Chapter 36 - Self-Image

I wanted to comment on the self-image section found in chapter 36. Griffin identifies self-image as, “Identity; a mental picture of who I see myself to be – greatly influenced by the way others respond to me”. The threads to this theory are symbolic interactionism, coordinated management of meaning, and cognitive dissonance. Also to address culture and identity there are the theories of face-negotiation, communication accommodation, and speech codes. There is a chart on page 484 that displays the threads of each theory and it really makes it easier to see the threads that integrate the theories. For instance, if you looked at the chart you would be able to determine that all six of the theories listed above fall under self-image. You should take a look, if you haven’t already.

The Muted Group Theory

The unfulfilled promise of the internet found in chapter 35 brought up points that I would not have thought of. The fact that all the early designers and users of the internet were male was a little disturbing, since I can remember the conception of the internet. The four common metaphors Kramarae points out regarding the internet is that gender equality and the muteness of women are not fulfilled. The metaphors consist of information superhighway, new frontier, democracy, and global community. Information superhighway is described as the earlier conception of the internet and how social and economic structures were not considered nor were they affordable to women. The new frontier refers to bullying for computer usage at a young age and that women sometimes will present themselves as men on the internet to avoid harassment. The privacy to state your own opinion on the internet is described as democracy, but anyone can post anything and this is where women are skeptical which something that they have learned over time. The global community was referred to as a place where likeminded women can communicate about topics all over the world.

Interview with Kramarae

The interview with Cheris Kramarae seemed different from the other interviews that Griffin has conducted. Maybe it was the setting and the dialogue seemed more engaging almost like a conversation instead of an interview. Kramarae defines Muted Group Theory as language that does not serve all speakers equally. The reflection about the two-culture gender hypothesis makes sense, Kramarae states, “it suggests that men and women often have different socialization, and so they have different kinds of experiences, and they learn to see the world in somewhat different ways”. I found it interesting that Kramarae referred to the term feminist as a term that would fit both male and female. At the end of the interview when Griffin asked if there was something that he had done as a male during the interview that she could reflect on, her response was positive and she made a very pertinent point. Kramarae replied, “….that’s all that any speaker wants from another speaker, another listener”.

Standpoint Theory

The Standpoint Theory of Sandra Harding and Julia Woods found in chapter 34 was really relevant to a conversation that I had with a few girlfriends. The fact that Harding and Woods focus on women as a marginalized group is something that my girlfriends and I agree on. We discussed the fact that society and culture differentiate males and females from the beginning starting with pink for girls and blue for boys. Girls are given dolls to play with and boys are given trucks. Girls are consoled when they cry and boys are told to not cry.

Harding and Wood point out that “women are not a monolithic group” (Griffin, 2009, p. 444). In other words we don’t necessarily take the same standpoint on issues. This is where the conversation with my girlfriends comes in. I happened to mention chivalry and how I appreciate a man who opens the door for me or takes my hand to guide me. The reaction I received was not what I expected. My friends said my view on chivalry was demeaning to women and views like that can take away what women have fought so hard for. I happen to not agree. In fact it is my opinion that society has made an impression that chivalry is becoming a stigma and men who demonstrate chivalry are addressed as weak. So I guess I would concur with Harding and Woods point that women are not a monolithic group.

The train/plane test

In chapter 29 the train/plane test was interesting. The German Public Opinion Research Center found a way to see if people are willing to speak out in favor of their own opinion. There were six factors that determined the likelihood of this happening. If the opinion is with the majority they will voice their opinion. The willingness to speak out depends on future trends. Those who share the same thoughts are willing to speak out. Those who remain silent have low-self esteem. Middle and Upper class along with young adults and males are more incline to speak out. Last, laws support those who express their opinions even if they are the minority.

As I continued to read the chapter and went over the critique, one of the flaws was that the train/plane test uses a hypothetical situation to measure the willingness to speak out. It has been suggested that they use observation methods instead of hypothetical situations. This makes sense. It would be interesting to see if the observation method proved the same six factors of likelihood to speak. I believe the factors would change.

Agenda - Setting Theory

With the presidential campaign so close to elections chapter 28 shed some insight to the mass media reporting of this campaign. The agenda-setting theory of McCombs and Shaw hypothesis is defined by Griffin (2009) as, “the mass media have the ability to transfer the salience of issues on their news agenda to the public agenda” (359). This morning on Good Morning America there was a segment on undecided voters and the impact the media has had on their subconscious. It was really interesting because the participants were asked if they though McCain was too old to run the country. They all stated “no” but when they took an online quiz and all of the participant’s scores demonstrated the word old and McCain were correlated. The same held true for Obama. When the participant’s were asked if they believe Obama has terrorist/Muslim ties they all replied “no” and again after the quiz there was a correlation between Obama, terrorist, and Muslim. There have been many stories about both of these issues regarding the candidates that the media has reported. After watching this segment on Good Morning America, I have to say that I am inclined to think that the media do present a picture in our head and we derive our opinions by these pictures. What do you think?

Interview with McCombs

The last comment McCombs made during his interview, “Most journalists are messenger-producers, they are not communicators”, was a real eye opener. I never thought of journalists in that way but once you think about it, it’s true. McCombs made several comments that I feel need to be mentioned. The agenda-setting function of the media had a catchy phrase, “the media don’t tell us what to think but they do tell us what to think about”. The first part of this phrase no longer holds true. There is now a second level to the agenda-setting function. The second level consists of what are the pictures because our attitude and opinion come from that picture. This is really important because the premise is that the media can influence how we think and sometimes what we do.