1. What words do you use with your same-sex friends that you don’t use with
members of the opposite sex? Does this usage support Kramarae’s hypothesis of
male control of the public mode of expression?
2. In a journal article about dictionary bias, Kramarae wrote the sentence “I
vaginated on that for a while.”39 Can you explain her wordplay in light of the
principles of muted group theory? How does the meaning of the sentence change
when you replace her provocative term with alternative verbs?
3. Given a deinition of sexual harassment as “unwanted imposition of sexual
requirements in the context of a relationship of unequal power,” can you think of a
time you harassed or were harassed in this way by someone?
4. Do you tend to agree more with Tannen’s genderlect perspective or Krama-
rae’s muted group theory? To what extent is your choice inluenced by the fact
that you are a male or a female?
