Gendered Lives (Non-InfoTrac Version)

by Wood, Julia T.

• ISBN13: 9780534571627
• ISBN10: 053457162X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-04-06
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing

Summary

Written by the leading gender communication scholar, this text introduces students to theories, research, and pragmatic information that demonstrate the multiple, often interactive ways in which gender images of masculinity and femininity are shaped within contemporary culture.

Author Biography

Julia T. Wood is the Lineberger Distinguished Professor of Humanities and Professor of Communication Studies at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Julia T. Wood joined the Department of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill at the age of 24. She is now a professor in that department, where she teaches courses and conducts research on gender, communication, and culture, and on communication in personal relationships. During her career, she has authored 15 books and edited 8 others. In addition, she has published more than 70 articles and book chapters and has presented numerous papers at professional conferences. She has won 8 awards for undergraduate teaching and 8 awards for her scholarship

Table of Contents

Introduction: Opening the Conversation	p. 1
The Social Construction of Inequality	p. 2
Feminism--Feminisms	p. 4
Becoming Aware	p. 6
Why I Wrote this Book	p. 8
Communication as the Fulcrum of Change	p. 10
The Challenge of Studying Communication, Gender, and Culture	p. 11
Discussion Questions	p. 12
Conceptual Foundations
The Study of Communication, Gender, and Culture	p. 14
Communication, Gender, and Culture as an Area of Study	p. 15
Knowledge of Gender, Communication, and Culture	p. 15
Student Interest	p. 15
The Value of Studying Communication, Gender, and Culture	p. 15
The Meaning of Gender in a Transitional Era	p. 16
Confusing Attitudes	p. 16
Differences Between Women and Men	p. 18
Relationships Among Gender, Culture, and Communication	p. 19
Gender and Sex	p. 19
Sex	p. 20
Gender	p. 22
Culture	p. 28
Communication	p. 30
Communication is a dynamic process	p. 31
Communication is systemic	p. 31
Communication has two levels of meaning	p. 32
Meanings are created through human interaction with symbols	p. 33
Summary	p. 35
Discussion Questions	p. 36
Theoretical Approaches to Gender Development	p. 38
Theoretical Approaches to Gender	p. 40
Biological Influences on Gender	p. 40
Interpersonal Influences on Gender	p. 45
Psychodynamic theory of gender development	p. 46
Psychological theories of gender development	p. 48
Cultural Influences on Gender	p. 51
Anthropology	p. 52
Symbolic interactionism	p. 53
Standpoint theory	p. 57
Summary	p. 61
Discussion Questions	p. 61
The Rhetorical Shaping of Gender: Women's, Men's, and Gender Movements in America	p. 63
Women's Movements	p. 64
The First Wave of Women's Movements in the United States	p. 65
Women's rights movement	p. 65
The cult of domesticity	p. 67
The Second Wave of Women's Movements in the United States	p. 69
Radical feminism	p. 69
Liberal feminism	p. 71
Separatism	p. 75
Structural feminists	p. 76
Lesbian feminists	p. 77
Revalorists	p. 78
Womanists	p. 79
Power feminism	p. 81
The Third Wave of Women's Movements in the United States	p. 84
Men's Movements	p. 87
Profeminist Men's Movements	p. 88
Promasculinist Men's Movements	p. 91
Free men	p. 92
Mythopoetic men	p. 93
Promise Keepers	p. 96
Million Man March	p. 98
Other Movements Focused on Gender	p. 100
The Backlash	p. 100
Ecofeminism	p. 102
Summary	p. 104
Discussion Questions	p. 105
Gendered Verbal Communication	p. 107
The Nature of Human Communication	p. 108
Verbal Communication Expresses Cultural Views of Gender	p. 108
Language Defines Gender	p. 109
Male generic language excludes women	p. 109
Language defines men and women differently	p. 111
Language names what exists	p. 113
Language Organizes Perceptions of Gender	p. 115
Stereotyping gender	p. 115
Encouraging polarized thinking	p. 116
Language Evaluates Gender	p. 117
Language Enables Hypothetical Thought	p. 118
Language Allows Self-Reflection	p. 119
Language Is a Process	p. 120
Gendered Interaction: Masculine and Feminine Styles of Verbal Communication	p. 120
Gendered Speech Communities	p. 121
The Lessons of Childplay	p. 122
Boys' games	p. 122
Girls' games	p. 123
Gendered Communication Practices	p. 125
Women's speech	p. 125
Men's speech	p. 128
Misinterpretations Between Women and Men	p. 130
Showing support	p. 130
"Troubles talk"	p. 131
The point of the story	p. 132
Relationship talk	p. 133
Public speaking	p. 133
Summary	p. 134
Discussion Questions	p. 135
Gendered Nonverbal Communication	p. 137
Functions of Nonverbal Communication	p. 138
Nonverbal Communication Can Supplement Verbal Communication	p. 138
Non verbal Communication Can Regulate Interaction	p. 139
Nonverbal Communication Can Establish the Relationship Level of Meaning	p. 139
Responsiveness	p. 139
Liking	p. 142
Power or control	p. 143
Forms of Nonverbal Communication	p. 143
Artifacts	p. 144
Proximity and Personal Space	p. 146
Haptics (Touch)	p. 148
Kinesics (Facial and Body Motion)	p. 149
Paralanguage	p. 150
Physical Characteristics	p. 151
Implications of Gendered Nonverbal Communication	p. 157
The Cultural Context of Nonverbal Communication	p. 157
Respecting Differences in Nonverbal Communication	p. 159
Summary	p. 160
Discussion Questions	p. 161
Gendered Communication in Practice
Gendered Family Dynamics	p. 163
Entering a Gendered Society	p. 164
Self-as-Object	p. 164
Monitoring	p. 165
Gendering Communication in the Family	p. 165
Unconscious Processes: Identification and Internalization	p. 166
Ego Boundaries	p. 170
Parental Attitudes About Gender	p. 172
Parental Communication About Gender	p. 173
Parental Modeling	p. 175
Different Contributions of Mothers and Fathers	p. 177
The Personal Side of the Gender Drama	p. 179
Growing Up Masculine	p. 179
Growing Up Feminine	p. 183
Summary	p. 190
Discussion Questions	p. 191
Gendered Close Relationships	p. 193
The Meaning of Personal Relationships	p. 194
Defining Personal Relationships	p. 194
Gender and Closeness	p. 195
Male deficit model	p. 195
Alternate paths model	p. 196
Gendered Friendships	p. 198
Commonalities in Women's and Men's Friendships	p. 198
Differences Between Women's and Men's Friendships	p. 198
Women's Friendships: Closeness in Dialogue	p. 199
Men's Friendships: Closeness in the Doing	p. 201
Friendships Between Women and Men	p. 203
Gendered Romantic Relationships	p. 205
Developing Romantic Intimacy	p. 206
Engaging in Committed Relationships	p. 208
Gendered modes of expressing care	p. 208
Gendered preferences for autonomy and connection	p. 210
Gendered responsibility for relational health	p. 212
Gendered power dynamics	p. 212
Summary	p. 218
Discussion Questions	p. 219
Gendered Education: Communication in School Settings	p. 221
The Organization of Schools	p. 223
Schools Perpetuate Gender Inequities	p. 223
Schools Limit Career Aspirations	p. 224
Schools Have Few Female and Minority Role Models	p. 224
Curricular Content	p. 226
Misrepresentation of White Men as Standard	p. 226
The Invisibility of Women	p. 227
Misrepresentation of Human Experiences	p. 229
Educational Processes	p. 230
Unequal Attention to Male and Female Students	p. 230
Not Taking Women Students Seriously	p. 231
Classroom Communication	p. 232
Gender biases in teachers' communication	p. 232
Communication among peers	p. 236
Instructional style	p. 237
Summary	p. 240
Discussion Questions	p. 241
Gendered Organizational Communication	p. 243
Institutional Stereotypes of Women and Men	p. 244
Stereotypes of Women	p. 244
Sex object	p. 244
Mother	p. 245
Child	p. 246
Iron maiden	p. 248
Stereotypes of Men	p. 249
Sturdy oak	p. 249
Fighter	p. 249
Breadwinner	p. 250
Evaluation of Stereotypes	p. 252
Misunderstandings of Professional Communication	p. 252
Male Standards in Institutions	p. 252
Masculine Definitions of Professional Communication	p. 254
Static (or Unchanging) Views of Communication	p. 256
Misperceptions of Men's and Women's Ability to Work Together	p. 258
Gendered Communication Systems in Organizations	p. 259
Leave Policies and Work Schedules	p. 259
Leave policies	p. 259
Work schedules	p. 261
Communication Climates in Organizations	p. 263
Hostile environments for women	p. 263
The informal network	p. 264
Mentor relationships	p. 265
Glass Ceilings--and Walls?	p. 266
Efforts to Redress Gendered Inequity in Institutions	p. 267
Equal Opportunity Laws	p. 268
Affirmative Action Policies	p. 269
Quotas and Goals	p. 271
Quotas	p. 271
Goals	p. 272
Increasing Sensitivity to Gender Issues	p. 274
Summary	p. 275
Discussion Questions	p. 276
Gendered Media: Media's Influence on Gender	p. 279
The Prevalence of Media in Cultural Life	p. 280
Themes in Media	p. 281
Underrepresentation of Women and Minorities	p. 281
Stereotypical Portrayals of Men and Women	p. 283
Stereotypical portrayals of men	p. 283
Stereotypical portrayals of women	p. 285
Stereotypical Images of Relationships Between Men and Women	p. 287
Women's dependence/men's independence	p. 287
Women's incompetence/men's authority	p. 289
Women as primary caregivers/men as breadwinners	p. 290
Women as victims and sex objects/men as aggressors	p. 292
Bias in News Coverage	p. 294
Implications of Media Representations of Gender	p. 298
Fostering Unrealistic and Limited Gender Ideals	p. 298
Pathologizing the Human Body	p. 300
Normalizing Violence Against Women	p. 304
Summary	p. 305
Discussion Questions	p. 306
Gendered Power and Violence	p. 308
The Social Construction of Gendered Violence	p. 309
The Many Faces of Gendered Violence	p. 310
Gender Intimidation	p. 310
Sexual Assault	p. 311
Abuse Between Intimates	p. 314
Sexual Harassment	p. 319
Quid pro quo	p. 320
Hostile environment	p. 320
Whose perspective counts?	p. 321
Genital Mutilation	p. 322
Male circumcision	p. 322
Sunna	p. 322
Excision or clitoridectomy	p. 323
Infibulation	p. 323
Gender-Based Murder	p. 326
Social Foundations of Gendered Violence	p. 327
Normalization of Violence in Media	p. 328
Normalization of Violence by Institutions	p. 329
Family	p. 329
Law enforcement	p. 330
Counseling	p. 331
Language	p. 332
Resisting Gendered Violence: Where Do We Go from Here?	p. 333
Personal Efforts to Reduce Gendered Violence	p. 333
Social Efforts to Reduce Gendered Violence	p. 334
Summary	p. 336
Discussion Questions	p. 337
Epilogue: Looking Backward, Looking Forward	p. 339
The Cultural Construction and Reconstruction of Gender	p. 340
Looking Backward, Looking Forward	p. 341
Communication	p. 341
Women's communication	p. 341
Men's communication	p. 342
Gender and communication in the future	p. 342
Women's and Men's Movements	p. 342
Liberal feminism	p. 342
The future of feminism	p. 343
Men's movements	p. 343
Gender in Education	p. 344
Reducing gender discrimination	p. 344
Future gender issues in education	p. 344
Gender in Media	p. 345
Changes in women in media	p. 345
Mediated gender in the future	p. 346
Liberal and structural feminist views of women	p. 346
Gender in Personal Relationships	p. 348
Changes in gender relations	p. 348
Addressing gender divisions	p. 348
Gender and Violence	p. 350
Gender in Institutional Settings	p. 351
Women's positions in institutions	p. 351
Valuing diversity in institutional life	p. 352
Social support for families	p. 352
Creating the Future	p. 352
Defining Masculinity and Femininity	p. 353
Responding to Differences	p. 354
Redefining Culture	p. 355
Taking a Voice	p. 356
Discussion Questions	p. 357
Glossary	p. 359
References	p. 365
Index	p. 411
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