Muted Group Theory

The Muted Group Theory was created by Cheris Kramarae who is a feminist theorist. This theory focuses on how certain groups in society are 'muted', specifically women. Muted groups often have to change their language when publicly communicating in order for their voices to be heard. Women have been and continue to be a muted group because public language is 'masculine' and does not serve women in the same way that it serves men. When reading the theory in our textbook, I found the stories of three women who were accepted into high power positions the most interesting part of the chapter. These three women found their ways into leadership roles in fields that are occupied mostly by men by using 'masculine' techniques. One of the women, who is a litigation attorney, specifically said that she learned how to speak like a man. She lowers her voice, speaks slowly and uses a lot of sports analogies in order to be heard by her male audience.

One specific example of this is a woman named Maria Brink that I know of. Maria is the lead singer of one of my favorite bands called In This Moment. In This Moment is a band that is part of the metal/hardcore rock genre. There are very few women in this genre of music and even fewer of them are lead singers. When Maria first decided to get into music, she was met with lots of criticism and ridicule by men who were in metal bands. Maria formed a band with a mutual friend named Chris Howorth. Together they made demos and sent them out to local producers and venues in hopes of getting gigs or tours started. Every time they sent a demo to a producer, they would get it back in the mail. There was one instance when they sent a demo to a producer that was considerably well known in LA. Of course the demo was sent back to them but this time it had a note attached saying something along the lines of 'get rid of the girl and we'll talk'. Maria of course took this very harshly. Eventually the band signed with a label and toured for a few years. In 2012, the band came out with an album called Blood in which Maria took a more masculine and aggressive approach to the lyrics. I I feel like Maria got a grasp of what it is to 'talk like a man' because she uses a style of screaming that is mostly only used by men. Her understanding of using masculine language has led her to becoming one of the most respected women in the metal genre. Not only does her voice portray a masculine feel, but her lyrics are directed towards men and their handling of women.

I've linked a video of In This Moment's popular single "Whore" off their latest album Blood so you can see for yourself.