We've come a long way baby . . .

[bartanen@ups.edu (Kris Bartanen)]

> "The practice of tournament directors is often to structure forensic 
>     events into divisions, presumably to insure a greater equality of 
>     experience and ability.  Implicit in such an arrangement is the
>     belief that the male is generally superior to the female in forensic 
>     endeavors; consequently, women are often separated from the men.
>     The purpose of this study is to examine this presumption, particularly
>     as it applies to debate."
>          [Hensley, W. E., and Strother, D. B. (1968).  Speech Teacher,
>          17, 235-237.]

Of course, Hensley and Strother did not find evidence in their study that 
men's debate teams won more than women's teams.  Their finding that mixed 
male-female teams appeared to have a w/l advantage is contradicted by 
Bruschke and Johnson, JAFA '94, where same-gender teams were found to have 
superior success rates.  Bruschke and Johnson also found that female 
debaters recive fewer speaker points than male debaters in general, and 
especially on the negative when judged by female judges.

An interesting research note I would offer for thought is:
"Expletives carry a powerful emotional and psychological charge, 
contravening social taboos and frequently used for shocking people, or 
indicating contempt or disregard for them.  As a result they have become 
associated with strength and masculinity in Western cultures. . . . 
Expletives have also been credited as acting as a social marker of group 
identify and solidarity, frequently serving to distinguish men from women in 
certain cultures . . . while expletives are condoned in males, their use by 
females is generally condemned, seen as presumptuous and inappropriate.  As 
Burgoon and Stewart (1975) and Burgoon et al., (1983) note, adult males are 
expected to use highly intense language in persuasive attempts and were most 
successful or effective when they chose such a strategy, while females were 
seen as violating norm expectations when doing do."  Vivian de Klerk, 
Communication Monographs, 1991, 157-8.

So, if men use profanity in debate which creates a hostile environment for 
women and detracts from their ability to debate fairly--men win?  If men use 
profanity in debate and it doesn't make women uncomfortable, and in fact 
they use it as well--men win?  If men use profanity in debate and women do 
not, regardless of how comfortable or uncomfortable anyone feels--men win?  
If men use profanity in debate and women object to it, they are seen as weak 
and not part of the in group--and men win?

Just checking on how far we've come,  Kris Bartanen

Kristine Bartanen, Professor of Communication, University of Puget Sound, 
Tacoma, WA 98416  (206) 756-3463   FAX 207 756-3500

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