Gender Communication Essay

The concept of gender is often poorly differentiated with sex, at times even being utilized synonymously with sex. The terminology gender commonly appears within both popular and academic discourses regarding social event dynamics. However, regardless of the form in which the term appears, authors seldom specify what they imply by the terminology. It is widely assumed that readers and listeners already comprehend the connotation and hence explanation is ruled out as being unnecessary. The sex/gender disparity embodies some feminists’ attempts at breaking the link between the organic sex category and the social gender category. As per this social molding viewpoint, gender refers to the customary sense which ultimately becomes dependently linked to the body. When gender becomes understood to be culturally molded, it becomes likely to evade the essentialist notion which suggests that gender emanates for the organic body (Clancy, 2004). However, despite the fact that the disparity between culturally molded gender responsibilities and ahistorical organic sexes attacks the idea that females’ organic configuration make up their social fate, it encounters some difficult dissociation of culturally-derived genders out of sexed bodies. Women and men exhibit dissimilar but similarly valid communication styles. The speaking modes displayed by both women and men have gender differentials. Essentialism belief holds that, since biological disparities between men and women exist, men and women are obviously dissimilar with regard to personality and character. Strict organic essentialism proposes that ones gender construction is not influenced by nurture. Essentialists assume men to be aggressive, strong, violent, logical, brave, lustful, independent and disciplined. Conversely, women are viewed as being passive, weak, cowardly, gentle, emotional, having no sexual appeal, having no stamina and self-control plus extremely invested in their associations with other persons. Aristotle suggested that men are more courageous, virtuous and noble as compared to women. The 1900s saw philosophers like John Locke and Emmanuel Kant argue that the social separation of female and male gender is reasonable owing to the innate disparities between female and male bodies. Scientist in the 1900s studied studies on female and male bodies and proposed that since male craniums were bigger in comparison to female craniums and feminine pelvises proved bigger than masculine pelvises, males are more suited for business, politics and general community life, whereas females whose little craniums supposedly signified lesser intellect, were most suitable to child bearing and home tending (http://www. humboldt. edu/~mpw1/gender_theory/perspectives4. shtml). The ramifications of essentialist gender perspectives are extensive. Conventional gender responsibilities are somewhat based upon some fundamental organic determinism; a viewpoint that views biology as being destiny. Consequently, females have had the principal responsibility of housework and parenting, with men being the wage earners. Even presently, males outnumber females in government and business and women and girls are not as powerfully urged to practice occupations in science, technology and math as are men and boys. Essentialists hold that gender is the same as sex, or that the two concepts are naturally-derived (God-given) and indivisible. Gender and observable sex indicators, such as, vagina and penis are inseparable. This theory holds that merely two gender types exist from birth and they are not altered throughout life. No continuum exists between these two genders since any appearances or behaviors not coherent with such suppositions are considered as being perverse. Essentialism holds that females are dissimilar with men owing to their anatomy, particularly their minor sex traits, hormones plus reproductive structures. Gender disparities in verbal capability and visuo-spatial, aggression plus other actions, as well as other mental and physical characteristics are attributed to pubertal or prenatal hormone contact. Essentialist stances may exist within developmental psychobiological, sociological, neuropsychological and ethological work. Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) female and male brain picture Disparities or other mental aspects, for instance, are at times regarded as mirroring inborn disparities. Gender disparities in spatial, verbal and Mathematical capabilities are usually regarded as being organically based (http://www. humboldt. edu/~mpw1/gender_theory/perspectives4. shtml). Constructivists hold that gender as well as sex are derived from social relations and do not exist without social contact. It admits social influences upon persons’ gender. It assumes that manhood or womanhood implies endorsing some general function unique to an individual’s sex. Personal uniqueness, sexual inclination, as well as modes of socially interacting is determined by some set of individual constructs. This implies that gender and sex do not have natural foundations because nature itself is essentially socially defined. The constructivist quality of Gender and sex is rendered invisible through typical social life dynamics and this makes the two notions seem natural as opposed to artificial (Gergen, 2007). Persons construct fresh knowledge, through assimilation and accommodation processes, out of the experiences they undergo. Assimilation involves integrating fresh experiences into previously existent frameworks with no alteration of such frameworks. Such events could happen when person’s experiences reflect their inner world representations; however, they may as well happen whenever alteration of some defective understanding happens, for instance persons may fail to detect events, could misinterpret others input, or could conclude that some occurrence is offer some unimportant information regarding the world. On the contrary, whenever persons’ experiences disagree with their inner representations, they could alter their viewpoints of such experiences with a view to conforming to their inner representations. Accommodation involves restructuring ones intellectual outside world interpretation to suit fresh experiences (Glasser, Smith, 2008). It is the means though which learning emanates from failure. When persons act based on the anticipation that the world functions in some specific way only for such expectations to be violated, such individuals usually fail. However, through accommodating such fresh experience as well as restructuring their model regarding the functioning of the world, persons learn through experiencing disappointment or the failure of others. . Constructivists suggest that gender representations systematize an individual’s personality uniqueness, social awareness and interpersonal actions. The notion of classifying as either female or male is the vital initial action in the classification of human beings following birth, and owing to contemporary technological advances, even some months prior to birth. Sexual inclination; whether bisexual, homosexual or heterosexual, at puberty it too viewed as a vital gender representation element that is vital to interpersonal actions and societal lives (Rosser, 2003). Men interact with the world as persons within hierarchical communal order whereby they are either placed down or up. Conversations in Such worlds comprise of negotiations whereby persons attempt to attain and uphold the dominant position when they can, as well as shield themselves from the attempts of others to shove them about and drag them down. Life, in such circumstances comprises of some contest or efforts to uphold autonomy and evade failure. Women approach the world as individual within some system of linkages. Ni such a world, dialogues comprise of consultations for intimacy whereby persons attempt to look for and offer support and confirmation, as well as to arrive at a consensus. Persons attempt to shield themselves from the attempts of others to drive them farther. Therefore, life consists of some community and efforts to uphold intimacy as well as evade segregation. Despite the fact that hierarchies exists in such world too, such hierarchies are associated more with friendship as opposed to accomplishment and power (http://openlearn. open. ac. uk/mod/resource/view. php? id=166569). Females too are inclined towards attaining status as well as evading failure, however, such objectives do not occupy all of their time, and women seem to seek for such goals while disguised as maintaining connection. Men too are inclined to attaining participation as well as evading segregation, however, they do not focus on such objectives; they seem to seek for them while disguised ads opposing them. Thus, Women and men seek entirely different entities during communication, and they as well functions as per varied rules. Men’s self-worth originates form the capacity to attain outcomes; whereas women’s self-esteem originates form her sensations as well as the fineness of their relationships. Therefore, women fair better in personal contact and communication; communication has primary significance (Armstrong, 2006). For womenfolk, relationships take precedence over technology and work. Individual expression, particularly regarding their emotions, is extremely crucial. Sharing of personal emotions has greater significance than attaining goals as well as success. Interpersonal contact and talk grants tremendous satisfaction. References Armstrong, A. (2006). Foucault and feminism. Retrieved on 25th May 2009 from . Clancy. (August 7th 2004). Essentialism: draft of 3W encyclopedia entry. Culturecat. Retrieved on May 25, 2009 from . Gergen, M. (2007). Positioning in general relations: from constructivism to constructionism. Retrieved on May 25, 2009 form . Glasser, H. M & Smith III, J. P (June 30th 2008). On the vague meaning of â€Å"gender† in education research: the problem, its source, and recommendations for practice. . Humbolt edu. Perspective used to look at gender. Retrieved on May 25, 2009