Gender Communication Differences (Essay Sample)

Communication is how thoughts and information are passed from one individual to another. Therefore gender communication is the differences in communication due to ecology and others use it to signify differences that result from collective, emotional and cultural relations. Gender disparity in communication can pose troubles especially in interpersonal relations which will ultimately lead to prejudice, hatred, strain and low productivity.
Social and cultural norms can significantly influence both the expression of gender identity, and the nature of the interactions between genders.
Differences between "gender cultures" influence the way that people of different genders communicate. These differences begin at childhood. Maltz and Broker's research showed that the games children play contribute to socializing children into masculine and feminine cultures. For example, girls playing house promotes personal relationships, and playing house does not necessarily have fixed rules or objectives. Boys, however, tend to play more competitive team sports with different goals and strategies. These differences as children cause women to operate from assumptions about communication, and use rules for communication that differ significantly from those endorsed by most men.
Masculine and feminine cultures and individuals generally differ in how they communicate with others. For example, feminine people tend to self-disclose more often than masculine people, and in more intimate details. Likewise, feminine people tend to communicate more affection, and with greater intimacy and confidence than masculine people. Generally speaking, feminine people communicate more and prioritize communication more than masculine people.
Traditionally, masculine people and feminine people communicate with people of their own gender in different ways. Masculine people form friendships with other masculine people based on common interests, while feminine people build friendships with other feminine people based on mutual support. However, both genders initiate opposite-gender friendships based on the same factors. These factors include proximity, acceptance, effort, communication, common interests, affection and novelty.
In contrast, feminine people are more likely to communicate weakness and vulnerability. In fact, they may seek out friendships more in these times. For this reason, feminine people often feel closer to their friends than masculine people do. Feminine people tend to value their friends for listening and communicating non-critically, communicating support, communicating feelings of enhanced self-esteem, communicating validation, offering comfort and contributing to personal growth. Feminine people tend to communicate with each other face-to-face (e.g., meeting together to talk over lunch) .
A communication culture is a group of people with an existing set of norms regarding how they communicate with each other. These cultures can be categorized as masculine or feminine. Gender cultures are primarily created and sustained by interaction with others. Through communication we learn about what qualities and activities our culture prescribes to our sex. While it is commonly believed that our sex is the root source of differences and how we relate and communicate to others, it is actually gender that plays a larger role. Whole cultures can be broken down into masculine and feminine, each differing in how they get along with others through different styles of communication. Julia T. Wood's studies explain that "communication produces and reproduces cultural definitions of masculinity and femininity. Masculine and feminine cultures differ dramatically in when, how, and why they use communication. Biology and brain structure account for the differences in gender communication where’s the structural difference in brain of male and the females explains behavior in cognitive processes which accounts for the superior performance by women on verbal and memory tasks related tasks.
In conclusion Men tend to talk more than women in public situations, but women tend to talk more than men at home. Again Women are more inclined to face each other and make eye contact when talking, while men are more likely to look away from each other.
Bibliography
Nadler, Lawrence B., Marjorie Keeshan Nadler, and William R. Todd-Mancillas. 1987. Advances in gender and communication research. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.
Kay E. 2001. Different but equal: communication between the sexes. Westport, Conn. [u.a.]: Praeger.