Non-speech features

Spoken language

Since the Middle Ages, folk linguists have attempted to characterize stereotypical women's language relative to men's, including the following traits:*

• More polite and less direct
• Fewer interruptions
• More empathetic reactions
• More tag questions ("It's cold in here, isn't it?")
• More disclosure about self, feelings, and relationships
• More conversational elaboration in general

Body language

How you sit, walk, and move is part of your feminine image, including how you look when you are talking to someone. Some features are: **

• Fluid, continuous movements
• Sitting posture is S-shaped
• Leaning forward toward your speaker
• Eye contact and expressive face

Laugh and cough

Similar to resonance, you can make your laugh and cough smaller by focusing them more in the front of your mouth rather than deep in the throat. Widening your lips can also help make your laugh and cough smaller.
Non-speech exercises

* Coates, J. (1986). Women, Men and Language. London: Longman. Coates, J. and D. Cameron (eds.) (1989). Women in their Speech Communities. London: Longman.

** Davies, S. & Goldberg, J. (2006a). Clinical aspects of transgender speech feminization and masculinization. International Journal of Transgenderism, 9, 167-196.

Facts

Vocabulary, grammar, and conversational style are influenced by our socioeconomic class and the region in which we live. In turn, what qualifies as more feminine in one class or region may not be the same in another.

Tag questions, such as "The weather is beautiful, isn't it?," invite the listener to give her/his opinion.

An S-shape sitting position involves closed, bent legs, compared to a masculine A-shape with wide, open legs.