Female Development-How to Operationalize What We Know

Females struggle to exist in a culture which gives the clear message that what is white and male is what has true credibility. Women, particularly in the last twenty years, have attempted to adapt to a male model of thinking, one which stresses autonomy, initiative, independence and self-sufficiency. Even if these values feel alien, women will alter their behavior to succeed or reject the values and feel less worthy. This paper has taken the theoretical work of Gilligan et al. and attempted to devise a way to intercede in this cycle through a preventive group design. Adolescent girls participate in ongoing groups where they experience a sense of confirmation and collaboration and have the opportunity to examine the dissonance between what they know internally and what the society imposes. There are suggested ways for incorporating the groups into high school and middle school settings so that the concept of female development differing from male development is one that begins to be addressed and acted upon in the educational environment.