1. Voice and Voicelessness in Feminist Communication Theory

2. Voice Defined "No more talking, singing, zip."
Voice – “the means and ability to speak and to have one's speech heard and be taken into account in social and political life” (Rakow and Wackwitz)
"No more talking, singing, zip."

3. How is Voice Regulated?
“We raise the issue of women's and men's 'styles' of talk within and across culture, the means by which talk is regulated and monopolized, women's creative use of talk and their resistance to policing, and the problems of identity associated with 'speaking as' and 'speaking for'”
(Rakow and Wackwitz, p. 94)
→ Muted Group Theory and Co-Cultural Theory

4. Muted Group Theory
Introduced by Edwin Ardener and later developed by Cheris Kramarae
In many situations, women are more constrained than men in what they can say, when, and with what results.
Accepted language practices have been constructed primarily by men in order to express their experiences. Women are thus constrained, or muted. Kramarae, Cheris. “Muted Group Theory and Communication: Asking Dangerous Questions.”

5. Getting a Word in Edgewise
“Muted group theory suggests that people attached or assigned to subordinate groups may have a lot to say, but they tend to have relatively little power to say it without getting into a lot of trouble.” - Kramarae

6. Mutedness and Contraception
Stewart mocked the fact that a Congressional Oversight Hearing about the issue of birth control featured a panel made up entirely of men.
“A conversation of 'us' with 'us' about 'them' is a conversation in which 'them' is silenced. 'Them' always stands on the other side of the hill, naked and speechless, barely present in its absence.” - Trinh Minh-ha, quoted in Rakow and Wackwitz

7. Co-Cultural Theory Developed by Mark Orbe Rooted in Muted Group Theory
“A co-cultural approach to communication is situated in the belief that the United States is a country of many cultures, each of which exists simultaneously within, as well as apart from, other cultures.”
Orbe, Mark. “From The Standpoint(s) of Traditionally Muted Groups: Explicating A Co-cultural Communication Theoretical Model.”

8. Dominant Co-Cultures
“Over time certain co-cultures (those of European Americans and men for example) have acquired dominant group status in the major societal institutions across the land. This central positioning—in political, corporate, religious, and legal institutions—of certain dominant groups has rendered other co-cultural groups as marginalized within the predominant societal structures.” - Orbe

9. Hierarchy is Hi-larious!

10. How do non-dominant groups communicate?
Co-Cultural Theory examines how non- dominant group members use specific verbal and nonverbal communication practices to overcome attempts to make them muted or inarticulate.
→ Strategies for coping with mutedness

11. Communicative Strategies
Emphasizing Commonalities
Focusing on human similarities while downplaying or ignoring co-cultural differences.
Censoring Self
Remaining silent when comments from dominant group members are inappropriate, insulting, or offensive.
Manipulating Stereotypes
Conforming to commonly accepted beliefs about one's group as a strategic means to exploit them for personal gain.
Communicating Self
Interacting with dominant group members in an authentic, open, and genuine manner.
Educating Others
Taking the role of teacher in co-cultural interactions; enlightening dominant group members of co-cultural norms and values.
Avoiding
Maintaining a distance from dominant group members; refraining from activities and/or locations where interaction is likely.
(Source: Miller, Katherine. Communication Theories: Perspectives, Processes, and Contexts.)

12. Communicative Strategies
(Source:

13. Theory Application: Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo
How can we apply Muted Group Theory and Co-Cultural Theory to the Foss & Domenici article?

14. Theory Application: Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo
The Mothers suffered from mutedness: “the Mothers' actions and requests were seen as irrational and without political import and thus as easily dismissed” (Foss & Domenici, p. 240)
Storytelling and voice: “the act of telling the story... also affords agency and a sense of control” (Foss & Domenici, p. 242)

15. Theory Application: Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo
How does the dominant language fail to accommodate the lived experience of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo?
“Elgin suggests that the lack of a term to describe someone who has lost a child only exacerbates this limbo: while we have the terms widow, widower, and orphan to describe particular relational losses, the 'fact that there is no name for the one who has lost a child is of enormous consequence: The nameless live in a kind of limbo'” (Elgin, quoted in Foss & Domenici, p. 241)

16. Theory Application: Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo
Which of Orbe's co-cultural communicative strategies do the Mothers use?

17. Theory Application: Our Own Lives
Everyone deserves to have their voice heard.
Advocate for marginalized and oppressed groups to have a say in society.
Be mindful of how we mute ourselves and one another in everyday discourse. Listen to others: don't always try to talk over them.

18. The End