Deborah Tannen

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In her insightful essay “Why Is It So Hard for Men and Women to Talk to Each Other,” socio-linguist, Deborah Tannen, discusses the rationale behind conversing with sex-separate groups. She conveys the imbalance and gap that is found within relationships and married couples. In the eyes of Tannen, maintaining or acquiring knowledge of the primitive development of communication between different genders can enhance communication amongst distinct cultures. The act of communicating with others maintains expectations that are sought distinctively by different sexes. Women anticipate a husband that will talk to them, one that will evenly share the role of creating topics to speak about after a long day. Ironically, the idea of having a conversational partner within such situation, is often present, but acted upon reversely by both sexes. We can see this in Tannen’s group discussion, in which one man becomes the conversational partner…show more content…
Young girls establish friendships through the exchange of secrets, in comparison to women who see conversation as the core of their friendships (Tannen 264). A women’s ultimate goal is to find a partner that can show the same qualities of communication: “For women, as for girls, intimacy is the fabric of relationships, and talk is the thread from which it is woven” (Tannen 264). In contrast, a bond between boys consist of status, more doing, and less conversation. Due to having greater, inclusive groups, boys tend to turn their focus on the importance of ranking higher than the other boys surrounding them. Because this status is of vital essence to men, their tendency to glance at each other while engaging into a conversation, is very little. Tannen notes that “this may play a role in women’s complaints that men don’t listen to them” (264). Thus begins the battle in computing body

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