Book Review: Suzette Haden Elgin, Genderspeak

[naamah_darling]

51) Genderspeak: Men, Women, and the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense, by Suzette Haden Elgin, 292 pagesIf you are involved in a relationship, you can't afford not to read this book. If you're a woman trying to make it in the business world, you can't afford not to read this book. Nearly every argument, frustration, and annoying situation you

Comments

[ms_daisy_cutter]

Elgin does not assign blame or claim that either gender has a morally superior position. Indeed, her entire point is that men and women speak the same language, and that many of the difficulties that arise are simply the result of common communication errors.

She sounds like she has more common sense than most of the researchers out there. Men are from Mars... [grumble]... "In a different voice..." [puke]

[naamah_darling]

That's what I like about her. She's basically of the opinion that there are differences, but they're not innate, it's because of society's expectations and how men and women are raised, and she freely admits that not everyone adheres to those conversational rules. I found it remarkably evenhanded.