Pamela Fishman’s Theory

·        Pamela Fishman conducted an experiment and involved listening to fifty-two hours of pre-recorded conversations between young American couples.

·        Five out of the six subjects were attending graduate school; all subjects were either feminists or sympathetic to the women’s movement, were white, between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-five.

·        She listened to recordings and concentrated on two characteristics common in women’s speech for example tag questions and the phrase “you know”.

·        She begins by examining the use of tag questions being asked and states that women frequently use tag questions ‘isn’t it?’ or ‘couldn’t we?’ following a thought or suggestion.

·        For females, questions are an effective method of beginning and keeping the conversation going with males.

·        She claims that questioning is required for females when speaking with males; men often do not respond to a declarative statement or will only respond minimally.

·        She also analyzes the frequent use of the phrase “you know” used by women. ”You know” is an attention-getting device to discover if the other person is listening.

·        With her study she found that women in her study used four times as many yes/no and tag questions as the men.

·        But she was adamant that this was not because women were more uncertain as Lakoff suggested but it was because women are the ones generally trying to keep the conversation going.

·        Fishman therefore concludes again that women’s style of communicating is not from lack of social training, but is because of the social position of women.

The rise and effects of first and second wave feminism

 

First wave feminism

 

First wave feminism occurred between the 19^th and 20^th century. It particularly affected the United Kingdom, Canada, Netherlands and the United States. It focussed mainly on legal obligations and changing the law so that women had the right to vote.  In 1918 women over 30 with a property were allowed to vote, this meant that women had a say over political affairs and had the opportunity to have a say in how their country should be ran. One of the first laws passed was the right to property and children if a marriage was to break down and the men no longer had rights over their wives. This meant that for the first time ever women had the opportunity to be free and not have to stay in an abusive marriage just because they were scared to lose everything. The main victory for women was getting the vote and by 1928 women over 21 was allowed the vote so laws were being changed however women were still being treated very differently to men and that is why second wave feminism occurred.

 

Second wave feminism

 

Second wave feminism occurred between the 1960s and 1970s. It focussed on ending discrimination and was concerned about the inequalities that women were still facing. In the 1960s the pill was invented which opened up many opportunities for women as they were able to choose how many children they wanted and therefore this meant that women had the freedom and control of having a career. The divorce and marital rape law was founded during second wave feminism meaning that women no longer had to be abused by their husbands and even if a woman was  married rape was not going to be accepted anymore. This gave women a chance to rebuild their lives and ensure that they were being treated in the right way. Women also wanted the right to be equal in politics, social economics, education, jobs and pay for work. They wanted the same rights which men had and therefore to make men understand certain jobs were not ‘woman’s work’ they took a step back from their domestic duties and told people that everybody should take responsibility for the family unit. Even though new laws were passed between the 1960s and 1970s without a social revolution they will not be able to change everyone’s views of women in society.