I found
Carol Gilligan’s In a Different Voice
to be a very interesting read. There were several areas I agreed with, and
several I did not. The first point I would like to discuss is the idea of males
being stronger with individuation and females being stronger with relationships.
This really holds true in my experiences. Many of the females in my life are
incredibly similar. Thinking about my friends and female relatives, an
overwhelming majority of them went to school for something science related,
admit to having a shopping problem, and enjoy several of the same television
shows and movies. None of us really have any hobbies besides reading or
gardening. This could just be because I gravitate towards people who tend to be
similar to me. I have said myself before this reading that the time I would
spend on a hobby, I would rather spend socializing with my loved ones. This
contrasts to the males in my life. My father, brothers, and fiancé all went to
school for completely different things, and have hobbies such as making
collections, video games, and building electronic devices to name a few. They
definitely value time to themselves, which could
be seen as an issue with relationships, but I do not see it that way. I
personally think spending time alone and enjoying your own company is a great attribute
to have.
One
point I was not so keen to agree with was the example of Jake and Amy and
stealing the drug. To my understanding, this was one boy and one girl. Would it
not have been better to ask this to a group of diverse boys and girls? I am
trying to remember myself as an 11 year old girl, and I clearly remember having
a really distinct view of right and wrong. “If you break the law, you are doing
something wrong” would easily sum up my views. However, I also remember
considering external problems, death or injury to name a few, and I honestly
feel like I would have answered more similarly to Jake than to Amy. I also
think it may have been more practical to an 11 year old to ask, “Do you steal
the drug for your mom or dad or siblings?” This would kind of relate the issue
to the child more, whereas a wife or husband is a little too far away in the
future for them to imagine accurately. I also think about some of the kids in
my pre-kindergarten classroom and how they would answer; I think a majority of
them would answer like Jake, not Amy. I think this is a really interesting
question to get a grasp on right and wrong, but I would have liked more than
one response from each gender.
This reading has definitely provided me with some insight as to some differences between males and females. Hopefully, when dealing with any gender issues that may arise in my teachings, I will be able to handle them with both sensitivity and knowledge about this topic.
I can see the value in some of the reading because I personally can relate to being more of a “relationship” person myself. I however, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my alone time. I like being able to spend time with people on my terms (selfish – I know), come and go as I please. My husband is the same way, which has made living together pretty interesting. We are definitely that couple that has a “man cave” and when we really get sick of each other, I usually fly home to Florida for a while. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
ReplyDeleteI thought the questions asked to the boy and girl through the readings were pretty interesting. The answers never matched up. In my notes, I wrote that “men liked to talk about themselves” and “women like to talk about everything else.”
I also think I would answer more like Jake. I actually did when I read the question! Even though stealing is wrong, I would steal if someone’s life depended on it. I would only do this, if there was no other option. I thought Amy’s thoughts and considerations were pretty amazing for an 11 year old. I’m not sure if I would have thought so deeply about the possible outcomes at her age. I was particularly impressed when she mentioned that if Heinz went to jail, then no one would be there to take care of his wife, she wouldn’t get the medication she needed and she would die anyways. How insightful for an 11 year old!
I think you make a really good point about the Heinz situation, in that interviewing only one boy and one girl does not give an accurate representation of the two sexes as a whole. I know that as an 11 year old my answer would have been he should absolutely steal the drug to save his wife. I know this because right before I turned 11 my grandmother died of cancer. If I had this scenario and question posed to me when I was 11 my answer and reasoning would have been influenced by my personal experience, not my gender. My point is that I agree that in an experiment/observation like this you really do need to look at a larger pool, not just one representative from each gender, because there could be a lot more influencing their thought process.
ReplyDeleteI agree that men and women have very different interests and hobbies. I find myself always taking care of others or trying to find something to do that will make everyone else happy and thinking that I will be happy as long as they are happy. I rarely do something just for me. I chose a male dominated field, math, but then decided to teach which is a stereotypical female role because you are caring for others. On the other hand, my boyfriend is more interested in hobbies, like video games, that are just for him and he does a job that is more about his goals than helping others.
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