Denotative language
the literal dictionary meaning of language
Connotative language
an emotional, experiential reaction to
... [Show More] language
Language
governed by rules..... rules become challenged when we think of transgender pronouns
developed within our cultural groups...... co-cultural group. smaller culture group within a larger culture.
language changes over time & it is linked to power
reflects our perceptions
symbolic construct: words represent things, allow us to talk about complicated ideas.
labels: Mr & Mrs imply gendered positioning
masculine (male) gendered language
when people, without even thinking about it, embed masculine terms when it could be applied to both men or women.
pronoun "he"
"congressman"
"mankind"
marked language
when we unnecessarily mark language to imply gender or sex
"a women solider" implying that solider is a mans job
"my gay-friend"
a speech act
use of language in ways that imply action
the way we say things imply that we are taking some type of action or we are asserting some type of action.
"I am a woman" or "I am a man"
comes with a lot of perceptions and understanding. action comes from that
a script
a predictable way of communicating.
you don't deviate from the script.
embedded in gendered roles.
"I am communicating like this, and if i don't communicate like this, I have broken the script and therefore I've not done a good job of embodying that gendered role."
narrative theory
help us understand language and gender.
we understand that people will understand themselves in their world through storytelling. Stories are very important to gender.... "let me tell you my story" and also a way to understand history
differ from gender
Nonverbal communication functions
1. supplement verbal communication (nodding your head)
2. regulate interaction (raising your hand)
3. establish relationship levels of meaning (leaning in to imply liking)
paralanguage
vocal cues in expression of language; nonverbal dimensions of voice such as tone, pitch, rate
haptics
ways people touch each other
-men's touch more controlling; boys touched less than girls, with more control
-women's touch more affiliative, more often comforting
proxemics
use of space around our bodies
-women take up less space than men; this gendering happens early
-territoriality: how space is marked out and owned, related to gender.
artifacts
personal objects we surround ourselves with or wear; clothing, art, car, furniture.
this gendering happens early
kinesics
face and body movements;
women expected to smile, associated with femininity.
physical characteristics
our physical appearance; body and beauty ideals for men and women.
Performativity and Passing
Butler: proposes theory of performativity linked to nonverbal communication; repetition of body and doing.
Squires and Brouwer: describe "passing" - how we nonverbally perform gender when our body is perceived as the sex/gender identity of our choice; "dupe" accepts this gendered performance that resists binary definitions of gender.
Gender and Value
women: valued more for nonverbal displays of connection and communality
men: valued more for nonverbal displays of autonomy and agency
biological sex
our innate biological characteristics that a body has when it's born.
"sex" refers to biological differences between male and females
-chromosomes (female XX, male XY)
-reproductive organs (ovaries, testes)
-hormones (estrogen, testosterone) [Show Less]