Speech Patterns Between Men and Women

 The difference in the way men and women speak stems from many years ago. Historically, women have always been seen as nurtures and men have been seen as leaders. This has led men to speak in a more dominant and commanding way, while women are more unsure of themselves and less likely to speak up in a group of men. These speech patterns and habits have continued throughout the years and are still quite evident today. 

One place this can be observed is in the workforce. Women are often criticized for either showing too much emotion and being too loud and outgoing, or they are criticized for not showing enough emotion and being seen and icy and cold. According to men, it seems that there is never a good balance between the two, and thus as a woman it feels like we can’t do anything right. It really feels like men are just looking for something to criticize us for. I think that men want to feel dominant and a sense of power, as they have historically. When they see a loud, outgoing woman, they feel intimidated by a strong, independent woman who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to express such. However, when they see a woman who doesn’t speak as much, they see her as easy to push around because she won’t speak up. Therefore, men will criticize us to maintain that sense of control, whether it’s because they feel that intimidation or see what they think is an easy target. 

A personal experience I’ve had with this issue that we touched on a little in class was how men will imitate women and say they talk like a baby. I’ve had several boys, even ones that I consider my friends, imitate me, and whenever they do so it’s always in a high-pitched, whiney, baby voice. However, whenever I hear a girl imitating a man, it’s always in a deeper, stronger voice. While yes, men typically do have deeper voices, that’s not why the imitating is upsetting. When men imitate women, it is always in a manner that belittles us. Sure, it’s just an imitation, but it’s always in such a belittling manner, it makes you wonder: Is this really what they think of me?

Moving into the more recent generations, especially gen-z, I think that the difference in the way men and women speak has actually lessened. It is very common to hear women using words such as “bro” or “bruh” which have typically in the past been seen as more masculine words. While gen-z has come up with some quite interesting terms, at least there has been some improvement for speech patterns between men and women. It will be interesting to see how this progresses when our generation moves into the workforce. Will we speak in the same manner, and just as often as men, or will history be the same as it has for years?