Q&A Hero

Q: Stereotype

Q: Male generic language

Q: Compare and contrast the rules of communication that are promoted in games typically played by boys and games typically played by girls. Discuss the implications of these games for communication by adult women and men.

Q: One of the connections between language and gender identified in your textbook is that language evaluates gender. What implications does this insight have for individuals’ language use?

Q: Your friend Marcie tells you that she is frustrated with her boyfriend. She says, “Lucas never wants to talk about us—really he doesn’t want to talk about anything! His idea of a great time together is going to a basketball game. Honestly, why doesn’t he realize that talk is the basis of a relationship?” Given what you know about speech communities and models of closeness, how might you respond to Marcie about her assumptions and alternatives she might make instead? Be sure to use specific terms and material from class.

Q: When home on break, you hear a friend use male-generic language. When you tell your friend it is sexist, your friend wants to know why. Based on what you have learned in this class, how might you explain to your friend that using such language is problematic?

Q: Wood argues that language defines men and women differently. Explain the different ways men and women are defined and provide examples to support your claims.

Q: Speech community

Q: Which of the following are metaphors that seek to recognize diversity in the United States without obscuring difference? A. a melting pot B. a cake mix C. a Venn diagram D. a quilt E. all of the above

Q: Speakers socialized in a masculine speech community tend to use talk to gain and show status.

Q: Which of the following statements about difference does your book support? A. Difference causes strife in organizations. B. We should seek to minimize differences and emphasize commonalities. C. Diversity already exists, and it can be a tool to enrich relationships and organizations. D. Diversity is declining in the United States. E. The melting pot is the best metaphor to describe difference in the United States.

Q: Children’s play is very important in how they become socialized into speech communities.

Q: Masculine speech community members are less likely than feminine speech community members to want to talk about the “state of the relationship.”

Q: The current generation will have very little opportunity to enact change concerning gender.

Q: Women tend to interrupt others more than men.

Q: Differences are valuable and desirable.

Q: Research has shown people think male generic language includes men and women.

Q: Agenda-setting is an important way to influence cultural views of gender.

Q: Making time to think about issues raised in this book is part of developing your voice.

Q: Tag question

Q: Direct power

Q: The common belief that women are more talkative than men is supported by research.

Q: Your Gendered Lives textbook states that the forms of influence you have on cultural views of gender include A. individual choice, policy change, and political movements. B. traitorous identity, teaching children, and empowering others. C. addressing backlash, profeminist movements, and feminist movements. D. direct power, agenda setting, and voice. E. participating in backlash, personal choice, and agenda setting.

Q: Girls’ games tend to lack clear structure and external goals.

Q: In general, feminine speech community members follow this/these communication practice(s): A. Language is used to show one’s status. B. Communication is used as primary way to establish and maintain relationships. C. Direct, abstract speech is used frequently. D. Language tends to be used to accomplish an instrumental task. E. Language is used to maintain control of the conversation.

Q: Define informed consent. Do you think this is an appropriate definition of informed consent? Why or why not?

Q: Which of the following is true of masculine speech community members? A. They tend to regard language as important for accomplishing instrumental tasks, gaining status, and maintaining control of the conversation. B. Only men are masculine speech community members. C. They do not think talking is important. D. They are not as skilled at using language as members of female speech communities. E. All of the above

Q: What is rape culture? How does it affect victims of sexual assault? What should be done to eradicate this problem in our culture?

Q: Women who are effective public speakers tend to A. adopt a masculine style of speaking. B. adopt a feminine style of speaking. C. adopt a style of speaking that balances masculine and feminine stylistic factors. D. adopt a style of speaking that is gender neutral; there are no masculine or feminine aspects to their style. E. Women are almost never considered effective public speakers.

Q: As made clear by the material presented in your textbook, gendered violence is prevalent in the United States and around the world. What are some of the personal and social efforts we can engage in and/or support in an effort to lessen the prevalence of gendered violence?

Q: Topic or question should come from class business. See pages 7-8 of this manual for details on this activity.

Q: What is reproductive violence? What are some specific examples of reproductive violence in action?

Q: Topic or question should be authored by a student. See pages 7-8 of this manual for details on this activity. True/False

Q: Which of the following is true of relationships between individuals and cultural views of gender? A. Individuals may reinforce cultural views of gender. B. Individuals may embody cultural views of gender. C. Individuals may remake cultural views of gender. D. Individuals may challenge cultural views of gender. E. All of the above.

Q: The extent to which we speak in a masculine or a feminine style varies depending on context and other factors.

Q: Which of the following is true about taking voice and enacting change? A. Change comes primarily through the use of direct power – making people do what they would not do on their own. B. The only people with the ability to engage in agenda setting have formal power, such as newspaper editors and television producers. C. Taking voice and enacting change are processes. D. The responsibility for taking voice and enacting change around gender norms rests primarily with men. E. The responsibility for taking voice and enacting change around gender norms rests primarily with women.

Q: Masculine speakers tend to make eye contact, nod, and say things like “tell me more,” while speaking to others.

Q: Define gendered violence, and discuss the ways in which society normalizes gendered violence. Your essay should identify 3 specific social foundations or institutions that allow or encourage both women and men to regard certain kinds of gendered violence as normal or acceptable. Include concrete examples.

Q: “I had something similar happen to me and I totally understand how you feel” exemplifies what characteristic of feminine communication? A. verbal hedge B. establishing equality C. support for others D. personal, concrete style E. tag question

Q: Define sexual harassment. Then, identify and evaluate the two different legal forms of sexual harassment and standards for determining whether it occurred. Your response should explain which standard, if any, you favor and why.

Q: Gender intimidation

Q: Identify the goals and the beliefs of the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) and the White Ribbon Campaign (WRC). Then discuss similarities and differences between the two. Within your answer, define bystander behavior, indicate which group highlights this, and explain how the concept is relevant to thinking about our personal agency in shaping gendered attitudes and beliefs.

Q: Sexual assault

Q: Describe what is meant by a traitorous identity. Then, either hypothetically or from your own experience, describe a scenario in which someone performs a traitorous identity. Why do you think this behavior is difficult for some people? Why is it important to perform?

Q: Sexual harassment

Q: The Men’s Rights Movement argues that a number of contemporary policies and practices are discriminatory towards men; moreover, some men’s rights groups argue that feminism is at least partially responsible for the implementation of these practices and policies. Identify one contemporary policy or practice that men’s movements have identified as discriminatory and explain whether or not you agree with that classification.

Q: Quid pro quo

Q: Topic or question should come from class business. See pages 7-8 of this manual for details on this activity. Multiple Choice

Q: Intimate partner violence

Q: Neil Armstrong’s famous quote, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” is an example of A. male generic language. B. stereotyping. C. polarized thinking. D. verbal hedging. E. a tag question.

Q: “Corrective” rape

Q: Misinterpretations between people who are socialized into masculine speech communities and people who are socialized into feminine speech communities occur around the issue of showing support because A. feminine speakers want a matching of experience and masculine speakers give advice. B. feminine speakers find masculine speaker’s storytelling to be wandering and unfocused. C. feminine speakers think masculine speaker’s storytelling misses important details. D. feminine speakers are trying to make a point and masculine speakers try to upstage them. E. all of the above

Q: Rape culture

Q: Bystander behavior

Q: Femicide

Q: When men observe sexist or violent behavior aimed at women and do not intervene, they are enacting bystander behavior.

Q: Men’s rights activist

Q: Cycle of abuse

Q: NOMAS, MVP, and mythopoetics all agree that the current construction of masculinity can be harmful.

Q: Hostile environment harassment

Q: The Promise Keepers developed in response to a horrific act of violence against women that took place in Montreal (sometimes referred to as the Montreal Massacre).

Q: Infibulation

Q: Mentors in Violence Prevention

Q: Informed consent

Q: Mythopoetic men

Q: Pornography

Q: Traitorous identity

Q: Blaming the victim

Q: The Good Men Project

Q: Genital mutilation does not occur in the United States.

Q: Masculinist movements assert that men suffer from discrimination and that men need to reclaim their rightful status as men.

Q: Victims of battering would be safer if they left abusive relationships.

Q: Lewd remarks made in public spaces, while annoying, are not considered gendered violence.

Q: Intimate partner violence typically follows a cyclical pattern.

Q: Free Men believe that men are discriminated against, although not as much as women are.

Q: Sexual slavery is a thing of the past.

Q: Profeminists endeavor to cultivate emotions that they feel have been suppressed by masculine socialization.

Q: Children who grow up in families with one or more abusive adults are generally not affected by that violence.

Q: Mythopoetic men argue that modern men experience emotional emptiness related to yearning to be close to their fathers.

Q: State-funded programs to limit women’s rights to reproductive choice never existed in the United States.