Research of the Muted Group
Report by Chris Zweidinger
Muted group theory basically supports ideas by feminist that women are restricted to what they say and what they hear. Feminist use this theory to compare how the actions of men would differ from those by women. Susan Louise Peterson discusses all of the little things about feminism and how they would differ if coming from a man's point of view. She discusses this in greater detail in her book The Changing Meaning of Feminism: Life Cycle and Career Implications from a Sociological Perspective. I am going to relate the topics in her book to those outlined in muted group theory.
One of the main points that Susan Louise Peterson covers is a comparison and difference between words and feminism. An example that she gives, is that males prefer to be called men as boys would seem inappropriate. As for females, though, either women or girls is usually acceptable. Recently, feminist have grown very defensive and irritated with the word girls. They feel injustice, to the fact that men and women can not use the same type of language to describe one another. According to Peterson, the type of vocabulary depends on the situation. In general, most women view this discrepancy as being very offensive and sexist. The solution to this behavior, is to just use discretion when responding back. It is not always necessary to make a huge scene over one little remark or comment.
Another section that Peterson writes about is that of feminism and equality. She claims that not only do women have to be taken into consideration when decisions are made, but their opinion can provide good influence to a simple issue. Peterson claims that men try to make good and fair decisions, but without female input crucial elements could be looked over. When males make decisions they need to look at all factors on both sides, not just granting one sex something because the other has the exact same thing. These men in control usually just assume that women have the same needs and requests as men. In order for a non-sexist society, men have to translate the requests of women to understand them.
Susan Louise Peterson basically relates her discussion of the portrayal of women and slow changing expectations to the muted group theory. Peterson writes about the different ways society relates different issues to men and women. She gives an example of how romance novels are almost always written with a woman falling in love with a below average looking man and eventually these women over come this for a man's inter-self. Peterson then asks, what if the tables had been turned. Peterson claims that these types of novels are extremely rare and almost unheard of. Another example Peterson gives is that of sunscreen. She claims that sunscreen companies direct their advertisements toward women. This is done, she say's, because men tend to view sunscreen as being a feminine thing. In actuality, sunscreen is well known defense against skin cancer and yet people still see this safety device as being feminine. These are just two examples of how our society leans toward one sex or the other. The way society views women and treats them with acceptance is slowly changing and constantly moving a positive direction.
Interpretation and Evaluation
In this section of the web page I will express my opinion of the article and the way I interpreted it. The main point that I feel Peterson is trying to make in her first section, is that words are not always meant or directed to people in a derogatory manner. She wants people to think about the consequences before they decide to attack someone for simply being called a girl. It is not always worth it and there is always more than one way to handle a situation. I completely agree with section and I hope people take this into consideration before they attack someone back.
I also learned from Peterson that there is more to equality than just providing the same for men and women. Women do have different qualities and factors than men and these need to be taken into consideration when decisions are made. This was a big discussion of Peterson and until now I really had not paid attention too. As for the examples Peterson gives, I feel that they give a good portrayal of how our society works with the sexes. Companies specifically target sexes solely based on reputation each sex has with a product. In my opinion this clearly illustrates the muted group theory. For me, this was a good and descriptive book. It was one in which I could apply towards the muted group theory and had a definite underlying relevance towards the theory.
Links
To return to the Muted Group Theory's Homepage click here.
To view Muted Group Theory discussed by different universities around the country click here.
Sources
Peterson, Susan Louise. The Changing Meaning of Feminism: Life Cycle and Career Implications from a Sociological Perspective. Bethesda, MD: International Scholars Publications, 1998.
This page was revised by Chris Zweidinger (http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~cz175996/MG.htm) on March 10, 1999.