Author Carol Gilligan Woman\'s Place in Man\'s Life Cycle

Carol Gillian's "Women's place in Man's Life Cycle" -- and Carol Gillian's place in modern feminism

Carol Gillian's text, "Women's place in Man's Life Cycle," excerpted from her book In a Different Voice, proposes a theory of female moral development in terms of what is often known that suggests that simply because women are different in their development from men does not mean that this uniquely female way of relating to the world in a moral fashion is lesser than the way that males have constructed the world. The interdependent way that women view the world, even if intrinsically different from men, does not mean that this aspect of female moral development should be viewed as a detriment -- this moral difference can be positive as well.

Too long, Gillian, women's sense of interdependence with others and moral sense of their duty to care can be a source of female strength, not weakness as patriarchy might assert. "Implicitly adopting the male life as the norm, [psychological theorists] have tried to fashion women out of a masculine cloth," and found them wanting. (Gillian, 1982, pp. 835-857) Psychological theorists have praised male independence and autonomy as the height of maturity, and construed all interdependence as feminine in a negative fashion and childlike, particularly when expressed in the voice of a woman.

When women wish to succeed, they often feel they must act in a male fashion, even if this goes against their role as nurturers. When this focus on individuation and individual achievement extends into adulthood and maturity is equated with personal autonomy, concern with relationships appears as a weakness of women rather than as a human strength. The ultimate irony of such a prioritization of utter independence, however, is that it is a lie -- for both women and men, Gillian suggests, although this is often a little recognized aspect of her difference feminist theory. One of the reasons men often experience mid-life crises is that, faced with aging and mortality, they must finally recognize of the importance of intimacy, relationships, and receiving care and aid from others.

It is interesting to read Gillian's text as a defense of interdependence in personal and working moral life when one thinks of how much 'teamwork' is stressed even by the most stalwart of masculine business management theorists -- and as the population as a whole begins to age, and to live longer the fact that no individual is fully able-bodied and able-minded for all of his or her adult life. Interdependence in the role of moral development has become more important, for both men and women, rather than less important, giving the collectivization of the working process and the need to tend to both older and younger people in all individual's lives. Effective moral development in this environment must center on the understanding of responsibility of relationships -- with conception of morality as fairness towards others, as well as understanding one's own rights and rules in an independent society.