How should I respond to them? An emergent categorization of responses to interpersonally communicated stereotypes

Political correctness defines stereotypes as inappropriate to communicate. However, responses that interpersonally communicated stereotypes receive in conversation may collaboratively produce a different meaning about the appropriateness of stereotype use. The current research reports two studies that explore responses to interpersonally communicated stereotypes and the role these responses play in the perpetuation of stereotypes. This project contributes qualitative research in intercultural communication that exposes a variety of tolerant response types available to communicators and demonstrates how these responses are managed interactionally in ways that show tolerance for communicated stereotypes

“Let’s have the men clean up”: Interpersonally-communicated stereotypes as a resource for resisting gender-role prescribed activities

This paper examines a productive use of communicating gender stereotypes in interpersonal conversation: to resist activities traditionally prescribed according to gender. The analyses video-taped naturally-occurring U.S. household interactions and presents three techniques participants may deploy to contest gender expectations: mobilizing categories, motivating alignment, and reframing action. We show how gender is an accountable category in relation to household labor, and how gender categories provide a resource by which participants can non-seriously solicit and resist participation in domestic gender-prescribed activities. Our analysis provides some insight into how participants use gender stereotypes in everyday talk and what functions such talk serves