Ebook Gendered Lives Communication Gender Culture PDF Full Chapter PDF

Gendered Lives: Communication,
Gender, & Culture - eBook PDF

Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://ebooksecure.com/download/gendered-lives-communication-gender-culture-eb
ook-pdf/
5 REASONS
to buy your textbooks
and course materials at
SAVINGS:
1 Prices up to 75% off, daily coupons, and free shipping on orders over $25
CHOICE:
2 Multiple format options including textbook, eBook and eChapter rentals
CONVENIENCE:
3 Anytime, anywhere access of eBooks or eChapters via mobile devices
4 SERVICE:
Free eBook access while your text ships, and instant access to online homework products
STUDY TOOLS:
5 Study tools* for your text, plus writing, research, career and job search resources
* availability varies
Find your course materials and start saving at:

www.cengagebrain.com
Source Code: 14M-AA0107
Engaged with you.

www.cengage.com
Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights,
some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially
affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
TWELFTH EDITION
Gendered Lives
Communication, Gender,
& Culture
Julia T. Wood
Lineberger Distinguished Professor of Humanities Emerita
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Natalie Fixmer-Oraiz
Department of Communication Studies
Department of Gender, Women's, and Sexuality Studies
The University of Iowa
Australia • Brazil • Mexico • Singapore • United Kingdom • United States
This is an electronic version of the print textbook. Due to electronic rights restrictions,
some third party content may be suppressed. Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed
content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. The publisher reserves the right
to remove content from this title at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. For
valuable information on pricing, previous editions, changes to current editions, and alternate
formats, please visit www.cengage.com/highered to search by ISBN#, author, title, or keyword for
materials in your areas of interest.
Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product
text may not be available in the eBook version.
Gendered Lives: © 2017, 2015, 2013 Cengage Learning
Communication, Gender &
WCN: 02-200-203
Culture, Twelfth Edition
Julia T. Wood, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the
Natalie Fixmer-Oraiz copyright herein may be reproduced, transmitted, stored, or used
in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical,
Product Director: Monica including but not limited to photocopying, recording, scanning,
Eckman digitizing, taping, Web distribution, information networks, or
Product Manager: Nicole information storage and retrieval systems, except as permitted
Morinon under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act,
Content Developer: Kate without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Scheinman
Associate Content Developer: For product information and technology assistance,
Karolina Kiwak contact us at Cengage Learning Customer & Sales
Product Assistant: Colin Solan Support, 1-800-354-9706.
Media Developer: Jessica For permission to use material from this text or product,
Badiner submit all requests online at
Marketing Manager: Sarah www.cengage.com/permissions.
Further permissions questions can be emailed to
Seymour
permissionrequest@cengage.com.
Content Project Manager: Dan
Saabye
Art Director: Marissa Falco Library of Congress Control Number: 2015939479
Manufacturing Planner: Doug ISBN: 978-1-305-28027-4
Bertke
IP Analyst: Ann Hoffman Cengage Learning
IP Project Manager: Farah Fard 20 Channel Center Street
Boston, MA 02210
Production Service: Lumina USA
Datamatics
Compositor: Lumina Datamatics
Cengage Learning is a leading provider of customized learning
Cover Designer: Gary Ragaglia solutions with employees residing in nearly 40 different countries
Cover Image: Maria Donovan and sales in more than 125 countries around the world. Find your
local representative at www.cengage.com.
Cengage Learning products are represented in Canada by

Nelson Education, Ltd.
To learn more about Cengage Learning Solutions, visit

www.cengage.com.
Purchase any of our products at your local college store or at our

preferred online store www.cengagebrain.com.
Printed in the United States of America

Print Number: 01 Print Year: 2015
This book is dedicated to Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass,
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Emma Goldman, Sarah Grimke, Francis
Ellen Watkins Harper, Alice Paul, Margaret Sanger, Elizabeth Cady
Stanton, Maria Stewart, Sojourner Truth, Mary Wollstonecraft, and
other women and men who began the conversation about gender in
this country;
and to
Maya Angelou, Gloria Anzaldúa, Ella Baker, Robert Bly, Judith Butler,
Karlyn Campbell, Mary Daly, Simone de Beauvoir, Marilyn French,
Michael Kimmel, Betty Friedan, Ellen Goodman, J. Jack Halberstam,
bell hooks, Jackson Katz, Evelyn Fox Keller, Lady Gaga, Madonna,
Bill McCartney, Gloria Steinem, and other women and men who
have added to the cultural dialogue about gender;
and to
Jason Muehlhoff, Malia Obama, Sasha Obama, Niko Pezzullo Striphas,

Daniel Wood Wilco, Harrison Wood Wilco, Michelle Wood Wilco,
and other boys and girls whose voices will shape the next generation’s
understanding of women and men, masculinity and femininity, and
the meaning of gender in our society.
Brief Contents
PREFACE xvii
ABOUT THE AUTHORS xxiii
INTRODUCTION Opening the Conversation 1
PART 1 CONCEPT UAL FO UND A TIONS
CHAPTER 1 The Study of Communication, Gender, and Culture 14
CHAPTER 2 Theoretical Approaches to Gender Development 35
CHAPTER 3 The Rhetorical Shaping of Gender: Competing Images

of Women 57
CHAPTER 4 The Rhetorical Shaping of Gender: Competing Images of Men 79
CHAPTER 5 Gendered Verbal Communication 101
CHAPTER 6 Gendered Nonverbal Communication 122
PART 2 G E N D E R E D C O M M U N I C A T I ON IN P R A C T I C E
CHAPTER 7 Becoming Gendered 142
CHAPTER 8 Gendered Education: Communication in Schools 165
CHAPTER 9 Gendered Close Relationships 185
CHAPTER 10 Gendered Organizational Communication 208
CHAPTER 11 Gendered Media 233
CHAPTER 12 Gendered Power and Violence 255
GLOSSARY 281
REFERENCES 289
INDEX 317
Contents
PREFACE xvii
ABOUT THE AUTHORS xxiii
INTRODUCTION Opening the Conversation 1

The Social Construction of Inequality 2
Feminism—Feminisms 3
Becoming Aware 5
Why We Wrote This Book 7
Communication as the Fulcrum of Change 10
The Challenge of Studying Communication, Gender, and Culture 11
Features of Gendered Lives 11
PART 1 CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS
CHAPTER 1 The Study of Communication, Gender, and Culture 14

Communication, Gender, and Culture as an Area of Study 14
Research on Gender, Communication, and Culture 15
Reasons to Learn about Communication, Gender, and Culture 15
Gender in a Transitional Era 16
Differences between Women and Men 17
Relationships among Gender, Culture, and Communication 18
Sex 19
Gender 20
Beyond Sex and Gender 25
Culture 29
Communication 30
Communication Is a Dynamic Process 30
Communication Is Systemic 30
Communication Has Two Levels of Meaning 31
Meanings Are Created through Human Interaction with Symbols 32
CHAPTER 2 Theoretical Approaches to Gender Development 35

Theoretical Approaches to Gender 35
Biological Theories of Gender 36
Interpersonal Theories of Gender 41
Psychodynamic Theories of Gender Development 41
Psychological Theories of Gender Development 42
Social Learning Theory 42
Cognitive Development Theory 43
Cultural Theories of Gender 45
Anthropology 45
Symbolic Interactionism 46
Critical Theories of Gender 48
Standpoint Theory 48
Queer Performative Theory 50
Theories Working Together 54
vii
viii CONTENTS
CHAPTER 3 The Rhetorical Shaping of Gender: Competing

Images of Women 57
The Three Waves of Women’s Movements in the United States 58
The First Wave of Women’s Movements in the United States 59
Liberal Ideology: The Women’s Rights Movement 59
Cultural Ideology: The Cult of Domesticity 60
The Second Wave of Women’s Movements in the United States 61
Liberal Ideology 62
Cultural Ideology 68
Contemporary Feminism 70
Riot Grrrl 71
Power Feminism 71
Mainstream Third-Wave Feminism 72
Hip-Hop Feminism 75
CHAPTER 4 The Rhetorical Shaping of Gender: Competing Images of Men 79

Profeminist Men’s Groups 80
NOMAS 82
ACT UP: The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power 83
Men’s Antiviolence Groups 84
The White Ribbon Campaign 84
Walk a Mile in Her Shoes 86
Mentors in Violence Prevention 86
Masculinist Men’s Groups 87
Men’s Rights 87
Father’s Rights Groups 88
Mythopoetic Men 89
Promise Keepers 90
The Million Man March 93
Contemporary Men’s Movements 94
The Good Men Project 96
CHAPTER 5 Gendered Verbal Communication 101

Verbal Communication Expresses Cultural Views of Gender 102
Male Generic Language Excludes Women 102
Language Defines Men and Women Differently 102
Language Shapes Awareness of Gendered Issues 105
Language Organizes Perceptions of Gender 106
Language Evaluates Gender 107
Language Allows Self-Reflection 108
Gendered Styles of Verbal Communication 109
Gendered Speech Communities 109
The Lessons of Children’s Play 109
Boys’ Games 110
Girls’ Games 110
Gendered Communication Practices 112
Feminine Communication 112
Masculine Communication 114
The Gender-Linked Language Effect 116
Gender-Based Misinterpretations in Communication 116
Showing Support 116
Troubles Talk 117
CONTENTS ix
The Point of the Story 119

Relationship Talk 119
Public Speaking 119
CHAPTER 6 Gendered Nonverbal Communication 122

Functions of Nonverbal Communication 123
Supplement Verbal Communication 124
Regulate Interaction 124
Establish the Relationship Level of Meaning 124
Responsiveness 124
Liking 125
Power or Control 125
Forms of Nonverbal Communication 125
Artifacts 126
Proximity and Personal Space 129
Haptics (Touch) 130
Kinesics (Facial and Body Motion) 130
Paralanguage 132
Physical Appearance 132
Interpreting Nonverbal Behavior 137
Respecting Gendered Styles of Nonverbal Communication 138
PART 2 G E N D E R E D C O M M U N I C AT I O N I N P R A C T I C E
CHAPTER 7 Becoming Gendered 142

Gendering Communication in the Family 144
Unconscious Processes 144
Gender Identity 144
Ego Boundaries 147
Parental Communication about Gender 148
Parental Modeling 150
The Personal Side of the Gender Drama 151
Growing Up Masculine 152
Don’t Be Feminine 152
Be Successful 152
Be Aggressive 153
Be Sexual 154
Be Self-Reliant 154
Embody and Transcend Traditional Views of Masculinity 155
Growing Up Feminine 156
Appearance Still Counts 157
Be Sensitive and Caring 157
Negative Treatment by Others 158
Be Superwoman 159
There Is No Single Meaning of Feminine Anymore 161
Growing Up Outside Conventional Genders 161
CHAPTER 8 Gendered Education: Communication in Schools 165

Gendered Expectations and Pressures Facing Students 166
Academics 166
Males 166
Females 167
x CONTENTS
LGBTQ Students 172

Gender Isn’t the Whole Story 173
Athletics 173
Gender Pressures from Peers 175
Pressures to Conform to Masculinity 176
Pressures to Conform to Femininity 177
Gendered Expectations and Pressures Facing Faculty 180
CHAPTER 9 Gendered Close Relationships 185

The Meaning of Personal Relationships 185
Models of Personal Relationships 186
The Male Deficit Model 187
The Alternate Paths Model 187
Gendered Styles of Friendship 188
Feminine Friendships: Closeness in Dialogue 189
Masculine Friendships: Closeness in the Doing 191
Friendships between Women and Men 192
Gendered Romantic Relationships 193
Developing Romantic Intimacy 194
Gendered Patterns in Committed Relationships 195
Gendered Modes of Expressing Affection 196
Gendered Preferences for Autonomy and Connection 197
Gendered Responsibility for Relational Health 198
Gendered Power Dynamics 198
CHAPTER 10 Gendered Organizational Communication 208

Gendered Stereotypes in the Workplace 209
Stereotypes of Women 209
Sex Object 209
Mother 210
Child 213
Iron Maiden 213
Stereotypes of Men 214
Sturdy Oak 214
Fighter 214
Breadwinner 215
Masculine Norms in Professional Life 216
Traditional Masculine Images of Leaders 216
Traditionally Masculine Norms for Career Paths 218
Gendered Patterns in Organizations 219
Formal Practices 219
Leave Policies 219
Work Schedules 220
Informal Practices 222
Unwelcoming Environments for Women 222
The Informal Network 223
Mentoring Relationships 223
Glass Ceilings and Walls 224
Efforts to Redress Gendered Inequity in Institutions 225
Equal Opportunity Laws 225
Affirmative Action Policies 226
Quotas 228
Goals 229
Diversity Training 230
CONTENTS xi
CHAPTER 11 Gendered Media 233

Media Saturation of Cultural Life 234
Media Impacts 235
Set the Agenda 235
Regulate Images of Women and Men 236
Underrepresent Women and Minorities 236
Portray Men Stereotypically 237
Portray Women Stereotypically 238
Gendered Images in Advertising 241
Motivate Us to Consume 244
Gender and Social Media 246
Social Networking 246
Learning and Sharing Information 248
Holding Others Accountable 249
Activism 249
Consequences of Gendered Media 251
Normalize Unrealistic Standards 251
Normalize Violence against Women 251
CHAPTER 12 Gendered Power and Violence 255

The Many Faces of Gendered Violence 256
Gender Intimidation 256
Sexual Harassment 257
Quid Pro Quo 257
Hostile Environment 257
Sexual Assault 258
Intimate Partner Violence 262
Genital Surgery 266
Male Circumcision 266
Sunna 267
Excision or Clitoridectomy 267
Infibulation 268
Gender-Based Murder 269
Reproductive Violence 269
Cultural Foundations of Gendered Violence 272
The Normalization of Violence in Media 272
The Normalization of Violence by Institutions 272
Schools 273
Family 273
Law Enforcement 274
Language 274
Resisting Gendered Violence: Where Do We Go from Here? 274
Personal Efforts to Reduce Gendered Violence 274
Social Efforts to Reduce Gendered Violence 275
Taking a Voice 276
GLOSSARY 281
REFERENCES 289
INDEX 317
L IST OF E XPLORING G ENDERED L IVES B OXES
INTRODUCTION
About “Male-Bashing”: Julia and Natalie—the Authors—Comment 6
Multicultural Perspectives on Gender 7
CHAPTER 1
Journals That Feature Research on Gender and Communication 16
Grown-Up Tomboys 19
Social Views of Intersexuality 20
T Troubles 21
Pink Is for Boys? 24
Trans Students 27
CHAPTER 2
Chromosomal Variations 37
The Claims of Sociobiology 39
Biological Differences That Make a Difference 40
Varied Cultural Approaches to Fathering 46
Ga Ga for Lady Gaga 53
CHAPTER 3
A’n’t I a Woman? 60
Reproductive Rights 61
The Famous Bra Burning (That Didn’t Happen!) 63
About NOW 64
To Be Womanish, To Be a Womanist 66
Antifeminism 68
The Text of the Equal Rights Amendment 69
Lesbian, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer-Identified Women 70
“Don’t Tell Us How to Dress. Tell Men Not to Rape.” 74
A Postfeminist Era? 76
CHAPTER 4
The Scariest Phrase? 82
Men Can Stop Rape 85
Rites of Manhood 90
Grassroots Men’s Ministries 93
xiii
xiv LIST OF EXPLORING GENDERED LIVES BOXES
Misogyny 95
“If You Don’t Like What’s Being Said, Change the Conversation.” 97
CHAPTER 5
Parallel Language? 104
What’s in a Name? 105
Seeing the Unseen/Naming the Unnamed 106
Fat Talk 108
Gender and Gaming Culture 111
Scholarship versus Popular Psychology 118
CHAPTER 6
Guns Are for Girls; Tea Parties Are for Boys 127
Indecent Dress for Women 128
Beauty for Sale 132
A New Model for Models? 134
Modeling Physical Beauty 137
CHAPTER 7
Superheroes and Slackers 146
Sisterhood? 159
Careers for Women: Gendered, Raced, and Classed 160
CHAPTER 8
Single-Sex Educational Programs 167
Name That (Wo)man 170
Straddling Two Cultures 174
Title IX: Fiction and Fact 176
Schoolyard Bullying 178
Hooked Up 179
CHAPTER 9
When Focusing on Feelings Makes Us Feel Bad 190
Fertile Expectations 199
Dads at Work 201
Scientists and the Second Shift 203
Fathering in Other Species 204
The Mommy Myth 204
Global Nannies 205
LIST OF EXPLORING GENDERED LIVES BOXES xv
CHAPTER 10
Personal Choice or Institutional Discrimination? 211
Can Women (and Men) Have It All? 212
Strategies for Women’s Success in the Workplace 214
Gendered Wages 215
If She’s a He, He’s Better and Paid Better Too! 217
Work-Life Balance for All 222
The Glass Escalator 225
When Quotas Raise Questions—and When They Don’t 229
CHAPTER 11
The Geena Davis Institute 236
Beyond Sexy Sidekicks and Damsels in Distress 239
Miss Representation 243
Is Censorship the Answer? 244
Am I Pretty? 247
Watch out for Sparks 250
CHAPTER 12
Hollaback! 256
First Rape, Then Marriage 260
Sexual Assault of Men 261
The Victim 262
Corrective Rape 263
Myths and Facts about Rape 263
The Cycle of Intimate Partner Violence 265
Myths and Facts about Violence between Intimates 266
To Circumcise or Not to Circumcise: That Is the Question 267
A Vacation to Remember 268
Forced Abortion 270
Whose Rights? Whose Protection? 271
Refusing to Be Defeated 276
Preface
We wrote Gendered Lives for two reasons. First, we want to introduce students to a
rich body of research that informs us about the intricate connections among com-
munication, gender, and culture. Second, we think that learning about these con-
nections empowers students to make more informed decisions about how they
personally enact gender, address gender issues in their lives, and contribute to cul-
tural attitudes, perspectives, laws, and policies related to gender.
Since the first edition of this book appeared in the early 1990s, our under-
standings of gender have changed and issues related to gender have mush-
roomed. Society has acknowledged a greater range of options for individual
women and men—in the military, in the home, in professional life, in social
life, and in politics. During the past 20 years, society has become more accepting
of gay, lesbian, and transgender identities, new women’s and men’s movements
have emerged, mass media have challenged some gender stereotypes while creat-
ing others, and social media have added to the content and forms by which gen-
der is continuously negotiated. Academic researchers have continued to map the
ways that communication, gender, and culture influence one another. This new
edition responds to social changes in the United States and around the world, as
well as to feedback from students and faculty who generously offered ideas for
ways to improve this book.
We discuss this book’s origins and features in the Introduction (“Opening the
Conversation,” pages 1–13). Here, we want to describe changes that make this edi-
tion different from the last and identify supplementary resources available for stu-
dents and instructors.
Changes in Gendered Lives,

Twelfth Edition
The most important change in this edition is the addition of a coauthor: Natalie
Fixmer-Oraiz. Julia authored the first 11 editions of this book. Over the last 15
years, her conversations and writing with Natalie have deepened her understand-
ing of the profound ways in which gender and power are imbricated. Invariably,
Natalie’s ideas found their way into Julia’s thinking and writing about issues
discussed in this book. Deciding to write the book together is an organic out-
growth of our long-term intellectual collaboration. Natalie’s groundbreaking
research and her passion for teaching make her the ideal coauthor for Gendered
Lives.
In addition to being coauthored, five significant changes differentiate this
edition from its predecessors.
xvii
xviii PREFACE
Enhanced Coverage of Gendered Health Issues

This edition gives greater attention to the ways in which cultural understandings and
expectations of gender influence physical and mental health. For instance, in the
Introduction, we note that pharmaceutical companies have constructed “low T” as
a problem men need to address by buying prescription testosterone, which can
cause serious health problems, including heart attacks. Chapter 1 points out that
women bear the vast majority of responsibility for reproductive matters ranging
from contraception to parenting. These responsibilities are accompanied by risks,
some of which are significant. Chapter 6 discusses the push for and dangers of cos-
metic surgery and the pressure many people, males as well as females, feel to achieve
media-created physical perfection. In addressing gendered violence, Chapter 12 cata-
logs a wide range of health problems that result from rape, female genital mutilation,
and reproductive violence. Chapter 12 also covers recent efforts by colleges and uni-
versities to take campus sexual assaults seriously. The sharpened focus on health issues
shows that social views of men and women are not simply abstract; they are also very
concrete in terms of consequences on our well-being and even our very lives.
Integrated Emphasis on Digital Media

Digital and online media are pervasive in our lives. Not only are digital media
sources of gender socialization, but also they are powerful platforms for rethinking
gender and for gender activism. Accordingly, we revised Chapter 11, Gendered
Media, to track the increasingly blurred lines between digital and mass media. We
also incorporated discussion digital media into other chapters. For example, we
revised Chapter 9, Gendered Close Relationships, to call attention to the ways in
which computer-mediated communication (CMC) is changing/reinforcing gen-
dered expressions of care, friendship, and intimacy. Chapters 3 and 4 note ways
that social movements about gender rely on social media, and Chapter 12 points
out ways that social media are used to challenge gendered violence.
Revised Coverage of Women’s and Men’s

Movements
This edition continues our commitment to tracing the evolution of women’s and
men’s movements. Chapter 3, which focuses on women’s movements, includes new
material on La Raza, an organization that represents interests of Chicana feminists,
and the Riot Grrrl movement, which laid the foundation for the third wave of
U.S. feminism. Chapter 3 also includes a new section on “postfeminism,” in
which we invite students to consider whether it is accurate to assume feminism is
no longer needed in the United States. Chapter 4, which covers men’s movements,
includes new material on the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP), a men’s
health movement that began when the AIDS crisis first surfaced in the United
States and which marked a critical juncture in which men’s and women’s groups
worked together.
PREFACE xix
Explicit Emphasis on Application

Since the first edition, Gendered Lives has encouraged students to apply material in
the book by reflecting on gendered issues in their lives and by taking a voice in
their personal lives as well as the public sphere. This edition enlarges the commit-
ment to application by providing more explicit invitations for students to think,
act, and otherwise do something active and personal related to what they learn in
the book and the course it accompanies. The Exploring Gendered Lives boxes that
appear in every chapter now conclude by asking students to take a stand on the
topic discussed. At the end of each chapter, the Reflection, Discussion, and Action
feature now includes a Gender in Action item that encourages students to apply or
extend a concept or topic discussed in the chapter to their lives. The Gender in
Action items are highlighted by the icon .
Up-to-Date Research
A final focus of this revision is updating research. Understandings of gender and
issues connected to it change at lightning speed. To keep up with these changes, a
textbook must be continuously updated to reflect the most current research and
events. To ensure the currency of Gendered Lives, we’ve incorporated more than
250 new references into this edition.
Pedagogical Features to Engage Students

Five features are aimed to heighten students’ engagement with the text and issues
related to gender. First, each chapter opens with “Knowledge Challenge” questions,
which focus on issues that are often misunderstood and which are covered in the
chapter. Second, to encourage active engagement with material, selected Exploring
Gendered Lives boxes conclude by asking students’ opinion about issues raised in
the feature. Third, each chapter concludes with questions for thought, discussion,
and application. These may be assigned for students to think about or as journal
entries. They may also be prompts for class discussion. Fourth, “Gender Online,”
which appears after each chapter summary, invites students to visit websites related
to chapter content and to search online for videos and information about concepts
and ideas in the chapter. Finally, at the end of each chapter, we suggest two to four
sources—films, articles, websites, and books. Our criteria for selecting these are
that (1) we consider them either classic or especially insightful, and (2) they are
accessible to undergraduate students.
In making these five changes, we’ve avoided “page creep”—the tendency of
books to grow longer with each new edition because old material is not deleted to
make room for new material. We have eliminated dated coverage and references to
make room for more current research and coverage of timely topics. We hope the
changes make this edition of Gendered Lives a valuable resource for instructors and
students who want to explore the complex and fascinating ways in which commu-
nication, gender, and culture interact and affect our lives.
xx PREFACE
Supplementary Resources for Students

and Instructors
Gendered Lives, twelfth edition, offers electronic supplements to assist in making
the gender communication course as meaningful and enjoyable as possible for
both students and instructors, and to help students succeed. Cengage Learning
has prepared the following descriptions for your consideration.
Instructor Companion Website. The password-protected instructor’s website
includes electronic access to the Instructor’s Resource Manual, PowerPoints,
CogneroTesting Program, Comprehensive Video Program, and links to Cengage
Learning technology resources.
Written by Emily Anzicek at Bowling Green State University, the Instructor’s
Resource Manual comprises two main parts, the first titled and addressing Special
Issues in Teaching Communication, Gender & Culture, and the second a Chapter-
by-Chapter Guide for Teaching Gendered Lives, which provides chapter outlines,
activities, and test questions.
®
PowerPoint presentations prepared by Larry Edmonds at Arizona State Uni-
versity contain text and images, and can be used as is or customized to suit your
course needs.
Please consult your local Cengage Learning sales representative or cengage.com
/login for more information, user names and passwords, examination copies, or a
demonstration of these ancillary products. Available to qualified adopters.
Acknowledgments
One of the most gratifying aspects of writing a book is the opportunity to thank
those who have offered support, insight, and advice. First and foremost, we thank
our students. The women and men in our classes and those we meet when we visit
other campuses are unfailing sources of insight for us. Their questions and ideas,
their willingness to challenge some of our notions, and their generosity in sharing
their perceptions and experiences have shaped the pages that follow in both
obvious and subtle ways.
Among the undergraduate students who have pushed us to think in new ways
about gender, communication, and culture are Jordana Adler, Cutler Andrews,
Brandon Carter, Ethan Cicero, Alexis Dennis, Madeline Fitzgerald, Paige Pennigar,
and Nisha Verma. Among the graduate students who have influenced our thinking
are J. Beckham, Jen Cronin, Kate Harris, Naomi Johnson, Kristen Norwood, Tim
Muehlhoff, Julia O’Grady, Phaedra Pezzullo, Stace Treat, and Grover Wehman-
Brown.
Our thinking and writing also reflect conversations with colleagues. We are par-
ticularly grateful to Professor Bonnie Dow, Vanderbilt University, who has pro-
vided wise advice and challenges since the first edition of this book. We are also
indebted to Lynn O’Brien Hallstein, Boston University, for her generative research
PREFACE xxi
and her passion for wrestling with questions about gender, communication, and
culture.
We have benefited from the professional support of Nicole Morinon, Senior
Product Manager for Communication Studies, and Kate Scheinman, Content
Developer, who made our job as authors far easier and far more satisfying than
we had a right to expect. Along with Nicole and Kate, others at Cengage Learning
have contributed in important ways to this edition of Gendered Lives. They are
Colin Solan, Production Assistant; Karolina Kiwak, Associate Content Developer;
Sarah Seymour, Marketing Manager. Daniel Saabye, Content Product Manager;
and Ann Hoffman, Permissions Manager. As well we thank Samantha Ross-Miller,
who managed the production of this book.
Finally, we are indebted to the reviewers for this edition:
Sandra Alvarez, American International College
Sandy Berkowitz, Minneapolis Community and Technical College
Mary Carver, University of Central Oklahoma
Linda Dam, University of Connecticut
Abby Dubisar, Iowa State University
Charlotte Jones, Carroll College
Mary L. Kahl, Indiana State University
Myrna Kuehn, Clarion University of Pennsylvania
Amanda Martinez, Davidson College
Julie Mayberry, Meredith College/North Carolina State University
Kelly McKay-Semmler, University of South Dakota
Susan McManimon, Rider University and Kean University
Nina-Jo Moore, Appalachian State University
Kaneez Naseem, Monroe College
Jessica Papajcik, Stark State College
Kimberly Parker, Bellarmine University
Mairi Pileggi, Dominican University of California
Joquina Reed, Texas A&M International University
Henrietta Shirk, Montana Tech of the University of Montana
Erika Thomas, California State University, Fullerton
Joseph Velasco, Sul Ross State University
Justin Walton, Cameron University
Carrie West, Schreiner University
Debbie Wigington, Chemeketa Community College
And, always, we thank our partners. Julia thanks Robbie for his support, criti-
cism, and, most of all, his steadfast presence in her life. Natalie is ever grateful to
Vanessa for sharing her mad smarts, generosity, compassion, and love.
Julia T. Wood
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Natalie Fixmer-Oraiz
Iowa City, Iowa
June 2015
About the Authors
Julia T. Wood is Lineberger Distinguished Professor of Humanities Emerita at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She joined that university at the age of
24. While on the faculty, she was named the Lineberger Distinguished Professor
of Humanities and the Caroline H. and Thomas S. Royster Distinguished Professor
of Graduate Education. She has authored 17 books and edited 10 others. In addition,
she has published more than 100 articles and book chapters and has presented
numerous papers at professional conferences. She has won 12 awards for undergrad-
uate teaching and 15 awards for her scholarship.
Julia lives with her partner, Robert Cox, who is Professor Emeritus of Commu-
nication Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Filling out their
immediate family are their dog, Cassidy, and two cats, Rigby and Rowdy. When
not teaching or writing, Julia works with, and consults on sex and gender issues,
and volunteers at the Carolina Tiger Rescue.
Natalie Fixmer-Oraiz is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies and
Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies at the University of Iowa. She has pub-
lished articles on rhetoric and reproductive justice, the commercial surrogacy
industry, and third-wave feminism, as well as book chapters on the public debates
surrounding birth control and communication activism pedagogy. She is currently
at work on Homeland Maternity, a book that examines contemporary struggles
over reproductive health and motherhood in the context of homeland security cul-
ture. In addition, Natalie has been honored by teaching awards from the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the American Association of Colleges and
Universities. She is committed to service-learning and experiential education as
means of helping students make connections between theory and practice; and
the community and the classroom. She continues her involvement in reproductive
health and justice initiatives in United States and transnational contexts. She cur-
rently resides in Iowa City with her partner of over ten years and their three furry
companion animals.
xxiii
i
Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice.
—WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
Opening the
Conversation
Knowledge Challenge:
• When was the term feminism first used?
• How many bras were burned in feminist protests in 1968?
• As a group, are heterosexual men happier in relationships with feminist or
nonfeminist women?
• What is at stake in how we think about gender?
Textbooks typically begin with a preview of chapters and features, but we
want to launch our conversation a bit differently. We think you’re entitled to
know something about the people behind the words you’ll be reading, so we
want to open the book by introducing ourselves and explaining why we
wrote Gendered Lives.
Most people regard books as impersonal sources of information. Like
anything that people create, however, books reflect the experiences,
identities, and historical context of the authors who write them. Authors
influence books when they decide which topics to include and which
theories to present. This doesn’t mean that books are not informative or
reliable, but it does mean that authors’ experiences and perspectives have
an impact on books. By telling you a little about who we are and why we
wrote this book, we are inviting you to think about how our backgrounds,
experiences, beliefs, and values have shaped the book you’re reading.
Let’s start with some simple demographic information. Julia is a European-
American, middle-aged, heterosexual, spiritually engaged, middle-class
woman who has been in a committed relationship with Robbie (Robert) Cox
for 44 years. Natalie is a white, thirty-something, queer, middle-class woman
in a committed relationship with her partner, Vanessa, for over ten years.
Yet, if you think about it, this information isn’t simple at all. It implies a
great deal about our identities and experiences. For instance, Julia became an
adult when the second wave of the U.S. Women’s Movement was ascending,
2 INTRODUCTION Opening the Conversation
and it influenced her personal life, political views, and perspective on gender
and culture. Natalie grew up in a culture that presented far greater
opportunities to girls and women than that of previous generations. But even
as feminism seemed to be part of the air she breathed, she also began to
notice how sexism and other forms of social and economic injustice remained
stubbornly intact.
The “simple” demographic information also shows that Julia and Natalie
are privileged by their race and economic class, which are approved by
mainstream Western culture. Yet they are disadvantaged by their sex,
because women continue to be valued less than men in Western culture.
Natalie suffers additional discrimination because her sexual orientation is not
favored by mainstream culture.
We did not earn the privileges conferred by our skin color and economic
class, nor did we earn the inequities that come with being female and, for
Natalie, being a lesbian. That is the nature of much privilege and inequity—
they are unearned. They do not reflect the achievements, efforts, or failings
of the individuals who enjoy or suffer them.
The Social Construction of Inequality

To speak of being privileged in some ways and disadvantaged in others does not
mean that these aspects of life are fixed in stone. The fact that being female makes
approximately half of the population vulnerable to job discrimination, violence,
and other injustices is not unchangeable. Nor is it immutable that some people’s
sexual orientation or race or economic class or gender identity makes them vulner-
able to inequity. In fact, one reason we wrote this book is because we believe soci-
ety can change, and each of us can be part of bringing change about.
To participate in changing society, we cannot limit ourselves to our personal
identities and experiences. We need to learn about the experiences, perspectives,
and circumstances of people in other social positions: the anger and hurt experi-
enced by transgender people in a society that defines them as abnormal; the resent-
ment felt by some heterosexual white men toward laws and policies that increase
rights and opportunities available to women and minorities; what it means to be a
person of color in a sea of whiteness; the sense of restriction many women feel
knowing they cannot venture out at night without risking assault; the frustration
felt by poor and working-class citizens whose needs and circumstances often are
not represented in legislation that claims to help everyone.
We can never fully understand the lives of people who differ from us, but can real-
ize that our feelings, identities, values, and perspectives are not everyone’s. Recogniz-
ing the limits of our own perspectives and experiences encourages us to learn from
people who have different perspectives and experiences. We do this by respecting
the specific conditions that shape their lives and by recognizing that only they can
Feminism—Feminisms 3
define the meanings of their experiences, feelings, thoughts, hopes, beliefs, problems,
and needs. We cannot speak for them, cannot appropriate their voices as our own
(González, Houston, & Chen, 2012). But to listen is to learn, and to learn is to
broaden our appreciation of the range of human experiences and possibilities.
Feminism—Feminisms
Finally, in introducing ourselves to you, we should tell you that we are feminists.
Before you form an impression based on your understanding of feminism, let’s
define the term. The word feminism was coined in France in the late 1800s. It com-
bined the French word for “woman,” femme, with the suffix ism, meaning “political
position.” Thus, feminism means “a political position about women.” Ironically,
although many people in their 20s do not call themselves feminists, they do think
that women’s rights activism has improved the conditions and opportunities avail-
able to women. Also, many people—both male and female—believe women and
men are equal and should have the same rights. This suggests that, for many peo-
ple, there is greater reservation about the label feminist than about the actual goals,
values, and achievements of feminism.
When we talk with students who say they aren’t feminists, we often discover
that we agree on most issues relevant to gender but disagree on the meaning of
the word feminism. There’s good reason for this. First, feminism is not one single
belief or political position. Chapter 3 discusses a variety of feminist positions, and
Chapter 4 explores the different stances—some feminist, some not—endorsed by
men’s movements. Second, most people’s impressions of feminism have been
shaped by bias in media portrayal of feminism and feminists. Beginning with the
inaccurate report that feminists burned bras at a protest of the 1968 Miss America
Pageant (no bras were burned at that protest), media have consistently misrepre-
sented feminists as man-hating, shrill extremists. Many people, like a student
named Andrea (see her commentary), say they aren’t feminists because they asso-
ciate feminism with media caricatures that emphasize male-bashing, being unfemi-
nine, and engaging in radical protests.
ANDREA
I would never call myself a feminist, because that word has so many negative con-
notations. I don’t hate men or anything, and I’m not interested in protesting. I don’t
want to go around with hacked-off hair and no makeup and sit around bashing
men. I do think women and men are equal and should have the same kinds of
rights, including equal pay for equal work. But I wouldn’t call myself a feminist.
Media stereotypes of feminists don’t fit many women and men who identify as
feminists. Most feminists are not extremists, and most, like the two of us, have
strong and loving relationships with both women and men. Many women who
label themselves feminist enjoy wearing feminine clothes, experimenting with hair-
styles and makeup, and engaging in traditionally feminine activities such as baking,
knitting, and caring for children. Research shows that heterosexual men in rela-
tionships with feminist women are happier and consider their relationships health-
ier than heterosexual men in relationships with nonfeminist women. The converse
is also true: Women in heterosexual relationships with feminist men are happier
and more satisfied with their relationships than women in heterosexual relation-
ships with nonfeminist men (Rudman & Fairchild, 2004; Rudman & Phelan,
2007). Being a feminist does not conflict with being feminine, but it does mean
being reflective about how women define and express femininity. Likewise, being
a feminist does not conflict with being masculine, but it requires men to make con-
scious choices about how they define and express their masculinity.
Because feminism means different things to different people, we want to tell you
how we define the term. We understand feminism as an active commitment to
equality and respect for all forms of life. For us, this includes respecting all people,
as well as nonhuman forms of life and the Earth itself. Simply put, we see feminism
as resisting oppression, be it the oppression of women, men, people with disabil-
ities, people with any gender or sexual identity, people of any race, ethnicity or
religion, elderly people, children, animals, or our planet. We don’t think oppression
and domination foster healthy lives for individuals or societies as a whole. We
believe there are better, more humane, and enriching ways for us to live, and we
are convinced each of us can be part of bringing these alternatives into existence.
During the course of reading this book, you will encounter varied versions of fem-
inism, which should shatter the myth that feminism is one position, and which
should also invite you to consider where to locate yourself among diverse
viewpoints.
Feminism does not just happen. It is a process and an achievement. Julia was
not raised to be a feminist. In fact, quite the contrary. She was brought up to be
a traditional Southern woman who deferred to men and devoted her life to home
and family. In the 1970s when a friend first introduced her to some readings about
discrimination against women, her initial response was denial. She tried to ratio-
nalize inequities or repress her knowledge of discrimination, perhaps because rec-
ognizing it was painful. When denial failed to work, Julia became angry about the
ways in which women, including herself, were devalued and denied opportunities.
She was also angry at herself for having been unaware of society’s devaluation of
women and for conforming to the roles assigned to women. Eventually, Julia trans-
formed the anger into an abiding commitment to working for changes in society.
Natalie came to feminism somewhat differently. She was raised to believe that
girls and women were equal to boys and men. Her parents, both of whom identi-
fied as feminists, encouraged her love of reading, music, dance, and math equally,
and cheered her athletic and academic pursuits. She was fortunate to have a series
of teachers throughout her schooling who believed in her and pushed her to excel.
Upon entering graduate school, she was assigned to Julia’s teaching team for the
class, Gender, Communication, and Culture, using the very textbook you are read-
ing right now (albeit an edition from a few years back!). The material resonated
profoundly: Despite the fact that Natalie had grown up in a culture that
Becoming Aware 5
proclaimed sexism to be over and feminism no longer needed, the new set of con-
cepts she encountered in Gendered Lives named persistent patterns of inequity that
she had noticed but had not had language to label and critique. Like Julia, some-
times Natalie’s response to this new information was denial or anger, but it also
ignited her curiosities and passions. She began exploring the histories of feminist
social movements and contemporary gendered injustices and now devotes her
research, teaching, and activism to these issues.
Becoming Aware
Whether you identify with feminism or not, you are gendered. Reading this book
will expand your understanding of gender—how it is shaped and expressed in con-
texts ranging from the political arena to intimate relationships. The awareness you
gain will enhance your insight into yourself and your society.
At the same time, you may feel unsettled as you read this book. If you are a
woman, you may find it disturbing to learn the extent to which Western culture
(and other cultures) devalues women’s experiences and limits their opportunities.
If you are a man, reading this book may increase your awareness of the ways in
which cultural views of masculinity constrain your life choices. You may be
uncomfortable learning about social expectations for men to succeed, to be self-
sufficient, to repress feelings, and to put work ahead of family. You may also be
surprised to learn that your maleness benefits you in ways that you may not have
noticed, particularly if you are white.
We also realize that a number of people reading this book—both women and
men—have been raped, sexually abused, sexually harassed, or battered. Some of
you have eating disorders; some have suffered job discrimination; some of you
have been taunted for not embodying current social expectations for males or
females; some of you have been bullied because of your sexual orientation or gen-
der identity. Reading Gendered Lives is likely to stir up these issues. If you don’t
wish to deal with such difficult issues, then you may choose to forgo or delay
study in this area. However, if you are ready to wrestle with serious personal and
social matters, then this book should help you understand issues in your life as not
only personal but also deeply rooted in social values and institutions.
Becoming aware of inequities in social life may lead you to speak out against
practices and attitudes that sustain discrimination and disadvantage. Realize that
some people will respond negatively if you make thoughtful criticisms of current
social attitudes and practices. Women who speak out against inequities and dis-
crimination are sometimes accused of male-bashing. Men who speak out against
discrimination against women are sometimes regarded as wimps or as disloyal to
men. Such responses reflect an unwillingness to engage in the substance of the crit-
icism. If you want to take an active role in shaping our shared world, you must
anticipate struggles with those who are less willing to consider ideas that question
familiar perspectives and behaviors.
EXPLORING GENDERED LIVES About “Male-Bashing”: Julia

and Natalie—the Authors—
Comment
Occasionally, a student tells one of us harassment: Although members of both
that Gendered Lives “bashes men.” This sexes are sexually harassed, most victims
comment puzzles us, because we don’t are female and most perpetrators are
see ourselves as male-bashers. Both of male. The only way we could present a
our lives include men we love. We have gender-balanced discussion of sexual
many male friends and colleagues; and harassment would be by misrepresent-
we’ve done as much to mentor male ing facts.
students and colleagues as female ones. You should also realize that this book
When we ask students to explain why includes more information about men
they think the book bashes men, they tell and men’s issues than any other text-
us it gives more attention to discrimina- book for a course in gender and com-
tion against women than to discrimina- munication. In the chapters that follow,
tion against men and that it points out you’ll learn about men’s movements,
that some men harm women. They are pressures men face to succeed and con-
correct in this observation, but the dif- form to stereotypes of masculinity, and
ference in attention to harms to women consequences, such as depression, of
and men reflects findings from research social perspectives that limit men in the
rather than any personal views we hold. workplace and in personal relationships.
Like all scholars, what we write You’ll also learn that men, like women,
depends largely on available informa- can be victims of sexual violence. In
tion. Existing research shows that, addition, you’ll discover that men find it
although both men and women experi- stressful to balance work and family, yet
ence violence from intimate partners, men today are contributing more to
95% of people who are known to be raising children than previous genera-
physically abused by romantic partners tions of men.
are women (Haynes, 2009; Johnson, Research throughout this book shows
2006). It would be inaccurate to give how social expectations of women and
equal space to discussion of men who men can restrict all of us. We hope that,
are physically abused by intimate part- as you read this book, you’ll perceive the
ners. The same is true of sexual coverage as fair.
PATRICK
I don’t want to be lumped with all men. I am not sexist; I don’t discriminate against
women; I believe in gender equality and try to practice it in my relationships with
women. It really makes me angry when people bash males as if we are all oppres-
sors or something. I don’t oppress women or anyone else, and I don’t want to be
blamed for unfair things that others do.
Patrick makes an important point. We need to distinguish between the actions

and attitudes of individuals and the social practices and values of our culture. Most
individual men do not aim to oppress women. The point is that Western culture as
a whole has constructed inequalities between women and men, and these inequal-
ities continue in our era.
The problem, then, is not individuals, but rather a social system that accords
unequal value and opportunity on the basis of sex. This kind of prejudice
diminishes us all. It limits our appreciation of human diversity by defining a very
narrow zone of what is good, normal, and worthy of respect. Regardless of whether
you are privileged or oppressed by social evaluations of what is normal and good,
your study of gender, communication, and culture may be unsettling. If you are
seriously disturbed by what you read, you might find it helpful to talk with your
instructor or to visit the counseling center at your school.
Why We Wrote This Book

We wrote Gendered Lives because we believe that change is needed in how we view
and embody gender. We also believe research presented in this book can empower
you to make more informed choices about your personal identity and our shared
world. Since the first edition was published, we’ve received many positive responses
EXPLORING GENDERED LIVES Multicultural Perspectives

on Gender
What’s feminine? What’s masculine? men. Hijras sometimes remove their
What’s gay? It depends on which cul- external genitalia to appear more
ture’s perspective you take. womanlike (Herdt, 1997; Nanda,
2004).
• The Agta in the Philippines and the
• In addition to males and females,
Tini Aborigines in Australia see keen
Juchitán in Oaxaca, Mexico, recog-
hunting ability as a feminine ideal
nizes muxes, who are biological males
(Estioko-Griffin & Griffin, 1997).
who, from an early age, identify as
• In Melanesia, young Sambian boys females and adopt the roles and
perform fellatio on adult men. The practices assigned to females in their
Sambia believe that swallowing the community. Many residents of
semen of adult men helps boys grow Juchitán believe that muxes have
into healthy adult males (Herdt, 1997). special abilities (Lacey, 2008).
• Berdaches are members of approxi- • In Samoa, there is a third gender
mately 150 North American societies, called the Fa’afafine. It is believed that
many of which are Native Americans. the first Fa’afafines were in families
Although berdaches often enact the with only boys, so one of the boys
behaviors of a gender other than that was raised as a girl. Today, Samoans
associated with their birth sex, within consider Fa’afafine a third gender.
their societies they are recognized as Fa’afafines engage in sexual relations
distinct third and fourth genders almost exclusively with heterosexual
(Roscoe, 1993). males, who are not perceived as
• In addition to male and female, India homosexual for having sex with
recognizes a hijra, who are female Fa’afafines (Bartlett & Vasey, 2006).
TAKE A STAND: Do you believe you would view masculinity, femininity, and
sexual orientation differently if you were Samoan or belonged to one of the other
cultures mentioned above?
from colleagues who teach classes that use the book and from students in our classes
as well as from students around the nation. We’ve also received helpful criticism and
suggestions that have motivated us to rethink and improve the book.
In the chapters that follow, you’ll learn about the extent to which gender inequi-
ties and discrimination persist and diminish individual and collective life. For
instance:
• Is there any way to justify the fact that, each day in the United States, at least
four women are killed by their partners or ex-partners?
• Is it fair that men who want to spend time with their families are often evaluated
negatively in professional contexts?
• Is it acceptable that a Pakistani court sentenced a woman to be gang-raped
because of an offense allegedly committed by her brother?
• Is it right that most of the advances won by women’s movements have
benefited white, middle-class women more than minority and poor women?
• Is there any reason why women still earn 76.5 cents for every dollar men earn,
even when they do the same jobs (Cronin, 2013)?
• Is it fair that, in divorce proceedings, mothers have an advantage over fathers in
gaining custody of children?
• Is it right that women bear the primary responsibility and nearly all of the risks
in reproductive matters, including fertility, contraception, and parenting?
If you don’t want inequities such as these to continue, read on. Becoming aware
of how our culture establishes and normalizes inequities is necessary, but that
alone will not lead to changes. In fact, concentrating exclusively on what is wrong
tends to depress us, which can paralyze impulses toward reform. Awareness of
inequities must be coupled with realizing that change is possible.
Through individual action and social movements, many blatant sex inequities
have been eliminated. In the 1800s, women weren’t allowed to vote. They also
had no access to a university education, could not own property if they married,
and were barred from participating in most professions. Women can now vote,
attend universities, own property, and pursue professional careers. Today, women
pursue careers in business, construction, science, education, politics, and the
military.
Views of men, too, have changed. In earlier eras, our society defined manliness in
terms of physical strength and bravery. After the Industrial Revolution, the ability to
earn a good salary became the social standard of manliness. Today, many men are
challenging social definitions of men as income providers and are seeking greater
opportunities to participate in personal relationships. Forty years ago, it would have
been almost unthinkable for a man to have been a stay-at-home dad. Today, a num-
ber of men are stay-at-home dads. In recent decades, sexual harassment, acquain-
tance rape, and marital rape have been named and recognized as illegal.
Changes such as the ones we’ve discussed mislead many people into thinking
that gender equality has been achieved. Some commentators call our time a
“post-feminist era” in which all the issues that feminism focused on have been
resolved. Many of our students tell us that gender discrimination is history and
that sexism has been overcome.
• They tell us that women now have freedom of choice, but they don’t seem to
recognize that some health insurance companies will not pay for contraceptives,
and that there are more barriers to reproductive choice in the United States than
in some other countries.
• They cite high-visibility politicians such as Hillary Clinton as evidence that the
playing field in politics is now level, but they don’t seem to realize that women
make up less than 19% of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and
only 5% of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies (Sandberg & Chávez, 2014).
• They believe that the United States opposes discrimination against women,
but they don’t seem disturbed that the United States—along with a few
other nations such as Somalia and Sudan—has refused to ratify the United
Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women. Jimmy Carter signed the treaty in 1980, and the Senate has yet
to act on it.
• They tell us that heterosexual women and men now have egalitarian
relationships, but they don’t seem concerned that, in two-worker families,
women still spend twice as much time as men on housework and child care
(Beck, 2011).
As the above listing shows, not all of the inequities based on sex and gender are
history. Even in the United States, gender equity has not been fully achieved. In a
ranking of measures that affect women’s lives (health, education, economics, poli-
tics, and justice) the United States ranked eighth, behind Iceland, Sweden, Canada,
Denmark, Finland, Switzerland, and Norway (Streib, 2011). Although we’ve made
progress toward gender equity, there are more changes to be made before we have
a truly level-playing field for everyone.
The consequences of how we define and embody gender are not abstract. There
are very real stakes involved. Individuals’ health and even their lives can be on the
line. Consider a few examples of the concrete impacts of social views of gender:
• Women suffer far more adverse side effects, including potentially fatal heart
arrhythmia, from sleeping pills than men because only men were used in trials
when many of the drugs were in development (Rabin, 2013).
• Transgender people lack access to adequate health care because they often face
outright refusal of services, discrimination, and/or lack of understanding and
cultural competence from health care providers (National Center for Transgender
Equality, 2012).
• Although female infertility accounts for only approximately one-third of hetero-
sexual couples’ trouble with conceiving, women bear the disproportionate bur-
den and risks of fertility treatments. Regardless of the cause of infertility, virtually
all treatments are interventions on women’s bodies, and effects include bruising
and soreness from shots, nausea, allergic responses, ovarian hyperstimulation
syndrome, multiple miscarriages and stillbirths, gestational diabetes, maternal
hemorrhage, and preterm labor and delivery (American Society for Reproductive
Medicine, 2014).
• Testosterone levels naturally decline as men age, yet men today are bombarded
with advertising that urges them to treat “low T” or “low testosterone” (Jaret,
2014). Since 2001, prescriptions for testosterone have tripled. And prescription
testosterone has some dangerous potential side effects, including adding
massive numbers of red blood cells to the bloodstream, shrinking testes, and
increasing the risk of heart attacks (LaPuma, 2014).
The above facts make it crystal clear that the stakes are high when it comes to
gender.
Communication as the Fulcrum

of Change
The stakes we’ve noted provide a compelling reason to work for changes in how we
understand and embody gender. Communication is the heart of social change.
Through communication, we can identify and challenge current cultural views
that constrain individuals and create inequities. We rely on communication to
define alternatives to the status quo and to persuade others to share our visions.
Public discourse often sparks and guides collective efforts at political reform. For
example, in the mid-1800s Elizabeth Cady Stanton and other early feminists galva-
nized support for the women’s rights movement through their eloquent speeches.
More recently, students are leading the way in persuading women’s colleges to
rethink policies that have excluded transgender students. One of the first challenges
came in 2011 when students at Hollins, a women’s university in Virginia, chal-
lenged the school’s policy stating that any student who had hormone treatment,
surgery, or changed her name as part of redefining her sex could no longer attend
classes and could not graduate. As Hollins and other women’s colleges were debat-
ing whether to allow transgender students to matriculate, The Department of Edu-
cation, in 2014, ruled that Title IX protects transgender students from
discrimination (Feldman, 2014). A number of women’s colleges now admit and
accommodate transgender students.
Other kinds of communication also instigate change. Perhaps you use social
media to circulate articles about gender inequalities, and as a result your friends
see injustices they previously had not noticed. Maybe a teacher discusses sexual
harassment with his class, and a student is empowered to bring charges against
her supervisor who has been harassing her. You talk with your father about ways
in which current leave policies disadvantage working mothers, and he persuades
his company to revise its policies. Wherever there is change, we find communica-
tion. Through your interpersonal, social, and public communication, you can
transform yourself and the society in which we jointly participate.
Information is the foundation of making effective choices about what you
believe and what you want to change. Reading Gendered Lives will provide you
with a great deal of information that you can use to develop knowledgeable stands
on gender issues. Then, you can make informed choices about what you believe
and about the identity you wish to fashion for yourself. You may decide to
change how you define yourself, or you may be satisfied with your identity and
the existing gender arrangements in our culture. Either stance is principled if it is
informed—but no stance has integrity if it is not based on sound information and
serious reflection.
Features of Gendered Lives 11
The Challenge of Studying

Communication, Gender, and Culture
Studying communication, gender, and culture involves us in perplexing and often
painful questions about our society and our personal identities. You need courage
to consider new ideas openly and to risk the turmoil of changing values and iden-
tities that are familiar. Further, with awareness comes responsibility. Once we are
informed about gender and communication, we can no longer sit passively back as
if they were not our concern. They are our concern, both because gender and com-
munication affect each of us directly and because we are part of a collective world.
Thus, how we act—or fail to act—influences our shared culture.
Although studying communication, gender, and culture is disturbing, it can be
very worthwhile. By questioning constructed inequality, we empower ourselves to
do more than unthinkingly reproduce the cultural patterns we grew up with.
Instead, we can assume active roles in creating personal and collective lives that
are fairer, more humane, and infinitely more enriching than what might otherwise
be possible.
Features of Gendered Lives

Four features distinguish this book and support the views we’ve just discussed.
First, we include discussion of diverse classes, ethnicities, races, gender identi-
ties, and sexual orientations whenever research is available. For instance, the
Exploring Gendered Lives box on page 7 identifies a range of ways in which cul-
tures define gender and sexual identities.
A second feature of this book is language that aims to include all readers. We
use terms such as he and she and women and men in preference to he, mankind,
and men. But inclusive language means more than including women; it also means
using language that refuses to go along with cultural marginalization of any group.
For instance, we refer to individuals in intimate relationships as partners rather
than spouses, and we generally refer to committed relationships rather than mar-
riages. The terms spouse, wife, husband, and marriage exclude many lesbians, gay
men, and transgender, and intersex people because some states don’t recognize
same-sex marriage. The terms spouse and marriage also exclude cohabiting part-
ners who choose not to marry.
A third feature of Gendered Lives is inclusion of diverse perspectives. We pres-
ent not only research that reflects different views, but also student voices that
reflect widely ranging experiences, values, and identities. In the pages that fol-
low, you’ll meet a lot of students—some like you, some quite different. In many
courses on gender and communication, students keep journals or write reflection
papers that link class concepts with their personal lives. Many of our own students
gave us permission to include their reflections in this book. In addition, students at
other campuses around the country have written in response to previous editions
of Gendered Lives, and some of their comments appear in this edition. We’ve tried
to return their generosity by including an array of individuals and viewpoints,

including ones with which we personally disagree. In fact, including ideas with
which we disagree, from both students and scholars, is necessary if this book is to
reflect the variety of ideas about gender and communication that circulate in our
culture. Hannah, a student from a northeastern college, makes a point in her com-
mentary on this page.
HANNAH
When I was reading Gendered Lives, I had to keep reminding myself that you were
presenting information and that not all points were your personal values and
beliefs. I didn’t agree with all of your statements or the ideas of others, like the
students in their commentaries, but I learned a lot about the ways others see
gender. I also learned a lot about how I think about gender by seeing what ideas
I agreed with and disagreed with.
Hannah’s comment reflects open-mindedness, which fosters learning. As you

read this book, we hope you will think about research findings and students’ voices
and reflect on how they are similar to or different from your own beliefs and
values. We have refrained from evaluating or interpreting the reflections that
appear in this book. The students write clearly and eloquently, and we don’t want
to muffle their voices with our analysis.
Fourth, we encourage your active engagement. One way we do this is by asking
you to think about issues both in the chapters and in questions that appear at the
end of chapters. Second, we ask you to Take a Stand on issues presented in
Exploring Gendered Lives boxes that appear in all chapters. Third, at the end of
each chapter, we ask you to apply material in the chapter to your life. We hope you
will embrace the challenge of engaging ideas in the chapters that follow.
GENDER ONLINE
The Organization for Research on Women and Communication (ORWAC) pub-

lishes the journal, Women’s Studies in Communication. You can read back issues
of the journal online at ORWAC’s site: http://www.cios.org
1. Terms for online searches: “sex-cultural views of,” “feminism,” “hijras.”
REFLECTION, DISCUSSION, AND ACTION
1. Using the authors’ self-descriptions as guidelines, consider how your identity

influenced your choice to take this course, as well as how it may affect your
perceptions of topics in the book and the course. Have you been privileged
or disadvantaged by your race, class, sex, and sexual orientation? How have
Recommended Resources 13
your privileges and disadvantages affected your opportunities, knowledge of

issues, interests, abilities, goals, and so on?
2. How do you define feminism? Write your definition, and see if it changes
during the course of reading this book and taking this class.
3. Interview two people who are from non-Western cultures. Ask them to
explain what it means to be a man (or manly or masculine) and what it
means to be a woman (or womanly or feminine) in their cultures. How do
their cultures’ definitions of gender cohere with and depart from those in the
United States? Ask them what they find most interesting or surprising about
U.S. men and women.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
1. Peggy McIntosh. (2007). White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. In

P. Andersen and P. H. Collins (Eds.), Race, Class, & Gender, 6th ed. (pp. 98–102).
Belmont, CA: Thomson-Cengage. This is a classic article that raises awareness
of privileges many people enjoy without being conscious of them.
2. Megan Seely. (2007). The F-Word. Introduction to Fight Like a Girl (pp. 1–14).
New York: New York University Press. Seely is a young woman who asks why
so many of her peers say, “I’m not a feminist, but.…”
3. Allan Johnson. (2006). Privilege, Power, and Difference, 2nd ed. New York:
McGraw-Hill. This is an engaging and accessible introduction to thinking
about inequalities and how they harm all of us, including those who seem to
benefit from them.
1
We are looking for permission to be more than our
society tells us we are.
—STARHAWK
The Study of
Communication,
Gender, and Culture
Knowledge Challenge:
• How many sexes are there?
• Do all males have the same sex chromosomes?
• To whom are transgender people attracted?
Google “male-female communication,” and you’ll find dozens of sites that
offer advice on interacting with the “opposite sex.” If you had watched season
11 of America’s Next Top Model, you would have seen a transgender
contestant named Isis King. Watch music videos, and you’ll see mini-dramas
about gender dynamics in relationships such as in Beyonce’s “If I Were a
Boy” or “Pretty Hurts.” The general public’s fascination with gender and
communication is mirrored by college students’ interest. Around the United
States and in other countries, many campuses cannot meet student demand
for courses on gender and communication.
This chapter introduces you to communication, gender, and culture as an
area of study and defines key concepts that form the framework of this book.
Communication, Gender, and

Culture as an Area of Study
Had you attended college in the early to mid-1980s, you would not have found a
textbook like this one, and it’s highly unlikely you could have found a course such
as the one this book accompanies. Today, most colleges and universities offer
courses on gender largely because there is now an impressive base of research to
inform courses.
14
Communication, Gender, and Culture as an Area of Study 15
Research on Gender, Communication, and Culture

Research on gender comes from multiple fields including anthropology, communi-
cation, history, neuroscience, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and women’s
studies. Scholars in these disciplines rely on a number of research methods.
Quantitative research methods1 gather and analyze data that can be quantified.
Three of the more common quantitative methods are descriptive statistics, surveys,
and experiments. Descriptive statistics describe populations, proportions, and fre-
quencies. They answer questions such as: How often do women and men interrupt
in conversations? How much do men and women in the same professional posi-
tions earn?
Surveys, which may be written or oral, ask people to report their feelings,
thoughts, experiences, and so forth. They could ask women and men what they
do with close friends or what kinds of online activities they prefer.
Experiments are controlled studies that manipulate one thing (called an inde-
pendent variable) to determine how it affects another thing (called a dependent
variable). They test the impact of reading fashion magazines on women’s self-
esteem and how a particular teaching method affects boys’ and girls’ learning.
Qualitative research methods, sometimes called interpretive methods, aim to
understand meanings that cannot be quantified. Two popular qualitative methods
are textual analysis and ethnography. As the name implies, textual analysis involves
studying communication texts, which may be written, oral, or nonverbal. Textual
analyses have illuminated the meaning of speeches such as the Declaration of Sen-
timents, which was given at the first Women’s Rights Convention.
Ethnography relies on extensive observation to discover what things mean to
people. Ethnographic study has provided detailed descriptions of how gender is
enacted in diverse cultures and of U.S. women’s and men’s flirting behaviors.
Critical research methods identify and critique the means by which power rela-
tions are created or challenged. Critical research has given us insight into ways in
which organizational structures and practices create work environments that
women and minorities perceive as unwelcoming.
Mixed research methods are exactly what the name implies—a combination of
two or more of the methods described earlier. For example, a scholar might docu-
ment the frequency (descriptive statistic) of men’s and women’s smiling in social
situations and then interview men and women (qualitative method) to learn why
they smile.
Reasons to Learn about Communication,

Gender, and Culture
Learning about relationships among communication, gender, and culture serves
three important goals. First, you will gain increased appreciation of complex ways
in which cultural values and practices shape understandings and expectations of
masculinity and femininity and men and women. Second, as you become more
1
Boldface terms appear in the glossary at the end of this book.
16 CHAPTER 1 The Study of Communication, Gender, and Culture
EXPLORING GENDERED LIVES Journals That Feature Research

on Gender and Communication
Communication Education Journal of Gender, Culture & Health
Communication Monographs Journal of Men’s Studies
Communication Studies Journal of Social & Personal Relationships
Communication and Critical Men and Masculinities
Cultural Studies Sex Roles
Gender and Society Sexuality and Culture
Journal of Applied Communication Signs
Research Women and Language
Journal of Cross-Cultural Research Women’s Studies in Communication
TAKE A STAND: Read one article focused on gender in one of the journals listed
here. What did you learn as a result of reading the article?
aware of ways cultural expectations of gender are communicated to you, you will
more deeply understand your personal gender, both as it is now and as it might
be if you choose to remake it. You will be empowered to think more critically
about the extent to which you wish to identify with cultural prescriptions for
gender.
Third, studying communication, gender, and culture will strengthen your effec-
tiveness as a communicator. Learning about general differences in women’s and
men’s communication will enlarge your ability to appreciate and adapt to diverse
communication styles. In addition, learning how your own communication does or
doesn’t conform to prevailing cultural prescriptions for gender allows you to make
informed choices about how you want to communicate in the future.
Gender in a Transitional Era

You probably don’t subscribe to your grandparents’ ideals of manhood and wom-
anhood. You may believe that both women and men should be able to pursue
careers and that both should be involved in homemaking and parenting. You are
probably not surprised when a woman knows how to change a tire or when a man
cooks a good meal. Yet, if you’re like most of your peers, there are also a number
of gender issues about which you feel conflicted.
• You may think that both parents should participate in child rearing but also
assume that the mother, not the father, should be the primary caregiver during
the early years of children’s lives.
• You may support equal opportunity but still think that colleges and universities
should be allowed to offer more scholarships to male athletes.
• You may believe that gender is fluid but are unsure how to react when your
roommate identifies as transgender.
Differences between Women and Men 17
• You may think it doesn’t matter whether a man or woman in a heterosexual

couple earns more but want the man in your own relationship to be the primary
wage earner.
TRACY
The issue of women in combat really troubles me. I have a son who is 17 and a
daughter who is 15. I don’t want either of them in combat, but I’ve always known
my son could be in combat. Would I argue that my son should be and my daughter
shouldn’t be? That’s like saying I value her life more than his. I can’t say that.
When we grapple with issues like these, we realize that our attitudes aren’t
always clear or wholly consistent. Many of us no longer accept all traditional
views, yet we haven’t become comfortable with alternative views and their implica-
tions for our own identities and relationships. This makes our lives and our rela-
tionships interesting, unsettling—and sometimes very frustrating.
MICHAEL
The other day in class, we were talking about whether women should have combat
duty. I’m really uncomfortable with where I stand on this, since I think one way, but
I feel another. I do think women should have to serve just as much as men do. I’ve
never thought it was right that they didn’t have to fight. And I think women are just
as competent as men at most things and could probably be good soldiers. But then
when I think about my mom, my sister, or my girlfriend being in the trenches,
having to kill other people, or maybe being a prisoner who is tortured and
assaulted, I just feel that’s wrong. It doesn’t seem right for women to be involved in
killing when they’re the ones who give life. Then, too, I want to protect my girlfriend,
sister, and mom from the ugliness and danger of war.
But then, this other part of me says, “Hey, guy, you know that kind of protectiveness
is a form of chauvinism.” I just don’t know where I stand on this except that I’m
glad I don’t have to decide whether to send women into combat!
Differences between Women and Men

Are women and men really as different as pop psychologists proclaim? The answer
is not a simple “yes” or “no.” Certainly, there are some differences between the
sexes, but there are also many similarities among women and men. In addition,
there is substantial variation within each sex as a result of experience, heredity,
sexual orientation, race, economic class, and other factors.
18 CHAPTER 1 The Study of Communication, Gender, and Culture
KATHERINE
I am really skeptical of books that describe women and men as “opposite” sexes.
They focus on a few ways that most women and most men are different. They
totally ignore all of the ways that women and men are alike. Even worse is that they
act like all women are the same and all men are the same. People are just such
individuals that you can’t sum them up as “man” or “woman.”
Katherine’s commentary is insightful. Terms such as women and men are trou-
blesome because they imply that all women can be grouped into one category and
all men can be grouped into another category. When we say, “Women’s communi-
cation is more personal than men’s,” the statement is true of most, but not all,
women and men. Yet some women don’t engage in much personal talk, and
some men do. Many factors, including race, economic class, and sexual identity,
shape how specific women and specific men communicate.
Essentializing is reducing something or someone to certain characteristics that are
assumed to be central to its nature and present in every member of its category. When
we essentialize sex, we mistakenly assume that all members of a sex share defining
qualities. Essentializing ignores characteristics that differentiate individuals from one
another. In this book, we will discuss generalizations about women and men, but this
does not imply there are essential qualities possessed by all members of a sex.
In these opening pages, we’ve used the words gender and sex several times, but
we haven’t yet defined them. The remainder of this chapter provides definitions to
give us a shared understanding of key concepts that inform the chapters that
follow.
Relationships among Gender, Culture,

and Communication
When asked to discuss a particular aspect of nature, John Muir, founder of the
Sierra Club, said he could not discuss any single part of the natural world in isola-
tion. He observed that each part is “hitched to the universe,” meaning that every
part of nature is connected to all other parts. Likewise, gender, culture, and com-
munication are hitched together. We cannot really understand any one of these
concepts without knowing about the others.
Although many people use the terms gender and sex interchangeably, they have
distinct meanings. Sex (female or male) is a designation based on biology, whereas
gender (feminine or masculine) is socially constructed and expressed. In most
cases, sex and gender are consistent; most men are relatively masculine, and most
women are fairly feminine. In some cases, however, a male expresses himself more
femininely than most men, or a woman expresses herself in more masculine ways
than most women. We’ll now elaborate the meanings and complexities of sex and
gender and discuss how each is related to culture and communication.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
CHAPTER I
THE CHEVALIER DE FROTTÉ
At dawn, on April 7, 1790, a singular disturbance was going on in

the streets of Lille. In the northern districts, not far from the citadel,
troops of soldiers stood all along the avenues, filled the squares,
ransacked the courtyards of the houses. Shots went off every
instant, and the extraordinary thing was that this fusillade from the
soldiers was directed against other soldiers. In the midst of the
smoke, the deafening noise, and the cries of the awakened
townsfolk, were to be seen the blue uniforms, with sky-blue facings,
of the Regiment of the Crown, one of the four quartered in the
garrison.[2]
Every horseman who appeared was greeted with successive
volleys; evidently the combat was to the death between the light
cavalry of Normandy, who charged upon the pavements or fought on
foot with their muskets, and the grenadiers of the Crown and of the
Royal-Vaisseaux.
Moreover, there was no order in this street-fight. The officers on
both sides were absent, and if by any chance some had been
present, the excitement and anger visible upon the assailants’ faces
were a proof that their intervention would have been useless.
Riot, in fact, was reigning in the city of Lille, the capital of the
province; and this time law and order were being upset by those
whose duty it was to make them respected. But the town, with its
80,000 inhabitants, had for months been going, nervously and
anxiously, through a succession of anything but encouraging
episodes. The convocation of the States General, the formation of
the Garde Nationale, the creation of the Municipality, and, two
months earlier (in February), the administrative upset which thrilled
the province—all this, added to the distress of the kingdom, to the
general misery, to the exaggerated price of food, and to the ruin of
commerce, had brought about several outbreaks in this
manufacturing town, naturally dependent upon its trade for its well-
being. And, at the very moment that there came from Paris the most
alarming news—that is, on April 29, 1789 (coinciding almost day for
day with the sacking of the Reveillon factory) pillage had its first
innings at Lille also; the bakeries were invaded; and three months
later four houses were attacked by the mob and burnt down.
Of the troops which then composed the garrison of Lille, one part
had taken up their quarters in the town; these were the regiments of
the Crown and of the Royal-Vaisseaux. The other, consisting of the
light cavalry of Normandy and the infantry of Colonel-General, the
leading French regiment, were lodged at the citadel, that imposing
fortress which is Vauban’s masterpiece. Certain signs of
insubordination had crept into the two former regiments; the
revolutionary spirit was working actively in the men, and was
favoured by the permanent contact with the inhabitants in which
these two regiments lived. More remote from this influence, away off
in the citadel, the “Colonel-Generals” cherished sentiments of whole-
hearted devotion to the King; moreover, they had over them a body
of officers whose unadulterated royalism was to display itself in the
events which we shall now endeavour to set forth. As matters were,
the least thing would let loose these warring elements in the garrison
upon one another. And what finally did it? A mere nothing, a scuffle
that broke out on the evening of April 8, between the chasseurs and
the grenadiers—some say a duel. At any rate, two soldiers were
killed on the spot.... Instantly cavalry and infantry take sides for their
respective comrades. During the night a general attack is talked of,
on both sides. The officers get wind of it; but, unluckily, two of the
colonels are on leave. The Marquis de Livarot, commandant of the
province, tries to restore peace by holding a meeting of delegates
from each corps; he believes he has succeeded, but scarcely has he
left them when the fusillade breaks out again in every direction.
The “Colonel-Generals” had remained neutral until then; discipline,
so carefully maintained by the commanding officers, had prevailed
with the men. But when, in the evening, they saw the chasseurs of
Normandy falling back on the citadel for refuge, these their
comrades of the infantry opened the gates to them, brought them in
and joined cause with them, refusing any longer to listen to their
officers, who still strove for peace. They carried things, indeed, even
further than that. M. de Livarot and M. de Montrosier—that last
lieutenant of the King—on coming out of the gate which led into the
square, saw that they were surrounded by a group of mutineers,
whose attitude was menacing. Despite the efforts of the few officers
who were present, these two were dragged into a casemate, where
their situation was simply that of prisoners.
During this time the most sinister rumours were circulating in the
town, kept alive by the infantry of the Crown and the Royal-
Vaisseaux regiments. People expected nothing less than to see the
cannons of the citadel open their throats and vomit down grape-shot
on the populace. Shortly, on the walls of the houses and in the cafés,
the uneasy citizens might read a strange proclamation, at the
authorship of which all the world could guess. It opened with this
apostrophe:—
“Let us beware, Citizens,
let us beware,
and thrice: Let us beware. We are deceived, we are
betrayed, we are sold!... But we are not yet ruined; we have
our weapons! The infernal Fitz-James[3] is gone with all his
crew ... they have contented themselves with keeping back a
useless lot.
“Livaro, the infamous Livaro, is said to be in our citadel;
Montrosier, the atrocious author of all our ills, sleeps
peacefully.
“The soldiers, whom they have tried to corrupt, offer these
men to us.... What are we waiting for? Why do we not show
all France that we are Citizens, that we are Patriots? Is it for
the orders of our Commandant that we look? But has not the
aristocrat of Orgères already shown us how unworthy he is of
the place which we have blindly entrusted to him?... He
commands us only that he may lead us into the abyss.
Seconded by his sycophant, Carette, and by the traitors
whom our cowardice leaves in command over us; leagued
with the heads of all the aristocratic intrigues, he now seeks to
alienate from us our brave comrades of the Crown, and of
Royal-des-Vaisseaux. Shall we let them go? No; ... but we will
march with them.... We will go and seize Livarot, Montrosier,
and deliver them up, bound hand and foot, to the utmost
severity of the august National Assembly!
“Why are not our conscript Fathers convoked? Is the
General Council of the Commune a mere phantom? Is the
blood of our citizens less precious than vile pecuniary
interests? Would not our secret enemies flinch before the
enlightenment and the patriotism of our Notables? Ah!
Citizens! Let us beware, and once more let us beware!”
At an extraordinary meeting at the Maison de Ville, the
Municipality had convoked the General Council; and, in the interval
they received a deputation from the troops of the citadel, assuring
the inhabitants of Lille of their good intentions: “The regiments of the
Colonel-General, and of the Chasseurs de Normandie” (said the
envoys) “protest to the townsfolk that it has never entered into their
heads to cause the least alarm to the citizens, of whom until now
they have known nothing that was not admirable;” and they also
announced that two delegates had been sent to Paris, on a mission
to the National Assembly and to the King.
The whole night went by, and no solution had been found.
Towards four o’clock the two regiments which had stayed in town
were about to leave it on the persuasion of the town councillors; but
the City Guard would not let them go, and thus, on the morning of
April 10, the same difficulties had to be faced anew. But this situation
could not continue. Messengers are despatched to Paris, and with
them are sent denunciators of the “infamous” Livarot, whose conduct
is considered suspicious; and for eight days he is kept under
surveillance at the citadel, in defiance of the Royal authority with
which he is invested.
Meanwhile, the officer delegated by the “Colonel-Generals” was
making his way to Paris. Despite the importance of the mission, it
was a young lieutenant who had been chosen for it; but the coolness
he had shown all through the episode, and his determined and
energetic attitude, had designated him at once as the man to be
selected. Louis de Frotté was born at Alençon on August 5, 1766. [4]
Of noble lineage (his family had been established in Normandy since
the fifteenth century), he had inherited the sentiments of duty and
fidelity to his King and of devotion to that King’s cause. Left
motherless at the age of six,[5] educated first at Caen, then at
Versailles, in the school of Gorsas,[6] he had entered as
supernumerary sub-lieutenant, in 1781, the regiment of “Colonel-
General,” then garrisoned at Lille. The young officer attracted every
one by his generous, liberal, and affectionate character, and by his
strong sense of comradeship. It was in the regiment that he
contracted those solid friendships which were afterwards so
beneficial to him, such, for instance, as that of the Prince de la
Tremoïlle, and of a Norman gentleman named Vallière.
A short stay at Besançon had broken up the long months in
garrison at Lille; then he had returned to that town, where the
disturbances of which we are speaking had come to diversify the
somewhat monotonous way of existence which is inseparable from
garrison life.
Filled with hope for the result of his mission, Frotté rode swiftly to
Paris. The prospect of seeing the King, of narrating to him, as well as
to the War Minister, Le Tour du Pin, the recent occurrences at Lille,
of assuring him of the fidelity of the regiment, of obtaining some
tolerably satisfactory solution of the critical situation—all this was
spurring on our cavalier. And the thought of soon getting back to
Lille, his mission crowned with success, of reappearing before
certain eyes to which he was not insensible—everything combined to
make him forget the length of the journey.
His stay at Paris was a short one. The future chief of the chouans
of Normandy realized one of his greatest wishes in being admitted to
an audience with the King; but the position of the Royal Family in the
midst of the prevailing effervescence of feeling, and the atmosphere
of hostility which surrounded them, filled his heart with foreboding
thoughts. Burning with devotion, powerless to make valid offers to
the King, Frotté—who had suggested the bringing together at Lille of
a nucleus of reliable troops, absolutely to be trusted—regained the
garrison at the end of a few days, for it had been made clear to him
that Louis XVI. did not wish to share in his youthful ardour and its
projects. He had, however, succeeded thoroughly in the official part
of his task. When confronted with a deputation from the hostile
regiments of the Crown and of the Royal-Vaisseaux, who came in
their turn to plead their cause, the representative of the Colonel-
Generals had been able to cope with them in defence of his own
interests; he came back, bringing with him an order for the alteration
of the whole garrison. The Colonel-Generals were transferred to
Dunkirk, the three others were sent out of the province. As to the
unfortunate Marquis de Livarot, who was still a prisoner at the
citadel, a mandate from the Minister summoned him to Paris, there
to answer for his conduct. Needless to say, he cleared himself of
every accusation, and was entirely rehabilitated.
Frotté did not spend in idleness the few days which preceded the
departure of his regiment. Besides the ordinary arrangements—the
giving up of his place of abode, the packing of his affairs, the paying
of his debts; besides the friends to whom he had to bid farewell; in
short, besides the thousand ties that are contracted during a stay of
nine years in a town which is not among the smallest in the kingdom,
there was, in the Rue Princesse, at a few minutes’ walk from the
citadel, a one-storeyed house of unimposing exterior, whose door
had often opened to receive the young officer. The prospect of not
returning there for a long time filled his heart with distress and regret.
For some months this house had been inhabited by a foreigner, an
English lady, who had come to Lille with a reputation for grace and
beauty which had proved to be not unmerited. At that time there was
already in Lille quite a colony of English people, who were attracted
there either by the proximity of their own country and the closeness
of Paris, or by the commercial prosperity of the place and its
numerous industries. In the census returns of the town at the
beginning of the Revolution, and also in the taxation assessments,
we have come across many names of evident British origin. But the
remarkable thing about the new-comers at the Rue Princesse, was
that they had not arrived from England, but from Versailles. They
were very soon received by the best society of Lille, and questions
began to circulate about them, every one trying to penetrate a
certain mystery which hung about their past life.
Let us, in our turn, attempt to lift the veil, and to find out something
about the English lady who is to be the heroine of this work.
Charlotte Walpole, who was born probably about 1758,[7] bore a
name that in the United Kingdom is illustrious among the illustrious.
Was she a direct descendant of Sir Robert Walpole, Earl of Oxford,
the celebrated statesman who administered English politics for some
years under George I.? It is difficult to ascertain.
The youngest of three daughters,[8] Charlotte probably passed all
her youth in the county of Norfolk, the cradle of her family, under that
gloomy sky, in that ever-moist climate, in the midst of those emerald
green pastures which make that part of England one of the great
agricultural districts. The tranquil, melancholy charm of the scenery
there, the immense flocks of sheep and goats browsing in the
pastures, the wide horizon, unlimited except by the heavy clouds
which hang eternally over the land—all this fastened upon the
imagination of the girl, naturally of a very enthusiastic temperament,
and developed in her that indefinable charm which struck all who
knew her. Her large eyes, enhanced by very marked eyebrows, had
an infinitely sweet expression. The only existing portrait of her
depicts her with her hair dressed in the fashion of the time—her dark
curls lightly tied with a slender ribbon, and falling back, carelessly, on
her forehead. She had a most original mind, a face which changed
and lit up with every passing mood, and an expression all her own,
which made her, as it were, a unique personality. All this is enough
explanation of why, at nineteen, Charlotte Walpole went to London,
with the idea of making use of her talents on the stage.
The capital of England could then boast of only three theatres, of
which the most frequented, Drury Lane, which ranked as Theatre
Royal, is still in existence, and preserves intact its ancient reputation.
It was there that, on October 2, 1777, at the opening of the theatrical
season, Miss Walpole made her first appearance in a piece called
Love in a Village,[9] a comedy probably in the same genre as those
of O’Keefe, and then very much to the public taste, which was
growing weary of the brutal and licentious farces of the preceding
centuries. Five days later Miss Walpole reappeared in The Quaker,
and the week after she was seen in the role of “Jessica” in The
Merchant of Venice, one of Shakespeare’s masterpieces. After
having played, in the spring of 1778, in The Waterman, her success
seemed assured; on May 2, Love in a Village was given again for
her benefit, and she then filled to perfection the part of “Rosetta”; the
season terminated ten days later with a representation of The
Beggars’ Opera, by John Gay. There can be no doubt that the young
actress had found her vocation, and that, moreover, with the consent
of her family. But, as a matter of fact, there did not then prevail in
England the sort of disfavour that so often attaches to a theatrical
career in a certain set of society. Miss Walpole’s experience is a
proof of this. During the summer, which she most probably spent in
the country, she sought to cultivate her talents, and so well did she
succeed that in the season, which reopened on September 15, 1778,
she was seen again in London, eager to gather fresh laurels. This
time she appeared in costume, in a sort of operetta entitled The
Camp, which had a tremendous success all that winter. The piece,
an imitation of Sheridan by Tickell, represented the arsenal and the
camp at Coxheath, and Miss Walpole, as “Nancy,” took the part of a
young soldier, and filled it most admirably, a contemporary author
informs us.[10] We have found an engraving which represents her in
this costume, doubtless a souvenir of the plaudits which she then
received. In the month of April, 1779, she appears again in other
pieces by Farquhar. After this, the bills for us have nothing to say;
Miss Walpole’s name is not to be found in them.
W H Bunbury Delinᵗ. Watson & Dickinson Excudᵗ.
Charlotte Walpole, in “The Camp.”
(After an engraving in the British Museum.)
[To face page 12.
To what must one attribute this sudden silence, this disappearance
from the stage, just when so fair a future seemed opening before the
actress? To a determination brought about by her very success itself
and by the charm she exercised. Several times during the winter a
young man had been seen at Drury Lane, who occupied a front stall
and watched very keenly the acting of the graceful young recruit of
Coxheath; so that there was no very great astonishment expressed
when, on June 18, 1779, The Gentleman’s Magazine, in its society
column, announced the marriage of Sir Edward Atkyns with Miss
Charlotte Walpole, of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.[11] “The pretty
Miss Atkyns”—that was henceforth to be her appellation in London,
and all over Norfolk!
If the Walpoles could boast of an illustrious descent, the Atkyns’ in
this respect were in no wise inferior to them. In this family, where the
Christian names are handed down from generation to generation,
that of Edward is, as it were, immutable! Illustrious personages are
by no means wanting. An Atkyns had been Chancellor of the
Exchequer in the seventeenth century; his son had built a splendid
manor-house, Ketteringham, in the same county of Norfolk; at his
death he left it to his grand-nephew, who, in his turn, bequeathed it
to the fortunate husband of Miss Walpole.
The young couple took up their abode in this antique mansion of
Ketteringham Hall, the name of which will often recur in this
narrative. They appear to have lived peacefully there for some years,
coming only for a few weeks in mid-winter to London. “Happy is the
nation that has no history,” says the proverb; and it is equally true
that happy folk have none. So we will certainly not, in the absence of
any material, create one for these young people.
Nevertheless, it is well to mention the account given of them by a
friend of our heroine, the Countess MacNamara, who seems to have
been very well acquainted with the different particulars of her life.
She tells us that the young couple, who, if we are to believe her, had
not many friends in England, decided to go to the Continent, and live
at Versailles.[12] (The explanation does not seem a very plausible
one.) There the charm of the young wife, her pretty voice, the
receptions which she soon began to give, and to which, thanks to
her husband’s wealth, she was able to lend so much brilliancy,
opened to her quickly the doors of all the society connected with the
Court. In the Queen’s set, the beautiful Duchess de Polignac, in
particular, took a great fancy to this graceful foreigner; and was
desirous, in her turn, to make her known to her august friend. Thus it
came about that Lady Atkyns was introduced into the circle of Marie-
Antoinette’s intimates. Even more completely than the others, the
new-comer fell under the Queen’s spell. A current of ardent
sympathy established itself between the two women. They were
united by a deep and intimate mutual comprehension and sympathy.
For any one who knew Lady Atkyns, it was certain that these first
impressions would not fade, but that they would prove to be, on the
contrary, the first-fruits of an unalterable friendship. These are the
only materials one has for the details of that sojourn at Versailles.
When exactly did the Atkynses resolve upon this move? Their only
child, a son, must have been born before it took place. What were
their plans in coming to the Court? All these are insoluble problems.
They were probably at Versailles when the first revolutionary
troubles broke out. They were present, perhaps, at the opening of
the States General, that great national function; and they were
among those who shuddered at the taking of the Bastille. When the
October days brought back the Royal family in a mournful
procession to Paris, the young couple were already gone—already
too far away to enter into the anxieties and sufferings of those whom
they loved.
A brief mention, a few words found after patient research, in dusty
registers, tell us enough to make us certain of their fate. This is one
of the joys of the explorer in this sort—to find buried under the waste
of years of accumulated official papers, a feeble light, a tiny, isolated
indication, which opens, none the less, an infinite horizon before him.
In the autumn of the year 1789, an Englishwoman, named by the
officials charged with the collection of a special poll-tax, Milady
Charlotte, arrived at Lille with one servant.[13]
In December, she installed herself in the parish of St. André, in a
house in the Rue Princesse, then numbered 337, which belonged to
a gentleman named De Drurez. Of her husband there is no mention,
nor is her surname given. Probably she had stayed some time at an
inn, before settling down in Rue Princesse; but what is to be
concluded from so vague an appellation as “Milady Charlotte”? Why
did she conceal half her name? Nevertheless, at Lille there is some
information to be had about her. We know that she was pensioned
upon the Royal Treasury, since she is described as a French
pensioner.
In the following year she increases her establishment, keeping one
more servant; her poll-tax, which had been 14 louis, now rises to 16.
We may add here that, in order to satisfy our curiosity, we have
examined—but in vain—the lists of the pensioners from the Royal
Treasury at that period; there is no mention anywhere either of
Milady Charlotte or of Lady Atkyns—not even in those which relate
to the Queen’s household.[14]
By what right did she enjoy this pension? By the same, probably,
as so many of those favoured folk whose names fill the famous red-
books—the books whose publication was to let loose the fury of the
half of France upon the Court and the nobility, because they showed
so plainly what treasures had been swallowed up in that abyss.
As we have said, the documents say nothing of the presence of
Edward Atkyns at Lille—nothing, that is, with one exception, which,
delicate as it is, cannot be passed over in silence. Had disunion
already crept into the household? Had the pretty girl from Drury Lane
found out too late that he to whom she had given her heart and her
life was no longer entirely worthy of her gifts? Perhaps. At any rate,
on March 20, 1791, the curate of the parish of St. Catherine at Lille
baptized a male child, son “of Geneviève Leglen, native of Lille,”
whose father declared himself to be Edward Atkyns.[15] Henceforth
this last individual disappears completely from the scene in which we
are interested; we shall merely learn that in 1794 Charlotte Atkyns
was left a widow.
This somewhat lengthy digression was necessary in order to
portray the lady whom Frotté was to designate as “That heroic and
perfect being,” and who was to take such a hold upon his life. How
did they become acquainted? Probably very quickly, in one of the
numerous drawing-rooms where Lille society congregated, at balls,
at the theatre, in the concert-hall. The white tunic, with red facings, of
the “Colonel-Generals” was eagerly welcomed everywhere. As one
of his friends wrote to Frotté: “All the decent people in the town will
be delighted to see the uniform, if you wear it there!” And one can
imagine the long talks that the young officer had with his fair friend in
that winter of ’89—talks that circled always around one precious
topic. Already full of Royalist feeling, Frotté grew enthusiastic for the
Queen’s cause, as he listened to the stories about Versailles, to the
reminiscences of her kindness, her charm, her affectionate ways—of
the thousand characteristics, so faithfully recounted by the friend
who had come under her influence.[16]
One can divine all the advice, all the prudent counsels which were
impressed upon our young lieutenant on his departure for Paris.
Everything combined to make him eager to offer his services to the
King and his belongings. We have seen that his efforts were
unsuccessful; but the journey had not been entirely fruitless, since it
had enabled him to bring back to his friend some news of the woman
she so loved.
At the end of April the good folk of Lille were to bid farewell to the
regiments which had caused them so much anxiety. While the
Colonel-Generals were leaving the town by the Dunkirk Gate, the
townspeople were watching the long columns of the Normandy
chasseurs, the grenadiers of the Crown, and the Royal-Vaisseaux
disappearing in different directions. What had been a partial failure in
Lille was to break out again three months later, in another part of the
kingdom, for the affray there was but the prelude to the revolt of the
troops of Chateauvieux, at Nancy, and to many other risings. The
army, in fact, was every day becoming more and more infected by
the spirit of revolution, which crept in somehow, despite all discipline
and all respect for the commanding officers. And the army was no
untilled field; it was well prepared for the seed of the Revolution,
which lost no time in taking root there.
This explains the discouragement which nearly all the officers felt.
They were gentlemen of unflinching Royalist sympathies, but they
perceived the fruitlessness of their efforts to re-establish discipline
and to preserve their authority. Frotté was especially a prey to this
feeling. We shall see that during his time at Dunkirk he found it
impossible to conquer the hopeless lassitude that was growing on
him. And yet Dunkirk is not far from Lille, and he knows that he has
left behind him there a friend who will console and guide him. But his
restless, questioning turn of mind makes it difficult for him to
reconcile himself to accomplished facts. He can feel no sympathy for
this Revolution, which now strides over France as with seven-
leagued boots; he has, indeed, an instinctive repulsion for it. Frotté is
an indefatigable scribbler, and in the long idle hours of his soldier-life
he confides to paper all his fears and discouragements, while
keeping up, at the same time, a regular correspondence, especially
with his friends Vallière and Lamberville. It is a curious fact, already
commented on by his biographer, M. de la Sicotière, that this intrepid
and active officer, this flower of partisans, who spent three-fourths of
his time in warfare, was yet the most prolific of writers and editors.
At Dunkirk he encountered among the officers of the regiment
Viennois, which shared with his own the garrison of the place, a very
favourable disposition towards his plans. His Royalist zeal, fostered
by his friendships, was to find an outlet. Already the National
Assembly, eager to secure the army on its side, had issued a decree
obliging the officers to take the oath not only to the King, but to the
nation, and to whatever Constitution might be given to France.
Nothing would induce our young gentleman to take such an oath as
that. He never hesitated for a moment, and he succeeded in
influencing several of his brother officers to think as he did. It was
thus that he announced his decision to his father:—
“You already know, my dear father, that an oath is now
exacted from us officers which disgusts every honourable and
decent feeling that I have. I could not take it. I know you too
well, father, not to be certain that you would have advised me
to do just what I have done. And of course I did not depend
only on my own poor judgment; I consulted most of my
brother officers, and amongst those whom I esteem and love,
I have not found one who thinks differently from myself. Our
dear chief, too, M. de Théon, has been just the good fellow
we always thought him.”[17]
His friend Vallière, on hearing of his conduct and his intentions,
wrote to him in enthusiastic admiration.
“I am truly delighted to hear” (he wrote some days before
his arrival at Dunkirk) “that the regiment Viennois is almost of
the same way of thinking as our own, so that we are sure to
get on well with them. Then there are still some decent
Frenchmen, and some subjects who are faithful to their one
and lawful master! Alas! there are not many of them, and one
can only groan when one thinks how many old and hitherto
courageous legions ... have stained irretrievably their ancient
glory by this betrayal of their sovereign. Well, my dear fellow,
we must hope that you will have some peace now to make up
for all that you have been going through. Unfortunately, the
immediate future does not seem likely to make us forget the
past, or to promise us much happiness. If the scoundrels who
are persecuting us, and ruining all the best things in Europe,
take it into their heads to disband the Army (as one hears that
they may), be sure to come here for refuge. Everything is still
quiet here.... If their fury still pursues us, we will leave a
country that has become hateful to us, and go to some foreign
shore, where there will perhaps be found some kind folk to
pity us and give us a home in their midst.”[18]
The first hint at emigration! Frotté was already thinking of it; often
he had envisaged the idea, but, before giving up all hope, he wanted
to make one last effort.
The proximity of Lille enabled him to keep up unbroken relations,
during the summer and winter of 1790, with the officers of the
garrison he had just left. A plot had even been roughly sketched out
with Lady Atkyns’ assistance; but a thousand obstacles retarded
from day to day any attempt at carrying it out, and once more our
poor young soldier was totally discouraged. Despairing of success,
disgusted with everything, he began to meditate escape from an
existence which yielded him nothing but vexations, and, little by little,
he ceased to brood seriously over the thought of suicide. He spoke
of it openly and at length to his friend Lamberville, in a strange
composition which he called My profession of faith, and which has
been almost miraculously preserved for us.[19] This confession is
dated February 20, 1791. We should have given it in its entirety if it
were not so long.[20] After a quasi-philosophical preamble—Frotté
was addicted to that kind of thing—he described to his friend the
miserable state of mind that he was in, with all his troubles and his
griefs. In his opinion, a man who had fallen to such depths of ill-
fortune could do but one thing, and that was, to give back to God the
life which he had received from Him.
“My ideas about suicide are not” (he added) “the outcome
of reading nor of example; they are the result of much
reflection. I have long since familiarized myself with the idea
of death; it no longer seems to me a sad thing, but rather a
certain refuge from the troubles of life.... When I consider my
own situation, and that of my country; when I think of what I
have been, what I am, and what I may become, I can find no
reason for valuing my own life. Moreover, I live in an age of
crime, and it is my native land that is most subjected to its
sway.”
And Frotté went on to describe his past life to his friend, telling him
of the way he had behaved hitherto, of the principles that had guided
him, the hopes he had cherished in the brighter opening days of life;
then the disappointments and the discomfitures that had
overwhelmed him. The events he had lived through filled his mind
with bitterness.
“I was born to be a good son and a good friend, a tender
lover, a good soldier, a loyal subject—in a word, a decent
fellow. But it breaks my heart to see how my compatriots have
altered from kindly human beings to crazy ruffians, and have
so accustomed themselves to slaughter, incendiarism,
murder, and robbery, that they can never again be what they
used to be. They have trampled every virtue under foot; they
torture the hearts that still love them.... And my own
profession, soldiering, is dishonoured; there is no glory about
it now; my country is in a state of anarchy which appals me.”
Very evident in these pages, written in a delicate cramped
handwriting, is the continual bent towards self-analysis, towards
minute details of feeling, towards a lofty and remote attitude, so
markedly characteristic of Frotté’s prose.
Many pages of the thick, ribbed paper, fastened together with a
sky-blue ribbon, are filled with the same kind of reflections; then he
suddenly breaks off altogether. Had he carried out his intention? Was
that why he ceased to write? Not at all; for two months later, on April
10, there is a further confession, and the young soldier-philosopher
begins by admitting that he has changed his mind; he defends
himself on that point, and says that reflection has made him resolve
to give up such gloomy views for himself. First of all, the fear of
causing irreparable grief to his father had made him pause (and yet
their relations do not seem to have been so affectionate as of yore);
[21] and then the desire to settle certain debts, considerable enough,
that he would leave behind him.
“In fact,” (he says) “since fresh troubles are overwhelming
me, I have decided not to choose this moment for suicide. I
want to be quite calm, on the day that I set out on the Great
Journey.... The month of August saw my birth; it shall see my
death.... But I don’t want to play for effect. I try my best to
seem just the same and to let no one guess what I am
thinking of.... Then there’s another reason for my going on
with life. Since I was born a nobleman of France, I want to do
my duty as one.... My sword may still be of some use to my
King and to my friends; and since I must die, I want my death
to benefit my family and my country.... I shall fasten up this
confession, until the moment comes for me to die. If I have
the good luck to fight, and die in the cause of honour, this, my
dear Lamberville, will console you a little, for it will prove to
you that death was a comfort to me. If disorder and
dissolution are still reigning in France when August comes, if
there has been no attempt to restore order—then I shall lose
all hope, and all the reasons that I give you here will acquire
full force. I shall not be able to hesitate. I shall then take up
my pen again to add my last wishes, and my last farewell to
my tenderest and dearest friend.”
In spite of the melancholy tone of these pages, their author had
finally taken the advice which came to him from all directions, from
people who loved him and were in his confidence, and who deeply
grieved to hear of such a state of mind. There was none more loyal
than that young Vallière of whom we have already spoken. At that
time he was on leave in the Caux district. Frotté and he were very
intimate, and Vallière knew every step that was made towards the
carrying out of the plot which had been arranged simultaneously at
Lille and at Dunkirk.
“I am very sorry,” he wrote to his friend on November 13,
1790, “that the things you had to tell me could only be
entrusted to me verbally. However, in the absence of further
knowledge, there was nothing for me to do but simply come
here,[22] where in any case I had business, and where I am
now waiting quietly for the carrying out of the promises you
made me, being, as you know, fully prepared. But, my dear
fellow, I see with amazement that nothing as yet is happening
to verify your forecast. Can you possibly have been
prematurely sanguine, or has the plan miscarried? Perhaps it
is merely a question of delay—Well! That is all right, and I
hope that’s what it is.”[23]
Two months later, Vallière, who had doubtless gone to Paris to
make inquiries, gave the following account of his journey:—
“I came back on the 3rd instant; and I shall have no
difficulty in telling you of all my doings in Paris, for I did
nothing in the least out-of-the-way. I lived there like a good
quiet citizen, who confines himself to groaning (since he can
do nothing better) over all the afflicting things he sees. I went
from time to time to see our ‘August Ones,’ and they always
put me in a furious temper.”
Our “August Ones,” as Vallière mockingly called them, were the
members of the Constituent Assembly, and they were busied with
the elaboration of that gigantic piece of work, the Constitution, which
was to substitute the new order for the old traditions of France. Little
by little the edifice was growing, built upon the ruins of the past. The
sight of it filled with vexation and fury those who, like Frotté, deplored
the fallen Royalty, the lost privileges, the dispossessed nobility, of the
old order. For the rest, our chevalier, during his stay at Dunkirk, had
frequent news about his fair friend at Lille. One day it would be a
brother officer who would write, “I played cards yesterday with your
fair lady, who looked as pretty as an angel, if angels ever are so
pretty as were told they are. She is going to have her portrait painted
in oils by my favourite artist. I dare say she’ll manage somehow to
get a copy done in miniature for her Chevalier!”[24]
Or another time he would be told to come to a concert at which a
place had been taken for him.... In a word, the time went on; and,
kicking against the pricks, our young soldier awaited the moment
when he might bring his plans to realization.
From month to month the spirit of insubordination which had crept
into the regiment with the events at Lille was gaining ground, and
showing itself more and more overtly. The Garde Nationale recently
formed at Dunkirk showed signs of it. At the head of this was an
enterprising officer, of the “new order,” named Emmery, who sought
persistently to win the troops of the garrison over to his own way of
thinking. But he found his match in the colonel of the regiment, the
Chevalier de Théon, a staunch Royalist, who had no intention of
pandering with the enemy. In a small place like Dunkirk, shut up
between its ramparts—the barracks were in the middle of the town—
it was physically impossible to prevent the soldiers from coming in
contact with the townsfolk. M. de Théon and his officers (the majority
of whom were on his side) had seen that very clearly; and suddenly,
in the month of June, they resolved to try a bold stroke. Dunkirk was
only five leagues from the Austrian frontier, which was some hours’
distance from Brussels, where already the forces of resistance of the
anti-revolutionary party were concentrating. They resolved on
winning Belgium to their cause, on gaining over the troops, and on
offering their services to the Prince’s Army, which was forming
beyond the frontier.
Before executing this scheme, Louis de Frotté is secretly sent to
Brussels. He there sees the Marquis de la Queville, formerly a
member of the Constitutional Assembly, and deputy of Riom, who
has become agent for the Princes; but little attention is paid to
Frotté’s proposals, and no promises of any kind are made. Frotté
returns somewhat discouraged to Dunkirk.
Suddenly, like a clap of thunder, resounds the news which is to
throw the kingdom into confusion for three days. During the night of
June 20-21 the Royal Family have escaped from the Tuileries,
despite Lafayette’s guards, and the berlin which holds them is driving
rapidly towards the frontier. Directly the exploit is known messengers
set off in all directions, despatched by the National Assembly; they
take chiefly the northerly roads, where everything points to the
probable finding of the fugitives. The authorities at Dunkirk, in their
turn, receive despatches from Paris, and take extra precautions.
This was quite enough to let loose the thunderstorm that was
gathering in the garrison.
On June 23, at 11 a.m., the grenadiers of the Colonel-General,
who had been skilfully worked upon by some of the agitators, signed
the following protestation, and refused to follow their officers. They
actually succeeded in raising the whole garrison.
“When the Commonwealth is in danger” (so one may read
in their manifest), “when the enemies of our blessed
revolution raise an audacious resistance, when a cherished
King abandons his people and flies to his enemies’ side—the
duty of all true Frenchmen is to unite, to join forces! There
should be but one cry—Liberty! Resolute to conquer, we
should confront our enemies with a body of men who are
ready to dare all at the lightest sign, and to wash off with the
blood of traitors the insult done to a free people!”[25]

Ebook Gendered Lives Communication Gender Culture PDF Full Chapter PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

Ebook Gendered Lives Communication Gender Culture PDF Full Chapter PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Ebook Gendered Lives Communication Gender Culture PDF Full Chapter PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Gendered Lives: Communication,

Gender, & Culture - eBook PDF

Find your course materials and start saving at:

Engaged with you.

Australia • Brazil • Mexico • Singapore • United Kingdom • United States

Cengage Learning products are represented in Canada by

To learn more about Cengage Learning Solutions, visit

Purchase any of our products at your local college store or at our

Printed in the United States of America

Jason Muehlhoff, Malia Obama, Sasha Obama, Niko Pezzullo Striphas,

INTRODUCTION Opening the Conversation 1

PART 1 CONCEPT UAL FO UND A TIONS

CHAPTER 1 The Study of Communication, Gender, and Culture 14

CHAPTER 2 Theoretical Approaches to Gender Development 35

CHAPTER 3 The Rhetorical Shaping of Gender: Competing Images

CHAPTER 4 The Rhetorical Shaping of Gender: Competing Images of Men 79

CHAPTER 5 Gendered Verbal Communication 101

CHAPTER 6 Gendered Nonverbal Communication 122

CHAPTER 7 Becoming Gendered 142

CHAPTER 8 Gendered Education: Communication in Schools 165

CHAPTER 9 Gendered Close Relationships 185

CHAPTER 10 Gendered Organizational Communication 208

CHAPTER 11 Gendered Media 233

CHAPTER 12 Gendered Power and Violence 255

INTRODUCTION Opening the Conversation 1

PART 1 CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS

CHAPTER 1 The Study of Communication, Gender, and Culture 14

CHAPTER 2 Theoretical Approaches to Gender Development 35

CHAPTER 3 The Rhetorical Shaping of Gender: Competing

CHAPTER 4 The Rhetorical Shaping of Gender: Competing Images of Men 79

CHAPTER 5 Gendered Verbal Communication 101

The Point of the Story 119

CHAPTER 6 Gendered Nonverbal Communication 122

CHAPTER 7 Becoming Gendered 142

CHAPTER 8 Gendered Education: Communication in Schools 165

LGBTQ Students 172

CHAPTER 9 Gendered Close Relationships 185

CHAPTER 10 Gendered Organizational Communication 208

CHAPTER 11 Gendered Media 233

CHAPTER 12 Gendered Power and Violence 255

Changes in Gendered Lives,

Enhanced Coverage of Gendered Health Issues

Integrated Emphasis on Digital Media

Revised Coverage of Women’s and Men’s

Explicit Emphasis on Application

Pedagogical Features to Engage Students

Supplementary Resources for Students

Julia T. Wood is Lineberger Distinguished Professor of Humanities Emerita at the

The Social Construction of Inequality

EXPLORING GENDERED LIVES About “Male-Bashing”: Julia

Patrick makes an important point. We need to distinguish between the actions

Why We Wrote This Book

EXPLORING GENDERED LIVES Multicultural Perspectives

Communication as the Fulcrum

The Challenge of Studying

Features of Gendered Lives

to return their generosity by including an array of individuals and viewpoints,

Hannah’s comment reflects open-mindedness, which fosters learning. As you