There Is No Unmarked Woman

Deborah Tannen is a Doctor of Linguistics and currently teaches at Georgetown University. She has written a few books which all deal with conversation and its effects. This essay, "There Is No Unmarked Woman" is an excerpt from one of her books and it focuses on the fact that men can be "unmarked", yet women always seem to be "marked" or labeled. She bases this upon her own thoughts of her colleagues, both men and women.

Tannen explains that she was at a conference with four women and eight men. She was only their for a few days, but by the final day she was able to categorize or mark all three of the women simply based on the women's hairstyles, makeup, clothing and accessories. One woman was classy and sophisticated while a little plain. The next was a little older, but very dignified and confident. Finally, the third woman was glitzy glamorous and sexy. Tannen had been able to label each woman just by looking at her. Once Tannen realized this she asked herself why she was only studying the women, and then came up with the answer, "The men's styles were unmarked" (Tannen 141). Tannen referred to the men as unmarked because they all wore similar suit pants and dress shirts. They all had similar shoes and hair cuts with the exception of a man who was balding. None of the men stood out or seemed extraordinary. She could not deduce things about the men or their personalities simply based on physical characteristics like she could with the women.  She continues supporting her thesis throughout the essay. For example, she discusses how on forms women must choose a prefix which marks them as married or unmarried, but the male prefix is the same regardless of his marital status. In the end of the essay Tennan talks about her feelings towards marking and says she feels sad because, "Some days you just want to get dressed and go about your business. But if you're a woman, you can't, because there is no unmarked woman" (Tannen 145).