Running Head: PORTRAYALS OF GENDER EXPECTATIONS IN MEDIA 1

Portrayals of Gender Expectations in Media through the Analysis of the Genderlect Theory
Courtney Donah
Messiah College
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Portrayals of Gender Expectations in Media through Analysis of the Genderlect Theory

In most movies, men are the heroes and women are the damsels in distress. Men are
strong and women are delicate. Men are dominant and women are subordinate. These stereotypes
have instituted the gender guidelines of modern culture. They have become widely accepted and
practiced. When characters in media go against set stereotypes, audiences react with surprise.
They have become accustomed to the gender roles that the media has formed, and therefore, they
respond consequently.
In a similar way, audiences react to deviation from stereotypical gender dialects. When
a male character in a movie shows sensitivity or fragility, the audience reacts with confusion.
Because the media has molded the male role as one of dominance and power, signs of
weaknesses in a man are unusual. The same goes for a woman. When a female character plays
the strong, authoritative role, audiences respond with surprise because female roles in media are
shaped around delicacy and subordinance. While modern culture has come to accept
nontraditional roles of men and women due to shifting responsibilities and family structures, the
media continues to decide what gender roles and dialects are acceptable for each sex. Consumers
are influenced by the media, and they imitate the roles they experience and observe.
Shes the Man is a 2006 film inspired by the Shakespeare play Twelfth Night. The
movie tells the story of Viola Hastings, a high school girl who wants to prove she is as good a
soccer player as the guys at her school. When the womens soccer team is cut at Cornwall, Viola
asks to try out for the mens soccer team and it shut down. When her twin brother, Sebastian,
decides to ditch his new boarding school, Illyria, for two weeks to tour with his band in London,
Viola ceases the opportunity to disguise herself as him and try out for the mens soccer team so
she can prove what she is capable of. In the process, she falls in love with her roommate, Duke,
and soon finds herself in a web of crazy love affairs. The movie displays both stereotypical and
opposing genderlect styles in male and female characters, exploring how genderlect affects the
treatment and interaction of characters in relationship as well as the expectations of male and
female communication.
In my analysis, I will be asking the question, what does culture learn about the
expectations of male and female communication from popular media portrayals? Understanding
how culturally defined gender expectations are supported by media is important because the
media influences its consumers. The normalities of our culture are reinforced by the normalities
of media portrayals. In essence, the media sets the rules. Gender dialects are reinforced by the
media, especially through movies. Audiences respond to appropriate gender dialects in a positive
manner, while they respond to opposing gender dialects in a negative manner. The biggest
question is why? Why do consumers respond differently to different genderlect styles? Where
does the idea of gender come from? Why has the media chosen to reinforce certain ideas within
this realm of communication? I will use the movie Shes the Man to discover where the idea of
gender was derived and to explain how movies influence the way that genderlect is approached
and normalized in modern culture.
Literature Review

Media is unavoidable. It saturates our culture and helps us to define who we are. It has
the capacity to influence our view of experience and relationship. The impact of media portrayals
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on consumer perception of relationships can be equated to the social cognitive theory. The social
cognitive theory argues that individuals learn by observing the behaviors of others, and in that
way, their behavior forms around their experience (Ferris, Smith, Greenberg, & Smith, 2007).
Media is one way individuals form their behavior. Heavy viewers of reality dating television
shows are proven more likely to support the attitudes toward dating exhibited by the characters,
such as Men are sex driven, Women are sexual objects, and Dating is a game (Ferris et al.,
2007). These findings suggest that television portrayals can influence the way that individuals
view romantic relationships. If these portrayals are poignant enough, consumers bring those
ideas of romantic relationship into culture and begin imitating them according to the cost-benefit
principle of relationship.

When behaviors are positively reinforced, they are more likely to be mimicked. Vicarious
reinforcement proposes that individuals can observe the positive or negative outcomes
experienced by models and evaluate the likelihood that these outcomes would happen to them
should they perform the behavior (as cited in Stamou, Maroniti, & Dinas, 2011). For example, if
a consumer sees a man receiving praise from his wife for disclosing financial concerns in a
television show, it is likely he will imitate the behavior of self-disclosure in hopes of being
positively reinforced by his wife. This reinforcement leads to the development of outcome
expectancies, or beliefs of what would happen were the observer to encounter a similar situation
(Anderegg, Dale, & Fox, 2014). The media has the ability to control what behaviors receive
positive and negative feedback, influencing action on behalf of the consumer. Seeing a variety of
characters perform similar maintenance behaviors on television may bolster viewers levels of
efficacy for those behaviors and encourage imitation (Anderegg, et al., 2014). In this way,
cultural action is defined.

Male and masculine and female and feminine are no longer associated with one another.
Male and masculine are two different concepts: the first term refers to biology and the second
term to identity. Traditionally, being male is not complete without the existence of masculinity
(Amir, Abidin, Darus & Ismail, 2012). Similarly, traditionally being female is not complete
without the existence of femininity. However, modern culture has come to accept the idea of a
male with feminine tendencies and a female with masculine tendencies. Exploration of gender if
common. The terms sex and gender are often interchanged, but they are culturally defined as
having two separate meanings. While intermingled sex and gender terms are spoken in society,
television and movie culture continues to attach the terms to the appropriate stereotypical role in
order to maintain traditional genderlect style.

Media tends to favor male dominance in relationship. The way feminine and masculine
styles of talk have been defined in literature as symbolic constructs presupposes a patriarchal
social organization in which men and women assume traditional gender roles (as cited in
Stamou, Maroniti, & Dinas, 2011). In modern culture, traditional roles are becoming mixed, and
it is no longer expected that men and women stick to their intended roles. In the same way, it
has become more common for men and women to take on one anothers genderlect. Men have
started to seek connection instead of status in relationship, and women have started to seek status
instead of connection. However, culturally defined genderlects are still prominently assumed and
accepted. In many cases, stereotypical genderlects are what is portrayed in the media, and it
continues to saturate culture with genderlect expectations and norms.
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The Genderlect Theory of Communication

The genderlect theory was derived by Deborah Tannen, professor of linguistics at

Georgetown University. Tannen has a cross-cultural approach to gender differences, claiming
men and women have differing styles of discourse. She believes that masculine and feminine
styles of discourse are best viewed as two distinct cultural dialects rather than as inferior or
superior ways of speaking (Griffin, Ledbetter, & Sparks, 2015, pg. 433). Tannen suggests that
males and females communicate in different ways. In the realm of language and communication,
many nonlinguists perceive men and women as representing different speech habits, almost as if
from different planets (Galvin, Dolly, and Pula, 2012), an idea similar to Tannens proposal.
Genderlect does imply more intrasex homogeneity than actually exists, but it is useful to
referring to the set of features that mark stereotypical masculine and feminine speech (Perry,
Turner, & Sterk, 1992). Tannen assumes that male and female conversational styles are equally
valid, but motivations for conversation vary depending on the genderlect of the speaker.

The genderlect style theory insists that there are differences in the way opposite sexes
speak. According to Tannen, women are motivated by the desire for human connection, and men
are motivated by their desire for status (Griffin, et al., 105, pg. 433). Tannen believes that women
work hard to preserve their human connectedness, while men seek to establish and maintain
independence. She bases her theory on observations of men and women in conversation and
relationship. Tannen claims that women value rapport talk while men value report talk. In
essence, women value conversation based around creating and maintaining relationships,
involving others in conversation and responding to their ideas, and showing sensitivity to others.
Men communicate to assert their ideas, opinions and identity, solve problems or develop
strategy, and attract attention (Griffin, et al., 2015). Men and women approach conversation
based on different motivations of genderlect.

It is important to remember that genderlect styles are not limited to male and female
biology. While the male genderlect is typically dominant in men and the female genderlect is
typically dominant in women, it is common for genderlect styles to be intermixed. Tannen
suggests scholars use the aha factor to test the validity of her two-culture hypothesis. The aha
fact is a subjective standard ascribing validity to an idea when it resonates with ones personal
experience (Griffin, et al., 2015, pg. 440). Depending on the environment a person is raised in
and the types of conversations and relationships he or she engaged in, genderlect styles can vary
from person to person based on what was learned from a young age. For example, if a young boy
is raised by a single mother, he is more likely to be sensitive, listen well, and ask lots of
questions. He is liable to use rapport talk versus report talk since the typical conversational style
of women seeks to establish connection with others, and he is being raised with his mother as the
sole communication figure.

Genderlect theory must be studied contextually in actual language use. This allows
genderlects to exist on an expansive spectrum similar to gender itself (Galvin, et al., 2012). One
person may blend various aspects of different genderlects as applicable to a given situation. For
instance, men may carry a female genderlect in a given circumstance in the same way a female
may carry a male genderlect. Circumstance can influence dialect. Adjusting gender dialect based
on circumstance can be important and is encouraged in order to better communicate with others.
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Movies are platforms used to integrate genderlect styles and set standards for how
males and females should engage in conversation. The influence of the media on culture is
significant. We learn based on the relationships and experiences we have, and we experience
media on a daily basis. We mimic what we see, reinforcing ideas by applying to real life what we
learn from the big screen. Our normalized understanding of how gender dialects are dispersed
comes from what guides culture. Analyzing movies is one method to understanding culturally
learned genderlect styles.
Application
In order to explore how cinema sets the guidelines for cultural genderlect and the
expectations of males and females in interaction, I am going to contextually analyze Shes the
Man, a movie starring Amanda Bynes. Shes the Man is a 2006 film inspired by the Shakespeare
play Twelfth Night. The movie displays both stereotypical and opposing genderlects in male and
female characters, exploring how genderlects affect the treatment and interaction of characters in
relationship as well as the expectations of male and female communication. I analyzed the movie
and coded themes of gender in order to support how culture learns about the expectations of male
and female communication in relationship from popular media portrayals.
In the movie, Viola takes on the persona of her twin brother, Sebastian. In order to
convince everyone that she is Sebastian, Viola must learn how to act like a man. She studies
the way men talk, walk, and think, attempting to fit into the Illyrian male culture. Despite her
efforts, her female genderlect dominates her subconscious.
Duke: Man, I just Im not really good at talking to girls.
Viola (as Sebastian): Why? Youre hot!
Duke: What?
Viola [clears throat]: Ya know, youre an appealing guymanguyguy man (Shes
the Man, 2006).
When Viola slips into female discourse, her male peers react negatively. They look at her with
disapproval, expecting her to continue with male normalized expressions and mannerisms.
However, when Olivia talks to Viola as Sebastian, Olivia finds her style of discourse attractive
and refreshing.
Viola (as Sebastian): I gotta be completely honest The whole dissecting thing kinda
freaks me out, so uh I think you may have to take the reins on this one.
Olivia: Wow. Most guys would never admit that.
Viola: Oh crap! Youre right.
Olivia: No, dont worry! I think its refreshing (Shes the Man, 2006).
Olivia appreciates the female genderlect that Viola brings to Sebastians personality because she
assumes the female genderlect herself. While male characters in the movie find the female
genderlect Sebastian has strange, female characters are drawn to it.
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As Tannen speculates, men and women have two vastly different styles of discourse.
When it comes to their interaction, males expect one form of communication while females
expect another based on the speech communities they share. A speech community is a
community of people who share understanding of communication goals and ways of interpreting
those goals (Griffin, et al., 2015). Boys and girls are integrated into speech communities from
early childhood. The styles of communication that adult men and women use can be traced back
to the speech communities they engaged in as a child. In Shes the Man, it is evident that the
characters continued to develop in distinct speech communities: male versus female. Viola
struggles to engage in the male genderlect when necessary because she was rooted in a female
speech community. She is forced to fight her instinctive communication style and become a part
of the masculine speech community.
Viola is raised in a home where women are expected to be ladies. Her mother pushes
her to become a debutante. However, Viola is the opposite of a lady. She loves soccer instead of
dresses, and her interests fall far from the interests her mother wants her to pursue. Nonetheless,
Viola goes through with the initiation into high society in order to please her mother. During the
debutante luncheon, Viola, Olivia, and Monique get into a cat fight because Olivia has feelings
for Sebastian, who is Moniques ex-boyfriend. Initially, Viola tries to break up the fight and
encourage conversation to solve the conflict. However, when Monique pushes her to the ground,
Viola snaps. She jumps on Monique, adding to the fire. The girls disturb the peaceful lunch, and
the fight is broken up. Physical action to settle disagreement is not looked upon as lady-like.
The head of the country club reminds the girls that, When debutantes disagree, they say it with
their eyes (Shes the Man, 2006), not through physical fighting. Stereotypical female
expectations in conflict are reinforced. However, in a male on male conflict, physical fighting is
not viewed in such a negative light. During the carnival, Viola (as herself) ends up kissing Duke
at a kissing booth. When Justin, Violas ex-boyfriend, sees what is happening, he proceeds to
start a physical fight with Duke in order to prove his dominance over him. The fight is eventually
broken up, but later continues on the soccer field when Illyria and Cornwall compete in the
annual rivalry game.
The two scenes described above are perfect examples of the different ways that men
and women communicate nonverbally. While Tannen does not extend her theory to discuss the
distinctions between nonverbal communication between genders, it is still a key factor to
understanding genderlect. Because men are motivated by the desire to maintain power and status,
ritual fighting is a way to solve a problem and prove dominance (Mohindra & Azhar, 2012).
Justin hit Duke because he felt the need to prove his power over him and compete for Viola.
Duke fought back because he felt the need to maintain his status as superior. At the luncheon,
Viola encouraged Monique and Olivia to have a conversation regarding their conflict, but they
took to physical violence instead. Stereotypically, women avoid direct and threatening
communication (Mohindra & Azhar, 2012), but in this portrayal, threat is the first instinct. The
girls go against their better judgment in order to display superiority over one another. The
reaction the men and women receive when showing physical hostility traces back to the
culturally defined expectations of men and women in nonverbal communication.
When male characters speak in a female genderlect, it catches the attention of the
female. When Duke shows a sensitive side, Viola is surprised.
Viola (as Sebastian): What does your heart tell you?
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Duke: What?
Viola: I mean, uh which one would you rather see naked?!
Duke: Why do you have to do that? Why do you talk about girls in such graphic terms?
Viola: Youre a really sensitive guy, arent you? (Shes the Man, 2006)
Throughout the movie, we see two sides of Duke: the stereotypical masculine side and a soft,
honest side. Duke reveals to Viola that he believes relationships should be more than the
physical stuff (Shes the Man, 2006). Duke lives in a culture that emphasizes male dominance,
physically and mentally. However, he looks at relationships differently. He respects women and
believes all men should do the same when in a relationship. He struggles to be the macho man
culture expects him to be. Duke embodies a balance of strength and sensitivity that is not evident
in the other male characters in the movie. Duke demonstrates the idea of opposing genderlect
style. While Duke is a male, he displays a more feminine genderlect. Ultimately, Duke is seeking
connection, not status, in a relationship. He puts on an act to fit in with his friends at Illyria when
in reality, his attitude towards relationships is not typical of male expectations. According to
Tannen, women are motivated by the desire for human connection, and men are motivated by
their desire for status (Griffin, et al., 105, pg. 433). Duke displays a desire for human connection
in relationship as opposed to being motivated by status, proving that men do not always align
with the stereotypical conversational motivations.
As Tannen alludes in her theory, gender is not associated with biology. When Viola
arrives at Illyria and is about to take on her mission as Sebastian, her friend Paul reminds her,
inside every girl, theres a boy (Shes the Man, 2006). While this comment initially stirs
confusion, it has deeper meaning. Paul is trying to remind Viola that gender is a social construct.
Genderlect does not necessarily align with biology. Male genderlect in a woman and female
genderlect in a man are possible. Viola embodies the female genderlect as she takes on the
persona of her brother, and she discovers that men can have a more feminine genderlect and
continue to be successful in relationships. In the same way, Duke displays a more feminine
genderlect, capturing the heart of Viola and pushing them to find true love with one another. The
movie pushes the boundaries of gender discourse and challenges the audience to recognize that
styles of genderlect are in fact socially constructed.
Conclusion
My analysis of this communication artifact represents gendered communication at work
in the media. Shes the Man pushes the limits of physical and emotional gender expectations.
Through my research, I found that gender is indeed a social construct. Culture begins to
understand through media portrayals that biology does not define the expectations of men and
women in society. The movie suggest that gender does not necessarily align with biology, and
defying traditional genderlect styles is not wrong. Men and women relate to opposing genderlect
styles based on a multitude of factors, but may hide their true selves based on what culture deems
as appropriate and acceptable.
Understanding gender expectations in media portrayals is important because media
influences its consumers. The way that movies portray male and female roles and dialects
influences how culture defines and imitates male and female roles and dialects. Media continues
to saturate our culture and set the standards for male and female motivation in relationship. As
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discovered in Shes the Man, movies have the ability to influence audience reaction and
expectation for genderlect. The characters embody the stereotypical emotional roles of men and
women, but their decisions to defy those roles is action worth noticing.
In future research of genderlect styles, scholars need to focus on the idea of socially
constructed gender expectations and how that influences society. We need to understand why
male genderlect is associated with men and why female genderlect is associated with women as
well as what that means for culture. The media reinforces traditional genderlect styles, and as
long as the media continues to support those ideas, they will remain normalities. It is important
to note that traditions are changing and genderlect styles are not limited to male and female.
Circumstance and environments influence how men and women learn to communicate, and those
communication styles can vary with time and experience.
As consumers of media, we need to comprehend the idea that gender is not biological,
despite what the media may be trying to persuade us to believe. Traditional male and female
expectations are being challenged, and interchanged gender roles are becoming more evident in
culture today. Movies influence our understanding of gender, but we have the power to control
how much influence it has on us as consumers. The media does not define who we are as
individuals, and we have the opportunity to defy media stereotypes. We live in a society that
emphasizes individuality, yet we conform to the expectations portrayed through the media. Shes
the Man is an example of a media portrayal that opened the door for gender defiance and
individualism. It let consumers know that men can speak the female genderlect and women can
speak the male genderlect. Understanding and adjusting to the discourse of those you are in
relationship with is crucial to relational development and maintenance. To be successful in
relationship, media consumers need to recognize stereotypical gender expectations and challenge
the ideas we have so readily accepted and reinforced. We must distinguish between media
portrayals and real life in order to form a conceptual, sound understanding of culture.
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