A Response to "His Politeness is Her Powerlessness"

In this article, Tannen says, “experts and nonexperts alike tend to see anything women do as evidence of powerlessness.” Unfortunately, this is true. I think that too many people think women are powerless compared to men, especially when it comes to their language and action. When speaking to men, women normally don’t make straightforward demands but rather they skirt around the point or question they’re trying to get across. Tannen mentions how this style of speaking may suggest that women are being sneaky, but in my opinion I think women are just scared. For hundreds of years women were taught to never speak down to a man or give commands because that was never their power or place. I don’t think women are being indirect to be rude, but rather to be polite because they don’t want to come across as pushy or demanding. I understand that this is the way it is because women are generally said to have a lower status in society, but I do not think a woman should have to speak a certain way because they fear disapproval and do not want to upset anybody. This is the 21^st century, and I would have figured that by this day and age women would not be afraid of telling a man what they want however they want.

            The one thing I don’t understand is why it’s just women who are associated with using indirect language. There are many occasions when men use indirect language towards women, and in some cases they use it in extremely disrespectful ways. For example, when men want women to hook up with them, they’ll say some cheesy pick up line but wont directly tell them what they really want because they don’t want to come off as creepy or threatening. Also, when men want a favor from women they’ll usually try to bargain with them without being clear about what it is they actually want. Overall, I think women should not just be associated with indirectness and men shouldn’t just be associated with using direct language. Times are different than they use to be, and people need to understand that both women and men use direct and indirect language depending on what situation they’re in.