|
Hilbert College |
Survey of Communication Theory: Muted Group Theory |
- Home - Students - Tutorials - Student Papers - |
|
by: Jessica Clary and Katie Smith 28 September, 1999
Muted group theory was first presented in 1968 by Edwin Ardener. This theory was introduced in order to encourage anthropologists to focus on the communication methods of overlooked groups in society, such as women (Ardener, 1978). Also involved in the early study of this theory was English anthropologist Shirley Ardener. She started an influential discussion in women's studies at the Center for Cross-Cultural Research on Women at Queen Elizabeth House at Oxford University in the 70's. Ms. Ardener presented women as a "muted class" (Boles and Hoeveler, 1996). A muted class can be defined as a group in society whose mode of expression is not that of the dominant group. Members of the muted class or group must express themselves in the dominant mode of expression (Watson and Hill, 1997). In order for members of a muted group to express themselves, they must re-encode their thoughts in order to make them understandable to the dominant group (Ardener, 1978). Although research on muted group theory concentrates heavily on women, there are other groups in society, including children and criminals, which are considered muted. The term "muted" is credited to social anthropologist Charlotte Hardman. (Ardener, 1975). The mutedness of one group can be inversely thought of as the deafness of the group that dominates. The theory of muting does not have to do only with spoken language, but with all areas of communication as well (Ardener, 1978). Cheris Kramarae, of the Department of Speech Communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has also played an instrumental role in the research of muted group theory. Her book Women and Men Speaking contains a quote from 1902 by Carrie Chapman Catt that supports the idea of women as a muted group. Catt said,
Women have a supposed greater verbal fluency than men do. This biological trait combined with the inability for women to adequately express themselves in the dominant forum leads to the common stereotype of women having a tendency to "nag". While "nagging" has a negative connotation, it may actually be the result of women using their superior verbal abilities while trying to overcome the obstacle of their mutedness (Ardener, 1978). Critics of sex bias in language say that the English language contains demeaning and inaccurate images of females. Sex bias can also be seen in the many generic male terms in the English language. These terms include "chairman" and "mankind" (Bates, 1978). Besides these biased terms, women also face obstacles in expressing themselves with other words used in the dominant communication system. One example would be a nun describing her "marriage" to Christ. The usual term for marriage is not appropriate for this. Women are not as likely to coin words that are used by both sexes (Kramarae, 1981). In 1982, Carol Gilligan's book "In a Different Voice", which dealt with how women and men think and speak differently, was published. Gilligan examined the differences between males and females, and how these differences are carried into adulthood. Gilligan observed that boys and girls do not have the same play habits, and their habits continue to vary as they grow older. In order to preserve relationships, women change the rules, whereas men abide by the rules and view relationships as being replaceable. While men define define themselves individually, women describe themselves in terms of the relationships they are in (Griffin, 1991). Gilligan also believes that women are conditioned to this selflessness during adolescence (Gilligan, 1995). There are many applications of muted group theory in the modern world. For example, Celia J. Wall and Pat Gannon-Leary wrote that muted group theory has a broad applicability (Wall, Gannon-Leary, 1999). Muted group theory has become a rally point for the feminist movement. Laura Senner has described the theory as "strong and useful on a daily basis" (Senner, 1999). Anne Bente, another writer, describes the empowerment provided by the theory as, "(The) critical strength of the theory. It validates and explains the experiences and perceptions of women" (Bente, 1999). Joanne Baer says that stereotypes keep women out of the media mainstream (Baer, 1998). Women are misrepresented in film (Bordo, 1998). Women are stereotyped as "vague and flowery" in cartoons (VanGorp, 1998,). Women are also under-represented in the workplace. Working women are kept in their staff positions and kept constrained by the theoretical "glass ceiling" between women and high management positions (Wells, 1997). There are also negative examples. Kramarae says that the internet is another male dominated medium. Cyberspace is not a "hospitable" climate for women (Kramarae, 1997). Another writer, Katie Roiphe, says that this miscommunication between men and women can lead to date rapes and sexual harassment (Roiphe, 1993). Women's communications differ, so they are underrepresented in male-dominated media. Robert T. Craig brought up the idea of "back channels" or private communications systems. These are utilized by women because they circumscribe traditional male oriented linguistic systems (Craig, 1998). An example of a "back channel" is the Feminist International Radio Endeavor, or FIRE. Based in Puerto Rico, FIRE was started in May of 1991 so women's voices could be heard and broadcast across the world. FIRE was inspired b the Women's Peace Tent in Nairobi in 1985 advocating the need for women's communication networks (Unknown, 1998). Progress is being made to force women's communication into the mainstream. Radha Hegde wrote about changing post-colonial thought and its implications on the assimilation of women's communication into the mainstream (Hegde, 1998). Lisa Duggan says that the world is changing to accommodate feminist theory and developing "literary theory and film studies, philosophy, linguistics, and communications that were revolutionizing feminist theory," (Duggan, 1998). Criticism on muted group theory is not easily found. This is due to the fact that it is a feminist theory, which makes it very difficult to debate. It is not publicly accepted to criticize feminists. We, as researchers, see validity in muted group theory because we are not exposed to a negative view of the theory. All of these applications, implications, and examples illustrate the broad coverage of muted group theory and its application to women in the media. Bibliography: Ardener, Shirley. (1978) Defining Females-The Nature of Women in Society. Halsted Press. Craig, Robert T. (1998) Muted Group Theory Cheris Kramarae. Online: http://spot.colorado.edu/~craigr/Muted/ Watson, James and Hill, Anne. (1997) A Dictionary of Commuication and Media Studies. St. Martins Press. Boles, Janet K. and Hoeveler, Diane Long. (1996) Historical Dictionary of Feminism. Madison Books. Wall, Celia J. and Gannon-Leary, Pat. (1999) The European Journal of Women's Studies: A Sentence Made of Men-Muted Group Theory Revisited. Online: http://www.sagepub.co.uk/journals/usdetails/ab007381.html Senner, Laura. (1999) Muted Group Theory. Online: http://spot.colorado.edu/~craigr/App_../papers/Senner.htm Bente, Anne. (1999) Muted Group Theory. Online: http://spot.colorado.edu/~craigr/App_../papers/Bente.htm Gilligan, Carol. (1995) Hearing the Difference: theorizing connection. Found online at: http://www.elibrary.com/ Griffin, Em. (1991) A First Look at Communication. McGraw-Hill, Inc. Online: http://www.afirstlook.com/docs/Gilligan.html Kramarae, Cheris. (1997) Technology Policy, Gender, and Cyberspace. Duke Journal of Gender Law and Policy. Found online at: http://www.elibrary.com/ Roiphe, Katie. (1993) Tell Me What I'd Say? Excerpt from "The Morning After". Found online at: http://www.elibrary.com/ Author Unknown. (1998) AC-"Fire": Latin American, Feminist and Interactive. Women's Health Journal. Found online at: http://www.elibrary.com/ Bordo, Susan. (1998) Twilight Zones; Feminism and Film; Feminism, Media and the Law. NWSA journal. Found online at: http://www.elibrary.com/ Duggan, Lisa. (1998) Theory in Practice-The Theory Wars, or, Who's afraid of Judith Butler?. Journal of Women's history. Found online at: http://www.elibrary.com/ VanGorp, Ericka. (1998) Muted Group Theory. Online: http://spot.colorado.edu/~craigr/App_../papers/VanGorp.htm Baer, Joanne. (1998) Muted Group Theory by Cheris Kramarae. Online: http://spot.colorado.edu/~craigr/App_../papers/Baer.htm Hegde, Radha. (1998) A View from Elsewhere:Locating Difference and the Politics of Represenation from a Transnational Feminist Perspective. Communication Theory. Online: http://icahdq.org/publications/ct_aug98.html Wells, Jennifer. (1997) Stuck on the Ladder. Macleans. Found online at: http://www.elibrary.com/ Bates, Barbara. (1978) Nonsexist Language Use in Transition. Journal of Communication. Ardener, Shirley. (1975) Perceiving Women. Halsted Press. Kramarae, Cheris. (1981) Women and Men Speaking. Newbury House Publishers. |
||
This page design copyright 1999 by Steve N. Jackson.
Contents copyright 1999 by Steve N. Jackson, Jessica Clary, and Katie Smith.
Student enrolled in Journalism 201 are actively encouraged to use
the code from this page.
Version 3.04 (19 July).