Status Vs. Support
Tannen states that, for men, the world is a competitive place in which conversation and speech are used to build status, whereas for women the world is a network of connections, and that they use language to seek and offer support. In demonstrating this, Tannen uses the example of her husband and herself, who at one point had jobs in different cities. She remarks that when people commented on this, she interpreted it as being offers of sympathy or support. Her husband, on the other hand, took such comments as being criticism and attempts to put him down. Tannen remarks that this displays the different approaches that women and men take in terms of status and support.
Read more about this topic: Difference Theory, Theory
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