Gender-Related Usage of Direct and Indirect Directives

This book provides a further perspective on Robin Lakoff's assumptions that women use more indirect directives in conversations than men do. In particular, it examines the differential usage of directives by males and females in children's storybooks of level two. To compare the gender-related usage of direct/indirect directives in children's storybooks of level two, five subcategories of detective, ghost, life, love and social were selected randomly. Among each subcategory, two books were also selected randomly. The statistical analyses reveal some significant differences between men and women regarding the use of directives only in social storybooks of level two. The study found little evidence of distinction between men and women in the detective, ghost, life and love storybooks of level two at p<.05 level.