Gender Issues
...ge it” (p.121). This is not necessarily true most people probably do not think that when they use the pronoun he or she that they are consciously letting one gender have dominance over the other. However, it is true that in some forms of discourse the roles of women are downplayed by the titles that they are given, such as Miss, Mrs., and etc. that depend upon the existence of a male counterpart to give them an identity. Boys and girls are socialized and enculturated by their families and educations as to the roles and occupations that they can take on and perform when they become adults, by the toys that they are given to play with and the materials that they are given to study. Texts and literature are also responsible for the unequal portrayal of women as compared to men. Some newspaper articles, magazine articles, and romance novels definitely portray women in subservient roles as compared to men, this leads to the persistence of inequality between men and women. Researchers feel that this particularly affects young girls’ views about themselves and their roles in life when they become adults. In the study of gender discourse researchers have also pointed out that men and women differ in the ways in which they speak amongst themselves. Men are more forceful, apt the interrupt one another, and try to attain and maintain a dominant position. Women on the other hand are more likely to allow everyone a say, are not forceful in conversation, and do not try to dominate the c...