Watch out here she comes. . .

I frequently notice different ways gender influences language use. One example I notice frequently is in my job. My major responsibility at my job is to deliver tools and parts to various mechanic shops throughout the Salt Lake valley. About 95% of the people I interact with at these shops are men. When addressing each other, the male employees usually use a variety of colorful words to criticize their coworkers' ability to perform a job, insufficient sex life, or lack of masculine this or that. If they haven't noticed a woman is in the shop, their descriptions of each other are often much more vulgar than when they realize someone of the opposite sex has arrived. Even though the men do not stop their assessments of one another, the critiques are softened, so as not to offend the woman visitor. It is like their is some type of code they follow - words such as "ass" or "stupid" are okay, but if "bitch" or the f-word are overheard by a woman it is unexceptable.When the "unspeakable" terms accidently slip out in front of me, they are immediately followed by an apology. I am usually spoken to as some type of fragile child that could easily be broken by too harsh of a word. When speaking to each other, the men often interrupt, argue with, or ignore each other. When I speak, I am usually not interrupted, rarely receive opposition, and am paid attention to. I thought this treatment would dissipate with time, but I've been delivering to the same mechanincs for over a year and haven't seen much, if any, change. It is nice of these men to try to be considerate; however, I see no reason for them to try to shelter me. I am not fragile and have been known to curse like a sailor when in the right mood. This is just one small example - gender has an enormous role in langauge in our society and I find it very interesting.