Dolaku’s Blog

Women who work full time usually do at least 90% of all house chores.  Wives/ mothers who work full time perform 96% of the cooking, 92% of dishwashing, 90% of the vacuuming, and 90% of the bed-making. This are high numbers for women that wok in and outside of the hose of a total of 69 hours (Gamble and Gamble, 2003, p. 204). This is very evident in my household. My mother has to have dinner on the table before my stepdad walks into the house but, it must be warm enough to eat after she sets the table. She also cleans the house every weekend. These things are not expected of my stepdad. Whatever my mother does not get done I am usually held responsible for doing. To me it is normal because these chores were the ones that I did since I was like 4 (personal communication, April30, 2009) .  

Gamble, T., & Gamble, M. (2003). The Gender Communication Connection.Boston : Houghton Mifflin Company.

Working at the Timberland outlet and a Haircuttery and there are certain things that I have observed about relationships. When a couple comes into Hair Cuttery and the male needs a haircut he usually asks his wife. His body language is very uncomfortable as if he doesn’t like to ask his wife or girlfriend for that haircut. The wife/girlfriend jumps out of there chair and basically runs towards me to tell me what she wants. While she is telling me she stands very upright and very close to her man while separating my space from the customer.This is an example of Proxemics and how women usually require less space and have no problem with gettin in another woman’s personal bubble (Gamble and Gamble, 2003, p 101)/  She will feel through his hair and be forceful with his head if she is talking about his hairline. She treats him almost like a child. The man in the chair just sits there with his hands in his lap looking forward and obeying all of her demands. There is definite dominance in these situations; especially if she is paying for his haircut because she will get very angry if you go against her. Her words say one thing but, her body language says another. She acts as if she has to act and stand like she is his woman and must direct him when they are around me. The woman also tends to cut into our conversations by not only her speech but, by her body language. When I ask her if the haircut is ok she comes over and almost pushes me out of the way to feel the circumference of his head in-front of me. it has even gone into basically making out. I don’t know if this is more of a territorial behavior rather than affection. The man does not touch the woman until he is out of the chair and usually it is to assist her with getting her wallet (personal obseration, February 22, 2009).

Now at Timberland it’s different. If a couple comes in they are usually all over each other trying to make it obvious that they are together. However, if they need assistance it is usually the female that makes the initiative while the male sits there like a child. Once they make the purchase he regains his confidence and will direct her by putting his hand on her back and leading her. If they have children with them they tend to have body language that again is very territorial. Just standing there and observing people I do notice that when it comes to interacting with friends the male is usually more dominant but, if it involves a purchase or a decision the woman is more assertive (personal observation, Feb 25, 2009).

Gamble, T., & Gamble, M. (2003).The Gender Communication Connection. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Company.

Gamble and Gamble state that in school, boys get more feedback when it comes to school work and their achievement in class.  Boys are usually the ones that get picked on in class because the teacher thinks that the girls do not know the answer. In school there is a definite separation of sexes just because a lot of the boys play sport so the teachers that are usually coaches will pick on the students that they know. Since, boys are the one that play most of the sports in school they seem to get picked on more. If a teacher is familiar with her students or just one student she will pick on those that she knows  (personal communication, March 16, 2009). With observations in my class rooms, I don’t think it has to do so much with sex when it comes to college because the age distribution in professors and students is not as big so the teacher can relate more to her/his students and once they are familiar with the student they will “trust” them more and call on them more often then others (Gamble and Gamble, 2003, p 230).

Gamble, T., & Gamble, M. (2003).The Gender Communication Connection. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Company.