http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIBpn5ob60s&feature=related
Title: “Gossip Revisited: Language in all-Female Groups” by Jennifer Coates
This clip from Sex and the City seemed to be a great example of how women talk among each other when they are together. As the four women have brunch, the topic of sex obviously comes up with Cynthia Nixon’s character, Miranda bringing up an event that happened the night before. As each girl gives their input and codes sex as “coloring” because of Charlotte’s daughter also being in their presence, this light topic becomes somewhat more serious. “The brief account of the development of one topic in a conversation between women friends provides an example of the way that women develop topics progressively” (Coates, 207). After listening and to each other and comparing their sex lives, Miranda is able to realize that her and Steve are having a problem, but this realization is almost light-hearted with her friends input. Each woman progressively shared their experiences while also aware of Miranda’s concern.
When Carrie cuts Samantha off by saying, “We get it, you love to color.” I thought it was not only funny, but a perfect way to show how simultaneous talk can include interruptions without gaining the floor. Since all of the ladies are equals, the main goal of the conversation is to catch up on their friendship and if more than one person speaks at a time, it is not thought of as rude, but rather as an active contribution. I also think that this is apparent in girl talk everyday. If only one person is talking, it isn’t always a negative, but when a lot of girls are trying to voice their opinion, it kind of makes it more fun, interesting and open. In almost every “Sex and the City” episode, the conversations are meant for each girl to collectively participate in the brunch or dinner discussion with no competitiveness, but co-operativity.
Great video, Sarah. This Sex in the City scene is the perfect example language in all-female groups. Not only does the video show simultaneous talking, it also shows how an all-female group develops the topic together. Throughout the entire clip, all of the women stay in character and use "coloring" as a code name for sex.
ReplyDeleteThis video was great in relation to the article we read. They strongly demonstrate topic development by adding on to the topic with their own stories to keep the flow of conversation going. Like Charolette adds on to Miranda's question by telling a story about her and her husband, and then she continues to demonstrate topic development by asking Carrie about her and Big in relation to the topic that Miranda brought up for further opinions. They don't show much use of minimal responses but I think that could be because they are such good friends and don't really need to. They are pretty respectful of one another and don't really talk over another when they are speaking, rather they add their two cents in when someone has completed their thought. But this video is perfect in representing how women speak, or same-sex speech.
ReplyDeleteI think the link to the Sex and The City scene was a very good one that related to the article well. It shows how conversation develops and how females use their own input and experiences to develop or feed into a conversation. All the women shared their experiences with how often they "color" which all started with Miranda asking Charlotte how often she "colored" then sparking Samantha to share how often she did as well. I also like how you included how Carrie interrupted Samantha because I feel when women are all talking as a group interruptions are very common.
ReplyDeleteI think any clip of "Sex and the City" is a good example of female same-sex speech, especially this clip.
DeleteThis video is a very good example of what Jennifer Coates was talking about. It gives a good demonstration of what simultaneous speech is. Minimal responses are also present in a non-verbal manner as all the women have their eyes glued to the speaker and nod in agreement or laugh at each other's comments. Sarah also pointed out the clever coding by using the word 'coloring' in places of sex. They take the coding a step further by using phrases pertaining to coloring like 'using every crown in the box' and 'does not stay in the lines'.
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