Today, in Women's Studies, Professor Brockmann sent the class outside to observe men and women in their natural element. She told us to focus on the non-verbal communication of male groups, female groups, and mixed gender groups. Here are my notes:
Women:
-clutch things: bags, jackets, their own arms --> especially when walking alone or when approached by male stranger. WHY?
- when posing for photo, strike "cute" or "sultry" pose
- walking in groups, not afraid in brush into one another
- mutual preening gestures, shrill vocalizations on greeting (not all, but more often than men)
- lie down on grass and stare at sky together --> I assume unlikely to see in male pairs
- more fitting clothing, flamboyant colors, more frequently adjust clothing
Men:
- greet each other with vigorous hand-clasps, partial embraces where only the arms touch and leave about 12 inches between chests
- in passing, do not smile as often as female pairs do. merely a curt nod and vague point/wave at times
- when posing for photo, flex muscles or look stiff/nervous
- walk alone with open posture, though often hands in pockets
- no mutual preening gestures between men. Do we have any same sex couples on Wash U campus? Where are the Gays and Lesbians!? I want some diversity, goddamn.
W/M:
- increased rate of preening gestures. observed mutual preening between sexes
- women make their posture more rigid when approached by males. Group of females hid their lunches and began to preen immediately when solitary male approached them.
- Women appear to either diminish or accentuate their breasts with their posture in mixed sex group
- men smile more often in mixed sex group than in male only group
- Mother/Father/Son --> mother appeared to follow son, father acted as if he were not actually with them both, but just happened to be nearby. Mother preened son. Father did not look at son directly when addressing son
- when sitting together, men take up more space with thier bodies (reletively) than women. women attempt to look smaller? clutched own arms, crossed legs, rigid. men sit back in chair and drape arms over things
It's all very interesting, but what does it mean?
I was rather dissappointed that I didn't see any same-sex couples displaying affection, nor individuals who visibly defied the norms of gender behavior. What does that say about Wash U?
And furthermore, what if I did a field study that took socioeconomic status and/or race into account? All I saw were relativly affluent college students and their parents - caucasian for the most part. Maybe I should do this again on my own time somewhere else. Maybe the ghetto. Maybe the loop. It's something to think about.
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