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...

(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,…