Complaint stories in male contexts

Abstract

Gender and discourse studies have traditionally reacted to the negative dominant beliefs on women’s gossip by defending its role in the construction of female solidarity. This perspective proves inadequate to the extent that it ignores particular forms of female gossip which highlight patterns of competition between women and excludes the possibility that men could engage in the practice of gossip too. In this article, I aim to contribute to recent research documenting men’s gossip by analysing complaint stories about third parties among men, a variety of gossip first analysed by Günthner (1997) in female contexts. The analysis highlights the emergence of patterns of emotions display which have not been previously found in women’s complaint stories. I conclude by emphasizing the importance of addressing talk in both female and male contexts in gender and discourse studies, to avoid the perpetuation of stereotyped images of women’s and men’s talk.