Week Sixteen: Markedness

In our daily lives, we pay a lot of attention to many things - especially the way people act or dress. In There is No Unmarked Woman, Deborah Tannen argues that women are always "marked", or judged upon the way they dress, act, or speak. Men, on the other hand, have the choice of being marked. Although I was divided at first whether I agreed with her or not, I came to the conclusion that women are definitely more "marked" than men, only because of our wide range of choices in style. 

Take a look at homecoming or prom, for example. Girls can wear a dress of any color, heels that match their dress, do any type of makeup they feel like putting on, and choose a hairstyle of their choice. Guys, however, don't have this kind of freedom. While girls can even wear a jumpsuit, boys always wear a suit and the colors of their suits are limited to only a few colors, such as navy or black. Their ties have to match the color of their date's dress, which gives them no choice but to be unmarked. In short, since guys only have a small variety of style that they can choose from, they are almost always unmarked unless they choose to be marked. Naturally, it is harder for women to blend in with others because attire for women is a lot broader than men's.