Deborah Tannen Uses Husband's Last Name Analysis

In certain aspects such as clothing, cosmetics and accessories women usually have numerous avenues to express themselves. In the essay “Wears jump suit. Sensible shoes. Uses husband's last name” , author Deborah Tannen uses this occurrence through figurative language that manifests as personal and general anecdotes to show the audience that everything a woman does conveys a message, which in turn exhibit that women are always marked. One anecdote that describes a situation where women are marked for their choices occurred when Tannen took part in a conference and she noted “each of the women at the conference had to make decisions about hair, clothing, makeup and accessories, and each decision carried meaning (Tannen, 205). Through this anecdote
According to Tannen “If a woman takes her husband's name, she announces to the world that she is married and has traditional values. To some it will indicate that she is less herself, more identified by her husband's identity (Tannen 206). In this case the anecdote links the connection between personal titles and the judgement of women. When looking at the personal title and name of a woman they are subject to analysis towards their place in society and worth as a person. Contrastingly a man’s is a default and is regarded as the same meaning without taking into account their social standing. Additionally, the anecdote assists the audience in realizing that women have experience as the marked gender in other cases besides appearance. Proponents of this argument may claim that the anecdotes Tanner employs serve to show that in instances where one group appears as the minority is when they are subjected to be marked. While biology is a female oriented subject due to their importance in different animal kingdoms one way in which males experience marking is “while two X chromosomes make a female, two Y chromosomes make nothing. Like the linguistic markers s, es or ess, the Y chromosome doesn't "mean" anything unless it is attached to a root form -- an X chromosome(Tannen 206). It is important to note that the fact men are the biologically marked group highlights the unjust in women’s marking. The scientific example expresses how especially unfair society is towards women when their biological makeup is considered the default. This account, in addition to the previously managed anecdotes all give the reader an understanding how every choice a woman makes is subject to examination which is supports social differences between men and