Gender is a social status. Conversation is a ritual, meaning it has a symbolic meaning. A role is society’s expectations for how we should behave. Read Deborah Tannen’s study on In this discussion assignment answer all of the following:
- What two different gender roles that men and women assume?
- How are gender roles played out in conversation rituals between men and women in the article? (Who, for instance talks more than the other or is this situational?)
- What other differences have you noticed between the way men and women communicate?
- What other ways do social statuses affect how we behave?
