Media Report #3/Review

Gender Communication Theories and Analyses From Silence to Performance
By: Charlotte Krolokke and Anne Scott Sorensen
Type of Media: Book
APA CITATION:

Krolokke, C., & Sorensen, A. (2006). Gender communication theories and analyses from silence to performance. (1 ed., Vol. 1, pp. 25-35). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, INC.

From this source I examined two theories. They are so named: Muted Group Theory and Standpoint theory.

Muted Group Theory:
This idea focuses on women and oppression. It was derived from anthropologist Shirley Ardener in 1975. “It posits that women and men within patriarchal, capitalistic societies tend to form two distinct circles of experience and interpretation, one overlapping the other. The masculine circle converges with the norms of the society, providing a masculine signature and overriding the feminine circle. Thus, the female circle is neither visible nor acknowledged-eventually only a small part of it is exposed. Consequently women’s’ experiences are seen as reminiscences in society. The options women have for correcting this are two try and translate their point of view into masculine mode or detach alternate models of communication.
Summary:
1. Men’s views are seen as dominant and if women want to be heard then they must conform to ways of communication as done by the dominant group, in this case men. “Do you have the balls to do this job?” This is a male dominate workplace metaphor.

Standpoint Theory
This idea deals with the oppression again but in terms of the critical paradigm, seeing as the critical paradigm is seen as giving voice to those who are silenced. This idea is that marginalized or oppressed people can give a more objective account for the world. Furthermore, this theory delves into the idea that in order to survive, the marginalized people must conform to the standpoints of the dominant culture even though it is not their own perception of the world or situations. So this is gender neutral. It may apply for men and women depending on factors such as socioeconomic class. So in that way it is possible for men and women to connect similarly based on money and perceptions. For example If a group of people are in the nosebleed seats. They are of a lesser status in the stadium. Therefore they have a different standpoint, and view of the game. Looking at communicating more simplistically, the group in the nosebleeds may communicate in a similar manner without any emphasis on race or gender.

-Submitted by Nick Jarboe