Gendered Communication
Gendered communication focuses on how gendered beings communicate. It analyzes how different genders have been represented in history. It strives to change how people talk about others to create a safe and empathetic space for society. For instance, the LGBTQIA has created the word queer to refer to someone who is not straight. It is a self-proclamation word that can empower other people. Gender communication is defined as communication between and about men and women, which addresses the attention that people pay to how sexes are depicted, discussed, or referred to both verbally and nonverbally. It entails how members of different genders have interpersonal communication with others of similar or opposite gender.
Gendered terms are used in the society whereby the words men and women are used rather than male and female. Male and female entails the biological differences, which is essentially fixed while men and women refer to how one is regarded in a socially constructed community that conveys the cultural values and ideals of femininity and masculinity. I understand gender to be a social construction of femininity and masculinity, which should align with the designated sex at birth in a certain time period and specific culture. However, the sexual anatomy of the individual might fail to correspond with the gender identity of the person or fail to be expressed outwardly. This gives the difference between sex and gender, depicting that gender is socially constructed.
Language plays an important role in how people think and behave. The word choices show the unconscious assumptions about gender roles as well as the abilities of both men and women. Wrong word choices can be demeaning and discriminatory despite the intention. Such language hinders women’s empowerment effort. Communications are gender-sensitive, whereby men and women should be treated equally, challenge gender stereotypes, and create gender balance. In communication, both men and women communicate differently, whereby men use shoulder touches, back slaps, and pat to portray dominance in their communication while women touch or hug someone to build connection. Women use affirmative noises to show that they are listening and concentrating on the conversation, such as okay while men remain calm in conversations. Women are better in verbal tasks while the males are adapted to visual-spatial tasks, hence the reason they prefer actions to words.
Gendered communication course has helped me understand that males and females learn to communicate and make choices depending on their masculine and feminine styles. It has been vital in helping me change the way I address different genders in my daily life. The biological differences determine if one is male or female, and it is fixed, but one may change their designated sex to get gender identity. Gender communication shows the difference between sex and gender. People are generally born as male or female, but the environment and culture teach them to be either men or women, depending on the way they communicate and their gender roles in society. Men and women see the world from different perspectives hence the reason they have differences. I will improve my communication with different genders by using both verbal and nonverbal communication as they are affected and also affect gender.