Rice 1 Michael Rice Irene Peterson English 1010-68 October 15 2013 There is No Escape Everyday images of the perfect

woman are plastered all over media. She`s breath taking, she`s six feet tall with an hour glass figure. Her skin appears soft and smooth. She`s flawless; she`s air brushed. Her hair is silky and healthy and her deep blue eyes sparkle. She is a sharp dressed women in custom fit clothes. Where is the image of a perfect man? In the essa y, There is No Unmarked woman, By Deborah Tannen, she brings attention to the way women in society are observed. She observes the little day to day decisions women make, from the labels on the clothes they wear, to their style of makeup and how this marks them. There is no escaping it. Women are marked no matter which way they turn. Deborah Tannen majored in English Literature at Harper College and after graduating with a bachelors degree she transferred to Wayne State University where she received her masters degree in English Literature. She later moved onto UC Berkeley and earned a Master`s and Ph.D. in Linguistics. While working on her Ph.D. she and a friend spent time researching the expression of interpersonal relationships. This research weighs heavily on the traditional argument that men and women speak differently because they are from different cultures. More recently she has composed many books and articles which explore how basic everyday conversations affect the male-female relationship. Some of her more popular writings are, You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation, and, The Argument Culture:

Rice 2 Stopping America's War of Words. Almost all of her books have been featured on New York Times Best Sellers List. She is a frequent guest on television shows such as The Colbert Report, Nightline, and The Today Show. With this impressive history and background in the field of gender differences, Tannen has firmly establishing her ethos or credibility in this essay. She appeals to the readers logical side, or the logos, when she brings up the subject of a woman being marked. By marked Tannen refers to anything a woman does to enhance her appearance using materialistic items such as make up, hair style and clothing. She takes a linguistic view when she defines marked by stating the definition of unmarked as, what you think of when youre not thinking anything at all special. In her essay, There Is No Unmarked Woman, she recounts a conference meeting with her colleges. Of these colleges four were women and eight of them were men. She observes the differences in the styles of the four women, and also the lack of different styles utilized by the men at the meeting. She talks at length about the womens hair, comparing one woman to another. She describes the first women with dark brown hair classically styled, a cross between Cleopatra and plain-Jane, but more Cleopatra than plain. On the opposite side of the table sits a woman with frosted blond hair like an avalanche falling all over and around her shoulders. This lady is marked for her crazy, yet playful, unkempt style that draws attention every time she fusses with her locks. Yet the woman with a hint of Cleopatra is marked for her beauty and clean under-stated style that demands attention. As Tannen analyzed the men, she realized even though they had the choice of picking a mark or unmarked haircut, they all chose a cut of standard length, parts on one side, and in natural shades of brown or gray or graying. All of these men had the option to use their hair to make a statement about who they were but

Rice 3 chose not to. Women are making a statement about who they are no matter what they do. A woman can never pull her hair back, put on a nice shirt, and become another faceless person in the crowd. The picture painted in Tannens essay is of men with unmarked outer appearance at the conference table, due to their calm office attire. Tannen claims a man could have a marked style if he went outside his comfort zone and changed things up a little with say a sharp marine haircut, a loud cowboy shirt, or even a full beard in some settings. When Tanner describes the womens clothing she depicts a wide variety of choices. Some wore man-tailored suits others wore skirts in neutral colors and another women had on a sexy jumpsuit. Tannen Borders on frustration when she speaks about the mens attire. She states they could have worn string ties, or a three-piece suit, or even jeans. No such luck, they all wore brown and blue slacks with nondescript shirts of light colors. She gives the impression that not all markings are bad. Markings are an expression of who people are and their personal flare. Men usually opt for a more conservative style leaving little of their personality obvious. She goes on to talk about when a woman fills out a form, she is forced to choose a title. Tannen explains that women disclose marking when filling out a simple application. Women must choose Mrs, Miss, or Ms. Immediately it is known whether or not a woman is married, single or feminist. The surnames title are becoming less and less popular and out dated as the roles women play in society change. Yet men choose Mr. we only know that the applicant is male and unmarked. This is a good example of timeliness, or kairos, because the fact remains that women are marked by the things they do and that battle will always remain relevant throughout the years.

Rice 4 Tannen provides a breakdown the difference between male and female. Ironically the male chromosome is the marked one having a Y and an X chromosome instead of two X chromosome that make a woman. The male is the modified being in this case while the woman is the norm and also the vessel by which males are spawned from. Tanner appeals to the pathos of women readers who may not even realizes the tight rope they walk. Even the slightest mis step could change the way people view each and every woman. She also tries to pull the male audience in at the end of her essay as she insists that she is not a feminist male basher or an antifeminist with a hidden agenda, but a women trying to expose the reality of the modern woman. Woman may choose how they are marked with the way they dress, style their hair, apply makeup and sign their surname, but they will never go unmarked. Tanner has made her points using the four elements of Ethos, Pathos, Logos, and Kairos. She has also given the audience the chance to recognize the critical decisions made to shape a womens image. Ironically by calling attention to these matters Tannen has inevitably marked herself.