Nonverbal communication generally tells us much more than
verbal communication. However, I am not sure if gendered nonverbal
communication has as negative of an effect as verbal gendered communication
does. That being said, this chapter was
an eye opener, as I had never really thought of nonverbal communication patterns
as perpetuating gender stereotypes. Upon reading the chapter, I began wondering
just how much people change how they communicate to show their gender identity,
and I realized that many people will drastically change their nonverbal
communication patterns based on the situation they are in.
Personally,
I had never drawn any connection to my gender identity and how I communicate
nonverbally. But upon looking at it closer, I realized that I often will change
certain aspects of my communication depending on the situation. For example,
when I am in an athletic setting, like when I’m playing rugby, I will often
change my vocal pitch, and how I carry myself around. I’ll puff out my chest to
look larger, and send other signals in an attempt to establish dominance. These
are things that I don’t do when I am in most other situations.
This lead
me to watch how people communicate differently depending on the situation. I
have noticed that nearly everybody changes how they communicate nonverbally in
one way or another. While I still don’t believe that gendered nonverbal
communication is as harmful as gendered verbal communication, I do think it
perpetuates stereotypes and attempts to package all women and men into acting a
certain way.
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