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Subject:gender and tech writing From:Brenda Gordon <YKF13 -at- TTACS -dot- BITNET> Date:Fri, 30 Apr 1993 21:21:00 CDT
Randy,
I just finished reading an interesting essay by Mary L. Lay:
"The Androgynous Collaborator: The Impact of Gender Studies
on Collaboration." It is in a collection of essays edited by
Janis Forman entitled New Visions of Collaboration. Lay
does not directly address the effect that women have
historically had on collaboration, but she does propose that
collaborative efforts will become more successful when the
collaborators acquire "the traditional female skills." She
is specifically referring to the female "bonding"
skills or group maintenance skills, as she calls
them--reflective listening, self-disclosure, and other
interpersonal skills. Even though her article addresses
androgyny, that is assuming the positive characteristics of
both genders, she seems to focus on the benefits of
acquiring the feminine traits, a position she defends
persuasively.
Brenda Gordon
Texas Tech University
YKF13 -at- TTACS
