Nice to Meet You...

Bro 1

Nice to Meet You...Bro

Andres X. Berrios

Arizona State University

Nice to Meet You...Bro 2

Introduction

Over the last week I have made a conscious effort to critically analyze communication

influenced by gender. From my work life I observed verbal and nonverbal gendered

communication involving greetings and work uniforms. Another example of gendered

communication I noticed was about myself and how I spoke about my sister's appearance. After

examining these events I felt both uncomfortable and comfortable with these messages. Looking

back at my own gender socialization I see that these communication styles have been reinforced

over time.

Pleased to Greet You

The first example of gendered communication I noticed was at my workplace, Apache

Junction Police Department, and because it was verbal communication I was able to spot it rather

quickly. When any of the male officers(Police, Detective, Detention) greeted each other they

would use phrases like "Hey Big Dawg/Chief" or "How ya doin' Brother"; however, when the

same male officers greeted any of the female staff(officers, administration, dispatch) they would

immediately switch to formal greetings like "Good morning, Ma'am/Miss". This is seen as the

norm in the AJPD, because of that I feel comfortable following along, as I see it the males are

showing more respect to the female staff. On the other side, I like being called by a nickname

and I can imagine that it could be alienating for the females to not be addressed in the same

manner as the male officers.

Nice to Meet You...Bro 3

Uniform Restricted

Another form of communication influenced by gender at my workplace is the dress code.

Both female and male staff are required to wear long pants, closed toed shoes, and collared tops.

While at first glance this gives us a sense of uniformity between both genders, in reality the only

ones being restricted from wearing their normal attire are the females. My comfort level about

this is a toss-up, as a male I see uniformity as fair to all; although, not allowing females to wear

more feminine clothing, that are still professional, is the same as having separate dress codes for

each gender.

Family Matters

During the past week, I was invited by my family to the movies. When we arrived my

brother and I immediately teased my sister about her clothes. She was wearing a simple hoodie

and jeans yet we teased her for not dressing up or putting effort into her appearance. Reflecting

on this now, I see that my brother and I were communicating to her that her appearance was not

at the standard that a woman should be dressed in public. At that time I was pretty comfortable

saying those things because (a)she is my sister and (b)growing up that was the standard our

parents had engraved in our heads. My perception of these moments are humorous since I do not

necessarily view them as sexist or gender stereotyping because it involves my sister, but it is

because of that reason exactly that my perceptions might be skewed.

Conclusion

From my observations this last week I feel I have gained a better awareness of how

communication is influenced by gender, both verbally and nonverbally. From personal family

interactions to how people greet each other at work, gender has a large impact on
Nice to Meet You...Bro 4

communication. Having greater awareness may begin to change my comfort level with what I

traditionally viewed as acceptable.