Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 32:4 (Autumn 2018)
Article: Muted Group Theory: A Tool for Hearing Marginalized Voices
Author: Linda Lee Smith Barkman

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PP 32:4 (Autumn 2018) p. 3

Muted Group Theory:
A Tool for Hearing Marginalized Voices

Linda Lee Smith Barkman

Linda Lee Smith Barkman holds a PhD in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary and is passionate about advocating for women, especially incarcerated women. Linda served thirty years in a California prison as a result of a case involving domestic violence. She earned her BS in psychology and most of her MA in theology while incarcerated.

Muted Group Theory (MGT) is a sociological tool that aids in the study of interactions between dominant and sub-dominant groups—including, but not limited to, men and women. MGT can help those who have become aware of dynamics between the powerful and the marginalized but do not have a clear framework for articulating this awareness. MGT is well suited to exploring the subtle and overlapping power issues that occur in various settings, including, for example, congregational ministry and missions. More specifically, MGT has frequently been found useful for understanding communication dynamics between men and women.1

This article will be structured in three main sections. First, MGT will be introduced in terms of its development from the 1970s to the present, its basic tenets (dominance, acceptance, subordination, change), and current academic discussions regarding related theories, strengths, and weaknesses. Second, the article will test the usefulness of MGT by means of a case study involving female prisoners (a non-dominant group) and prison ministry volunteers (a dominant group). A discussion of practical applications of MGT will conclude the article.

The Beginning And Development Of MGT

MGT originated within the discipline of anthropology. The husband and wife anthropological team of Edwin and Shirley Ardener coined the term “Muted Group Theory” in 1975.2 Edwin Ardener, seeking an explanation for why women’s perspectives and voices were absent from anthropological studies, realized that women’s voices are “often more ‘inarticulate’ than men, and thus pose special technical problems for the inquirer.”3 He argued that women are at a disadvantage in expressing matters of concern unless their views are presented in a form acceptable to men or to “women brought up in the male idiom.”4 Edwin adopted the term “muted” over the word “inarticulate” to counter some feminists’ misunderstanding that he was referring to a biological condition.5

To further specify the historical context, MGT was buil...

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