During our process it seems as though we have fallen into the stereotypical idea that “men do, women communicate” (Cameron, 2007, 101). We have spent much of our time discussing ideas, developing them, creating an ideal version of the performance in our heads and searching for the end product, without attempting our ideas along the way. But why? Why have we fallen into this stereotype that in a way we are desperate to break from modern society. It has been an interesting and obvious mistake that we have been repeating over the weeks attempting to devise our performance.
When researching about Venus the Goddess of Love I came across an interesting book called The Myth of Mars and Venus, Do men and women really speak different languages? By Deborah Cameron. She discusses many myths, stories, theories and scientifically facts about male and female differences and similarities, some of which is perfectly understandable. I am not a fool into thinking that men and women are 100% the same and/or equal in certain attributes concerning physicality and mentality. That is not to say a women cannot match the strength of a man and a man cannot be emotionally inclined. When reading the biological differences and similarities, what stuck out to me was the concept that women are the ultimate drivers in the creation of verbal communication. Scientists believe that the females would verbally communicate with other women, children and other tribes/groups of humans and therefore they would have developed languages more so than their male companions, who would presumably be hunting and gathering, often in silence with other men.
During our process we have been constantly hitting this brick wall of verbal communication and no action. Is this mentality an innate quality we all share as women, would our performance process be taking a different path if we had even one man in our group? That is something we must question ourselves and how can we break this stereotype if it is innate? Or is it learnt from others? As a women who believes in feminist equality to all, why am I myself falling into this imaginary barrier created by years of the man ruled world?
Cameron, D. (2007). The myth of Mars and Venus. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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