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There are NO gender differences PERIOD ... according to my wife! Perhaps
it is a "Right Brain" v. "Left Brain" thing and has nothing to do with
gender???
My nickel's worth. Feel free to give me change :)
Joe
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+ I'm forwarding this to the list because I think Joely meant it to go there,
+ rather than just to me, as it did...Karla
+ ***************
+ Karla asked about the Tannen article:
+ The Tannen article was part of a larger piece in the Society section of the
+ May 16 Newsweek. Barbara Kantrowitz wrote an article entitled "Men, women,
+ computers." Deborah Tannen wrote an article entitled, "Gender."
+ I have another hypothesis:
+ There is a gender difference in the frequency of use of smileys, emoticons,
+ etc. with men using them more frequently than women.
+ Supporting theories (and broad generalizations)
+ Men tend to be exclusionary; they like clubs, titles, etc. that establish
+ rank. Women tend to be inclusionary (if there is such a word); they tend to
+ operate more "democratically," giving all team members equal voice.
+ My hypothesis is that smileys are exclusionary because you have to -be in the
+ club- to know them. Not knowing them marks a person as an inferior outsider.
+ I understand that Internet prose is not meant to be a novel, where the author
+ can spend pages (and hours) setting the mood and tone. We all have limited
+ time. However, I personally prefer to use words (e.g. big smile) to indicate
+ tone and body language that cannot be seen in brief messages.
+ What say ye all? Do you think there are gender differences in this area? How
+ do you FEEL about using smileys?
+ Just to muddy the water...
+ A study not too long ago found that women managers scored like men managers
+ on psychological tests. They did not score like other women who were not
+ managers.
+ These are fun, thought-provoking topics...hyacinths for the soul as it were.
+ Joely Beatty
+ AOL = Empressgjb
+ Internet = Empressgjb -at- aol -dot- com
