Muted Group Theory Addresses The Essay

Girls play hopscotch and boys play football. Girls cry and boys do not. These essential shaping experiences create divisions between the genders, and proscribe gendered behaviors. In order to conform, both men and women buy into the gendered and stratified society. This gendered society is hierarchically organized so that men enjoy positions of political power with far greater proportions than women. Men, who are referred to as "founding fathers," have set the rules. If women want a modicum of political, social, or economic status they must also play by the same rules. A woman becomes successful only by acting "like a man" and using male vocabulary and discourse including that of power over others and oppression. Alternatively a woman becomes successful by acting in the extreme feminized version of herself, by sexualizing herself. This is because men understand women as sexualized objects and as tools or playthings for men....

...

When women conform to this ideal, they are speaking the dominant male language and thus may become successful. Women rarely have the opportunity to develop their own rules by which to define success. Without the creation of subcultures or countercultures, the role of women in society is subservient and secondary.
The labor of women is denigrated, as strict gender roles and norms segregate the sexes in the public and private spheres. Muting occurs by lambasting women who protest their subordinate position in society. Women are labeled as nags or bitches when they speak out. This effectively mutes women. Moreover, Muted Group Theory also suggests that the patriarchal control of communication presents real and measurable frustrations that can become neuroses or psychological problems. As men establish the prevailing paradigms, discourse, and vocabulary, women become frustrated when they are misunderstood.

Cite this Document:

"Muted Group Theory Addresses The" (2011, May 08) Retrieved April 27, 2024, from
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/muted-group-theory-addresses-the-44403

"Muted Group Theory Addresses The" 08 May 2011. Web.27 April. 2024. <
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/muted-group-theory-addresses-the-44403>

"Muted Group Theory Addresses The", 08 May 2011, Accessed.27 April. 2024,
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/muted-group-theory-addresses-the-44403

Related Documents

Ethnic Music Humanities a) Origin and Development of Traditional and Contemporary Ethnic Music My personal experience in learning this subtopic reveals to me that music is a global cultural practice found in every known culture, both in the past and present, but with a wide variation with regards to time and place of practicing it. Since every ethnic group around the world, including some of the most secluded tribal groups, depicts their

" When and if the U.S. cuts back on the use of fossil fuels to reduce global warming, other nations may well follow our example. To wit, when we allow the United Nations to conduct searches for potential weapons of mass destruction in our own country, or in countries we have disputes with, other nations may follow and allow inspectors into their country as well. It is idealistic to believe that

Released by the FBI and
PAGES 65 WORDS 17274

" Human development- behavioral shifts in human being that tae place during the course of an entire lifespan ("Human Behavior"). Risk Analysis- the activity of determining and analyzing the dangerous natural and human caused negative events. This analysis takes into consideration the risks these event pose to businesses individuals and governments. Within the domain of information technology risk analysis reports are utilized to tailor technology-related objectives with a an organization's business objectives.

During this penultimate period of violence under Rojas, the violence that wracked Colombia assumed a number of different characteristics that included an economic quality as well as a political one with numerous assassinations taking place. These were literally contract killings there were sponsored by opposition forms. There were also horrendous genocidal acts that were carried out by gangs combined with authentic revolutionary fighting in some regions of the country. The fourth

Alcohol Consumption Has on Risky Sexual Behavior Since the ancient days of Bacchanalian celebratory worship of the Greek pantheon, the consumption of alcohol and risky sexual rites have gone hand in hand. Both drinking and sex are considered to be pleasurable activities, and conservative or religious portions of the population may consider them to be sinful or immoral on varying scales. Regardless of whether alcohol and sexual activities have a

Grief Schiz Precautions and Procedures for the Prevention of Suicide and the Treatment of Depression in Recently Diagnosed Schizophrenics Any major chronic medical diagnosis can have psychological and emotional reverberations for the patient, as chronic conditions can often be perceived as a "life sentence" of sorts. The inescapability of symptoms and the long-term prognosis of many chronic disorders can cause patients to seriously question their future quality of life, the impact that