COM221 Group Presentation 1 PDF

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COM221 Group Presentation 1...

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Group 4 Members:

Prompt: Consider the notion that “male” and “female” are different cultures. First, explain what is meant by that idea, making reference to the concepts of speech communities and gender clash in your explanation. Next, articulate a reasoned argument in favor of that idea (i.e., why we should consider the genders to be different cultures), and finally, articulate a reasoned argument against it.

Male and Female Culture

Communication is a broad term used to describe a very complex and extensive value that is so important to us as humans in our everyday lives. Along with communication, comes culture. More specifically several, unique, contrasting cultures. Each of these cultures contains their own set of values and importance that are essential. Males and Females can be considered two different cultures. In the text Interpersonal Communication, written by Kory Floyd, Floyd

attempts to shed light on the ideas behind culture when he states “ ...culture isn’t a property of countries or ethnicities or economic classes; rather it’s a property of people. Each of us identifies with one or more groups that have a common culture comprising a shared language, values, beliefs, traditions, and customs” (Floyd, 35). Based on this insight, the male and female genders as a whole can absolutely be considered different cultures. Each of these cultures is diverse and foreign to the other in a variety of ways, not just in language, values or customs. We as humans are only aware and conscious of the culture that we currently belong to, and often lack the understanding and perception of the fact that our culture is not the only existent culture. When terms such as male and female or even masculine and feminine are used, we are recognizing each as a its own unique culture. Each of these cultures comes with a set of cultural norms and what may be considered a norm to one, may not be to another. The values that are held within a culture are just one of the several differences that divides them. As Professor Vince Petronio mentioned with reference to Venn diagrams in his first podcast, two divergent cultures have large areas of dissimilarity from one another and very small sections of overlap and common ground. This overlap may show understanding but not necessarily agreement between cultures (Petronio, V. (2016) Com 221 Interpersonal Communication: Intro To Class and Chapter 1). This group assignment will highlight what it means for males and females to have different cultures, along with arguments that both support and oppose the concept. As a group, we believe that “male” and “female” are traditionally separate cultures. Floyd writes, “Expectations for male and female behavior make up a culture’s gender roles, or norms for how females and males are supposed to act. In the United States, for instance, by tradition men are the breadwinners, and women are the homemakers. Men are supposed to be interested in cars, sports, and guns; women, to like shopping, cooking, and childrearing” (Floyd, 52). These

“gender roles” highlight the difference in mindset when thinking about males and females. Relating to the Venn diagram drawn in the podcast, men and women have many different characteristics, but they do overlap in some areas of similarity. However, this is not the case for all males and females. There are some men or women who can possess both male and female characteristics. “Androgynous” is a term that refers to a male or female who possesses both male and female characteristics. “Being androgynous does not mean that a person tries to look, act, or sound like the other sex, and it is not necessarily related to sexuality. Androgynous individuals are in touch with both masculine and feminine traits, able to behave in either masculine or feminine ways, depending on what the situation calls for” (Floyd, 53). Gender roles are not permanent. Like most things, gender roles change and evolve over time. In the 50s, nobody would have thought that one day we’d have women running to be President of the United States. Today, however, it is almost certain that we will eventually have a female president. Traditionally men and women are separate cultures, but tradition is never set in stone. Traditions die out, and new traditions take their place. These new traditions are the men and women of tomorrow, and the new cultural norms that they bring with them. According to Interpersonal Communications, written by Kory Floyd, the word “culture” is defined as “a system of learned and shared symbols, language, values and norms that distinguish one group of people from another” (Floyd, 36). Thoughts, traditions and habits are created through one’s culture, which then influences the way in which a person views the outside world. Many individuals view their own culture as “good,” and may view other cultures as “different.” Page 36 of Floyd’s text labels these views as “in-group” and “out-group.” These two terms distinguish cultural aspects people identify with versus cultural aspects people view as different (Floyd, 36). According to the same text, “gender” is a term that encompasses gender

roles, sexual orientation and biological sex (Floyd, 52). The concept of “gender” is broken down into male and female, which is then further distinguished as “feminine” and “masculine,” which can be seen as two different ends of a continuum. Similar to how cultures have their own system, each gender embodies their own set of rules, thought processes and communication methods. Additionally, much like how a person will distinguish cultures outside of their own as different, a person of one gender can distinguish the other gender as different. Each gender is brought up in a specified manner, most commonly following either feminine roles if born as female and masculine roles if born as male. Femininity and masculinity are yet another concept seen as two different spectrums of a continuum. With each gender comes specified gender roles and communication methods. For example, a female who was taught to identify with feminine characteristics may value communicating emotions more openly, while a male taught to identify with masculine characteristics may value expression through activities such as sports (Floyd, 57). Because of all of the listed aspects, gender and biological sex can feel so different that they feel like two different cultures, which results in a clash between the two genders. Our gender roles also greatly influence the way we communicate. Stereotypically, males learn to practice instrumental talk which means their verbal communication is to the point and meant to solve problems (Floyd, 59). However, females are taught to practice expressive talk which means they use communication to express emotions and build relationships (Floyd, 59). As mentioned in the previous paragraph, we as humans often experience gender clash when communicating with the other gender because their way of communicating does not match up with yours. These methods of speech are taught early on in childhood when playing with friends. Normally, children play with others of the same gender and behave in the same manner. Boys will play sports and Legos, encouraging to-the-point language and structure. Girls will play

house, dolls, and jump rope encouraging expressiveness, cooperation, and sensitivity (Floyd, 60). Both genders have a very different “speech community,” which guides the way we learn to communicate. All of the differentiations taught from young to distinguish “males” from “females” creates this notion that the two genders are different by nature. When people are different, this usually means they live a different life, which can be seen as their culture. Males and females should be identifiable as having different cultures. For example, females are more nurturing, caring to others, helpful, and sympathetic. Males tend to feel like they are more dominant, take control over the household, support the family and are more independent. Due to these instinctive roles that each gender plays, there are different cultures that each gender is used to. The text mentions, “In a highly masculine culture, people tend to cherish traditionally masculine values, such as ambition, achievement and the acquisition of material goods” (Floyd, 34). As for women, the book states, “In a highly feminine culture, people tend to value nurturance, quality of life, and service to others, all of which are stereotypically feminine qualities” (Floyd, 34). These quotes from the book help to support the idea that since males and females are different by nature, they are going to have different cultures by which they live. Some countries have stronger perceptions on whether or not they want to be following the idea of separate cultures for males and females. For example, Sweden, Chile, and the Netherlands have stronger feminine cultures while the countries that have strong masculine cultures are Austria, Japan, and Mexico. The United States also has a strong masculine culture, however, it is not as strong as the other countries previously mentioned. It is important to allow men and women to differentiate their cultures so that the world can have both roles, working together in order to form a more effective community and society.

Another example of why males and females need to have their own cultures and should be recognized as different is because we see our genders as different people. Males and Females act differently in their day-to-day lives. They act differently to the outside world, whether it be in their family, people they work with, and any other types of interaction. In the current day, we see a lot of men being CEO’s and having high positions in companies. This is not for a bad reason, but is likely due to their natural habits of having power and being in control. Women are working their way up in terms of gaining high position jobs. However, we see a lot of women taking care of their children, working from home, cleaning and cooking, and taking care of the household itself. There are things that both males and females are good at doing individually, and when brought together society functions more efficiently. It is important to realize that each gender has their differences in order to be able to accept everyone. Different cultures within a gender do not necessarily mean that there are designated roles that need to be followed by each gender, but they should be embraced. After reading both chapters, it may be easy for some to distinguish the idea of males and females having different cultures as inaccurate. There’s a distinct difference in genders in regards to how males look from females and cultures are unable to share two sides if they are to be categorized accordingly with no sex-specific idea in regards to culture. Referring back to Floyd's definition of culture, he states that culture is, “…learned and shared symbols, language, values, and norms that distinguish one group of people from another” (Floyd, 36). Within a culture, individuals are able to share and communicate in ways that they share similar traits on how they were to act within their group socially, their values, and beliefs. Within both cultures of male and female, you can share identical values of the culture in a simple way that each sex shares similar values and norms. A shared culture is reliant on the way we were raised. Listening to the podcast

with the idea that cultures share symbols like the American Flag or a sports team one would represent is under the idea of shared values. Both sexes have the ability to do similar acts of symbolism without being placed in a different category of culture. A culture shares “norm” like being apart of a social group without associating oneself being either male or female. Culture isn't gender reliant, culture is simply how we look at reality and how we share that reality with those around us. According to Interpersonal Communication, Floyd goes over communication in regards to culture. Communication affects how we express ourselves to others and communicating with different genders can be difficult. How we communicate does depend on culture, but it is more so how we use language depending on our age, ethnicity, or race. Floyd states “gender roles are never set in stone. Like most roles, they change over time, and they vary from culture to culture” (Floyd, 55). In Floyd's case stating such a strong statement in a few words proves that gender roles are constantly changing and aren’t as specific when it comes to culture. Culture is a group of people within a wide range, not specific on gender but more on an individual’s values, how they grew up and how they were raised. People are born into a culture in which they grow up in, making it hard to change characteristics associated with a larger group based on ideas larger than gender-specific cultures.

Citation Floyd, K. 2017. Interpersonal Communication (3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Petronio, V. (2016) Com 221 Interpersonal Communication: Intro To Class and Chapter 1...