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hey everyone!
i would like to discuss gender typical language..
some scientist say that language is social action..so in any conversation betwewn a man and a woman, power issues are inherent..
they say that there is a gendered way of talking, that is typical words/phrases but also stuff like intonation that can be attributed to a particular sex..

what do you think? are men trying to exert power via their language? do they use a more powerful language?

the issue is particularly interesting in an online environment, because the sex of the speaker is less obvious, since its not face to face as in "reality"..

im curious about your thoughts..

Do we speak differently? Sure.
But the power thing? Hardly.

If they are, it clearly isn't working.

The way you're saying it it seems like one has to be aware of what sex you are... that being said, it's not so much their language so much as it is that people are aware of your gender.
So it's not the words, it's that you know what gender you're talking to.

There can be powerful people of both genders, so I don't think power in speech can be something attributed only to males. I've seen girls that look scary to talk to because of the way they carry themselves and speak, and I've seen guys that would be pushed over completely by a girl in conversation.

I think that because society has the expectation for men to be manly, men who feel that they aren't as masculine might tend to attempt talking with power, or a stereotypical male speech. We all talk different, but I think gender doesn't complicate the issue at all; the individual does.

come on people, contribute!
what are your experiences from teenforumz?
the thread is not supposed to deal with power issues only..try to list gender differences in general..what about smiley use? or abbreviations such as "asap" or "wtf"...any comments?

i'm trying to revive this thread now..
strange that people dont post anything..thats a forum here right?...

i try to spell out the topic again:
theres a current discussion about guys and girls on the internet going on ..its said that internet cmomunication, like ******* (internet forums) or sth, has potential to give power to women and might improve gender equality..they say you dont see the body of the person you talk to, so power struggles take place only by text and lanugage..i dont see any differences how girls here write differently from guys..but sometomes i think girls use more smileys or guys more often use vulgar terms..
what do you think? are guys on forums like that one use more powerful and impolite speech (i havent witnessed any conflicts here at all)..
some examples??

If you look around Teen Forumz, there are literate people and less literate people. There are a mix of genders in both categories. The literate people tend to talk in a way that is understood and where the point gets across. The less literature people usually use numbers in place of letters, shorten words like "you/u" and "are/r" and/or completely change the spelling of a word for no apparent reason: "cool/kewl".

Similies are a way of expressing emotion easily. They are more likely to be used by those who either like the look of them or cannot use words to properly express their emotions. Again, both genders will do this.

You're less likely to view these behaviours on a forum, because everyone is expected to be literate to a sufficient degree. Go on Facebook, though, and you'll see all these stereotypes come into action.

I think, in general, the differences in how women speak vs men is all social programming. I attribute it largely to the gender roles we're boxed into.