• We look for and cite evidence to back up a traditional view, but ignore or fail to search for contradictory evidence!
• Take the psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen, who argues in his book
• The Essential Difference that male brains are analytical and goal-orientated, which makes them wonderful scientists and lawyers; while the female’s empathetic brain is best for jobs like teaching and counselling.
• Furthermore, all of this is often reinforced by our biased use of language, where we’ll still often specify a male nurse or a female doctor. Ultimately then, when and how people communicate