Courtney Adams Blog #4

I strongly agree with Deborah Tannen’s observations and opinions in her essay There is No Unmarked Woman.  While getting ready in the morning women are overwhelmed with options.  There is no unmarked or so to speak “normal” way for a girl to dress, wear her make-up or style her hair like guys have.  This idea holds true even with small decisions on a form, ““Mr.” carries no meaning other than that the respondent is male.  But a woman who checks “Mrs.” or “Miss.” communicates not only whether she has been married but also whether she has conservative tastes in forms of address” (Tannen 4).  Girls must make all of the correct decisions to represent themselves properly because there is no default setting for us. Form my experience being a girl seems much harder and more complicated than it would be to be a boy.  Physically, socially and emotionally girls are more complex and marked.

Contrasting that idea, the side that I personally do not agree with, to doubt Deborah Tannen’s essay.  The playing field between girls and boys are even.  Going through the day, boys have the same amount of decisions and responsibilities as men.  As Tannen states, “Girls are born with fully female bodies, while boys are born with modified female bodies” (Tannen 5).  This puts men and women on the same level, both genetically and socially.

Within the essay Real Men Don’t: Anit-Male Bias in English by Eugene R. August the situations and descriptions perfectly describe what is happening between genders in the U.S.  The idea that men cannot be victims is explained, “The term rape is a favorite with misandrists, who insist that rape is a crime committed only by males in which only females are victims” (August 4).  I agree that men do not get the attention they deserve when it comes to being victims.

August is untrue when he says that men are not seen as victims.  The U.S. tried very hard and succeeds at creating equality for everyone, male and female.  Even stated in the essay that there have already been court cases where men have been ruled over women in cases where men have been abused.  Maybe the genders are not completely equal but the court system and government do their best to accurately find who is the real victim.