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The Muted Group Theory suggests that language is limited in its ability to serve all groups equally, so it serves the dominant groups better than subordinate groups. Because the English language was created by men, many woman experiences are left unnamed or difficult to express, making women appear less articulate or “muted.” Women can employ several strategies to resist being silenced; one of them being to create a language that better represents themselves and their experiences.
Since its creation in 1998, the television show Sex and the City has “fought back” on behalf of single women, famously contributing to pop culture by creating its own words and phrases. There had never before been a show like this on television that revolved around the lives of four, single, successful women, so a new lexicon representing these women was just waiting to be established.
In this episode, titled “Evolution,” the girls are discussing how men have evolved in relationships. In the older days, men were either gay or straight. More recently, we have coined the phrase “metrosexual” to describe men who embrace some aspects of the homosexual lifestyle, like nice clothes, designer hygiene products, etc. However, these words were still not sufficient to describe the experiences some women face while dating. In this scene, starting about halfway through the clip,
Because this is clearly an experience that most men would never have to deal with, it is not surprising that there was no real phrase prior to this episode to describe this phenomenon. Rather than having to translate the “male” language or talk endlessly around the subject, these women compensated by coining a phrase for this event to make conversation much more direct. In the future, women will be able to say a “gay-straight man” or a “straight-gay man” and it will be accepted and understood. Now these women have officially named the experience of dating questionably-cultured men, and helped give women in this position a voice.
11 comments:
I think that Sex and the city is an excellent example of how women have exerted their power. The show actually gives women a voice. Great choice!
I also think that Sex and the City is a good example of fighting against being a muted minority. The women on this show are demonstrating strategies of resistances by coining new terms to describe situations unique to themselves. They're creating new vocabulary to better express experiences that women, not men, go through
This show is great for showing this theory. The women create language for experiences that they encounter - in fact, when talking to my friends about certain experiences, I tend to refer to phrases coined in Sex and the City episodes to get my point across. The show certainly gives a voice to women.
On the other hand, although the women in the show are incredibly successful and lead very fulfilling lives, they still define their lifetime success by their relationship status with men. For example, Miranda is a Harvard graduate and a successful lawyer; however, we rarely hear about her experiences at work - we only hear about her relationship woes. Although the show is written by mostly women and homosexual men, the women in the show are still muted by the fact that the only stories the show focuses on are stories that involve their appearance and their relationships with men.
I think that this is a very clever example of the muted group theory. Men never have to experience this kind of thing in their love lives. Sex and the City definitely gives women a chance to voice their feelings, opinions, and experiences on a whole new level with a whole new language!
Brittany's comment is especially interesting because she pointed out a fact that regardless of the purpose of the show, the show still goes along with the dominant culture, that is, we, especially women, get gratifications mostly, if not only, from satisfying relationships.
I think this clip displays the Muted Group Theory very well. I am a huge fan of Sex and the City and throughout the series these four women are faced with emotions, situations and experiences in which there are no words for; therefore, benefitting the dominant group. As the theory states these women are forced to "create their own language to compensate" their emotions. Finally, throughout the series these women though extremely successful are dominated by men for the most part. Every episode intertwines with their relationships and there are many times they complain about being unmarried at their age.
This is a wonderful example. I'm sure that everyone has had the dilemma of having a friend that you're not sure is a straight-gay male or a gay-straight male.
Sex and the City has so many examples of this. Another one I thought of was the "Frenemy", which is a woman who is both your friend and your enemy, and therefore can never really be your friend. You cannot trust a frenemy.
As part of the show's setup, every episode has Carrie asking a question that only women can identify with. It may be the best example of the Muted Group Theory on television.
I like that this post focuses on how women have fought back and not on how they have been silenced. Sex and the City definitely created a new language for a historically muted group, women.
"Sex and the city" shows the view of a strong female, who struggles in her career. Even though she is successful, her position in society is still inferior to the male. Throughout the whole show, it shows how females struggle in society in which men are dominant and women are subordinate. They often complain about their social position。 This is a good illustration of Muted Group Theory.
I think this episode was a great choice for this theory, being that it focused on the women's language. Sex and the City never communicates in a male dominant language are constantly coining their own words for a better understanding of the present female culture. All of the women on Sex and the City are also powerful successful women which helps them be enablers in creating a female dominated language.
I think that another example of the impact this show has on female language is the fact that no guys have commented on this blog yet.
I feel like this blog illustration is a very accurate example of how a muted group must create a new language to describe their experiences. Men may not encounter women as complicated as this gay/straight man, or they may simply not analyze the women they date so closely. In either case, women must fill a void left by the dominant culture.
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