The following post is my analysis of authors, Tony Kornheiser and Deborah Cameron in their works: "No Detail Is Too Small for Girls Answering a Simple Question," and "What Language Barrier?" listed respectively. I received an A, tell me what you think!
The world revolves around human
interaction and communication. The power
of language gives individuals the opportunity to express who they are, what
they think, and how they feel. It is
thought that males and females have different ways of exchanging words. It seems illogical to believe that all men
and women can be categorized by the stereotypes that women are more talkative
than males; however the stereotypes seem to be accurate according to many. Feminist linguist and professor, Deborah
Cameron and author and radio host, Tony Kornheiser explore the different
stereotypes of men and women communication.
While Cameron refers to this claim as “the myth of Mars and Venus”,
Kornheiser argues that the two sexes do not converse the same way. Men and women experience a classic divide in
communication, but Cameron disagrees.
Women are not biologically inclined to be more talkative, she claims it
is a social constructed theory.
In “No Detail Is Too Small for Girls
Answering a Simple Question,” Tony Kornheiser claims men and women clearly do
not speak the same language. His
argument is based on his own experience raising his two children and how they
interact differently. Kornheiser
suggests that women put more emphasis on details and description, where men are
more concerned with the hard facts. He
explains how women accumulate and retain facts in their daily lives, “they
gather information and dispense it without discrimination. Everything counts the same” (279). According to Kornheiser, women find it difficult
to sort through details and prioritize based on importance. He believes that women find the need to share
everything that they know in order to get their point across. What he neglects to recognize is the
difference in personality. All men do
not have stern and serious characters, just as women may not necessarily be
talkative and outgoing. Kornheiser
reflects on conversations he had with his son and daughter about summer
camp. His son gave him a short and sweet
answer about his summer camp experience, while his daughter had a lengthy
description about her stay. Kornheiser
tries to use this example as proof that his theory about communicating is
valid. The example is extremely biased
since it involves his own children. The
conversations with his children could be interpreted differently by another
point of view. It is possible that
Kornheiser had raised his children according to the stereotype, and as a result
they live up to his expectations.
Deborah Cameron presents five claims
that promote the myth that women and men speak differently. All assertions seem to complement
Kornheiser’s theories; however, Cameron questions their validity. The first claim, “language and communication
matter more to women than to men; women talk more than men” (271) describes men
as being indifferent to communication.
It is unfair to assume that men do not find communication to be
important. Without communication many
people would not be successful.
Individuals from both sexes have mastered the art of communication. The idea that women talk more than men
confirms Kornheiser’s idea about the different communication levels, but it
lacks interpretation and confirmation from other sources. The second and third claims seem to
contradict themselves; women have more verbal skills than men and men talk
about getting things done, compared to women who only talk about making
connections with people. If women are
seen as having more skills in communicating, then does this mean we hold making
connections on a higher pedestal than “getting things done”? Women are described as only talking about
“people, relations and feelings,” (271) but do those topics really constitute as being better
communicators? The fourth claim is that
men use language in competitive ways while women use it in cooperative
ways. This implies that women are not
competitors, which is a false statement.
The last claim says, “These differences routinely lead to
‘miscommunication’ between the sexes, with each sex misinterpreting the other’s
intentions. This causes problems in
contexts where men and women regularly interact…” (271). This claim coincides
with Kornheiser’s “No Detail Is Too Small for Girls Answering a Simple
Question”. When he had asked his
daughter how summer camp was, he did not intend on having an in-depth
conversation about it. Although he was
under the impression that their conversation would be short and to the point,
his daughter interpreted his question as a long conversation starter. Kornheiser does not consider misinterpretation
as a reason to why he received two different types of responses from his
children. All five claims generalize men
and women and make an assumption that every individual is the same.
The stereotypes of communication
within the sexes still exist because of individuals like Tony Kornheiser who
refuse to accept that not all men and women are the same. He makes assertions like, “they [women] don’t think life is as simple as
men do, and so they are fascinated by the multiplicity of choices that they
see” (279). This is such a bold
statement to assume that women are distracted by the countless possibilities of
the world. Men and women live in the
same world, with the same multiplicity of choices. He does not build his credibility with facts
or studies done to prove that his theory is correct. His claim is one-sided and lacks authority. Deborah Cameron says, “The folk-belief that
women talk more than men persists because it provides a justification for an
ingrained social prejudice” (277). I
agree with her statement, especially because she explores different viewpoints,
studies, and theories about the language barriers. It is unreasonable to believe that all women
can be categorized under one label: talkative. Cameron insists that this belief
still remains today because it upholds present ideas about our society. Individuals find it to be politically correct
to assume women communicate differently than men. It is an unfair assumption that should not be
considered the norm.
The two articles by Tony Kornheiser
and Deborah Cameron vary in theory. Is
it a coincidence that their rhetorical approach is different because one author
is a male while the other is a female?
Their discourse may be different because of their occupation, education,
or cultural upbringing. All men and
women should be regarded in this way. Both
sexes communicate the same way; there is just a difference in
interpretation. Kornheiser concludes
that “women have more to say on everything,” (278) but does not display the
evidence to prove this. Many theories
will remain about the differences in communication within the sexes, but it may
be impossible to come to one consensus since it would be unfeasible to conduct
a study on every man and woman in the world.
I agree with Deborah Cameron that many theories are merely myths that
have lived on within our society.
Works
Cited
Cameron,
Deborah. "What Language Barrier?" Exploring Language. Ed. Gary Goshgarian. 13th ed. Boston:
Pearson/Longman, 2012. 269-278. Print.
Kornheiser,
Tony. "No Detail Is Too Small for Girls Answering a Simple Question" Exploring Language. Ed. Gary
Goshgarian. 13th ed. Boston:
Pearson/Longman, 2012. 278-279. Print.
