学术英语原文4单元
HisPolitenessIsHerPowerlessness
DeborahTae
Therearemanydifferentkindsofevidencethatwomeandmearejudgeddifferently
eveniftheytalkthesameway.Thistendencymakesmischiefindiscussionsofwome，
menandpower。Ifalinguisticstrategyisusedbyawoma，itisseenaspowerless;
ifitisusedbyaman,itisseenaspowerful.Often,thelabelingof“women’s
language”as“powerlesslanguagereflectstheviewofwomensbehaviorthroughthe
lensofmens。
Becausetheyarenotstrugglingtobeone—up,womenoftenfindthemselvesframed
asone—dow。Anysituationisripeformisinterpretatio。Thisambiguityaccounts
formuchmisinterpretationbyexpertsaswellasnonexperts,bywhichwomen’sways
ofthinking，utteredinaspiritofrapport，arebrandedpowerless。Nowhereis
thisinherentambiguityclearerthaiabriefcommentianewspaperarticleiwhich
acouple，bothpsychologists，werejointlyinterviewed.Thejournalistaskedthem
themeaningof“beingverypolite.”Thetwoexpertsrespondedsimultaneously,giving
differentanswers。Themasaid，“Subservience。”Thewomasaid，
“Sensitivity。”Bothexpertswereright,buteachwasdescribingtheviewofadifferent
gender。
Expertsandnonexpertsaliketendtoseeanythingwomedoasevidenceof
powerlessness.Thesamenewspaperarticlequotesanotherpsychologistassaying,“A
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学术英语原文4单元
manmightaskawoman,‘Willyoupleasegotothestore?’whereawomanmightsay,
‘Gee，Ireallyneedafewthingsfromthestore，butImsotired.”Thewoman’s
styleiscalled“