Justin Charlebois
Mar 21, 2016
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Abstract
This entry discusses the relationship between gender and communication style. There is a tendency to distinguish between discretely masculine and feminine communication styles that are supposedly predetermined by biological sex. Gender miscommunication theory or a cultural differences approaches posits that men and women possess different assumptions about communication and thus draw on distinctly gendered communication styles in social interaction, which often results in systematic miscommunication. This entry argues that, while masculine and feminine communication styles exist, individuals can and do draw on both styles. Not only gender but also age, ethnicity/race, sexuality, social class, and the communicative context all potentially influence the communication style a speaker deploys. Communication styles are flexible discursive resources that speakers accept, contest, or even reformulate in social interaction. This entry discusses three empirical studies that demonstrate how speakers use gendered communication styles in specific social contexts and dispel the validity of gender miscommunication theory. Keywords: discourse; evolutionary psychology; gender