There Is No Unmarked Women Speaker: the speaker and author of this article is Deborah Tannen who is a professor of linguistics at Georgetown University in Washington DC. Occasion: this article was first published in The New York Times Magazine on June 20, 1993. It is set at a working conference of 12. Audience: the article is directed to a very broad audience. Not only because it was published in the New York Times which is one of the most read newspapers in the United States but because she directs it towards everyone.
Mainly it is for women who are trying to hard to speak through their appearance, women who perhaps don’t try hard enough.
As well as the less obvious answer which is men that unintentionally do “ mark” these women. Purpose: to shed some light and possibly even by raising the awareness make a small impact on one’s first instinct to judge or mark as she puts it, these women who will be judges either way. Subject: about how women no matter what they do will end with a label placed on them.
They try to hard and they are too available, if they don’t try hard enough then they are too comfortable and don’t care.
As well as labels such as Mrs. Vs Ms which is a problem like others that men don’t have to face. Tone: she is very even as far as keeping her opinions inoffensive to either side (man or woman) who is reading the article. She is also upset and clearly wants to change the way that women are marked but discouraged because she doesn’t believe it can happen.
