SUSURRATIONS

Inasmuch as silence can signal the inappropriateness or unsatisfactoriness of the preceding turn, it can be a powerful tool for devaluing contributions. In the same way, an individual may continue to provide talk in order to fill in the threatening silence offered by the interlocutor. Such talk may then be evaluated—by both parties—as idle chatter. The potential for devaluation of women’s contributions (by both men and women) under these circumstances is tremendous. […] A contributor not accorded attention and respect will find her capacity reduced for full participation in the social elaboration of thought, meaning, and community values. The cycle may be vicious in even subtler ways. […] [For example,] Fishman’s (1983) study of several graduate student couples showed women having considerable difficulty introducing topics and starting conversations with their male partners. They fell back on such strategies as the opening questions that children use to get the floor—“Do you know what?”