Blog #6 Swann, Joan. "Talk Control: An Illustration from the Classroom of Problems in Analysing Male Dominance of Conversation."

I think talk in the classroom is dominated by males because males by nature are more aggressive than females. It is both a genetic and social statement that males are more talkative not only amongst others but in a classroom. Guys are taught at a young age to voice what they want while girls are taught to wait and they'll get what they want. This transfers over into the classroom and boys ask questions when they don't understand something or want something while girls stay normally stay quiet and try to figure things out on their own or wait for an answer. I don't this this applies to all males and females but for the most part guys are much more out spoken than females that's why there may seem to be a male dominance of coversations.

BLOG #5--Cooperation and Competition across Girls' Play Activities."

I agree with Marjorie that girls tend to not have a distinct leader rather they rotate positions. From personal experiences girls do exhibit the willingness to share power and rotate in hierarchy while boys keep whatever social status they are given. I think this happens because our society encourage girls to share and get along with one another while it is seen as being okay if boys don't get along. This is not to say that girls are not competitive but it is almost like their level of competiveness is a lot of notches below that of a boy. Since girls are taught to be and are seen to be a certain way I think they subconciously become that image we have of them.

Blog #4 Tannen, Deborah. "Talk in the Intimate Relationship: His and Hers."

Many of the opposite gender fear the phrase "let's talk" because that usually means that they've either done something wrong or something they won't agree with is about to take place. It is usually a heads up that something they won't completely agree with will take place.
Tennen's explainations make sense to me especially the one about the anniversary cake. Women are more emotional and base events, thoughts, and everything else on feelings while men on the other hand are think of things in a more practical term.
Women are more attuned to metamessages than men. They seem to want to connect everything to a feeling or a special moment. It's hard for them to just take something for what it is they always feel like there needs to be something deeper or there has to be a purpose to everything while men on the other hand see things for exactly what it is most of the time.

Blog #3 Maltz, Daniel N., and Ruth A. Borker. "A Cultural Approach to Male-Female Miscommunication."

I definitely had an "aha" moment reading this chapter. Thinking about it, girls do build relationships by sharing intimate secrets but also "break up" because those secrets were later told. I remember my sisters were best friends but that all ended my younger sister told my dad that my older sister had a boyfriend which was forbidden at the time.
I can relate to "men's speech" because after a hard long day of work or physical activity, it's always nice to just relax and joke around with friends. This however does not work with my girlfriend. If my girlfriend and I ever do something that is physically demanding or mentally demanding together I often time just want to relax and sleep while she on the other hand wants to reflect and talk about it. This is a reoccuring problem and I believe it has to do with exactly what this chapter states. Women often want to share everything while men are more laid back and don't really care too much about getting their feelings out there.

Blog #2 Gender and Sociolinguistic Variation

There were many different social groups during my highschool years. I think one of the biggest reasons why myself and my fellow classmates created/join these social groups were to have a sense of belonging and security. What I mean by security is, you always knew what you got if you hung around people who talk, look, and sound like you. These "friends" who were in the same social group enjoyed and shared the same activities as you making things less awkward. In highschool I think everyone's biggest worry was to just fit in and having and being in these social groups that made you talk and look a certain way made you fit in.

Blog #1 Yanyuwa: 'Men Speak One Way, Women Speak Another

I can personally identify with this article. Coming from a very traditional background and speaking another language besides english, I think the author does a great job describing the different ways in which men and women speak. In my native toungue, Hmong, we culturally have a couple of different ways in which one can speak as well. Like the Yanyuwa the Men in our culture have a different tone and certain words they would use during "meetings/debates" that both women and children would not. Also like the Yanyuwa the children of our culture's speech resembles more of the womens tone for the same reasons, because children are around the women more often. Unlike the Yanyuwa there is no initiation period where a boy must become a man. It is simply seen that when a boy starts looking like a man, he must start acting and talking like a man.