The article “Reading and Writing without Authority”, by Ann. M. Rose and Cheryl Geisler relate two students’, Janet and Roger’s, research papers to two different reading and writing authorities. Their essays were on paternalism—the action of someone interfering with another’s beliefs to help him—a topic on which I think you’d have a lot of your own opinions. Janet was a college freshman, and right off the bat, you could tell she felt as though her opinion didn’t matter or wasn’t academically important enough. As the writers put it, “Janet’s approach to this task revealed that she saw no role for herself in this conversation… Not even when her examples clearly ‘disproved’ another author’s position did she step into the conversation to say so.” Roger, on the other hand, was studying for his doctorate, and his approach was more confident. He wasn’t afraid to add his own opinions, backed up by the research and evidence to support him. Roger has more authority in his writing than Janet.
There can be two reasons for this imbalance of authority. Janet is a freshman, while Roger is pursuing his doctorate degree. The years of experience don’t match up, as there is a huge difference in education. Perhaps with more time in school, Janet will come more into herself, and her work as a student will measure up to Rogers. She would benefit from reading our previous blog about finding your voice and style in writing. Or, it could be because women feel more naturally conformed to authority rather than taking it. In all walks of society, women are more subject to discrimination, oppression, and men in power, so it makes sense why it could come into this subject too. I could strongly relate to that. Though the more I get older, the more confident I feel to speak my truth, I still question my authenticity or qualifications. I notice that men have an easier time not caring what other people think. I wonder if women, in writing, are more like Janet than Roger. That would be an interesting case study to see if gender really does play a role in things we wouldn’t even consider.
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