The different voices of helping: Gender differences in recounting dilemmas

Abstract

1977, 1982) has proposed fundamental gender differences. Women typically conceptualize interpersonal dilemmas in terms of people and their relationships, whereas men often orient to dilemmas as practical problems. Although considerable research has explored these gender differences, they have usually been treated as psychological traits or abstract moral orientations. In this article we show how Gilligan's theory accounts for gender differences when interviewees described their efforts to prevent others from driving under the influence (DUI intervention). This result extends Gilligan's theory by showing how it can account for real life differences between men and women. By demonstrating the relevance of Gilligan's gender differences to everyday life, we lay a foundation for further sociological exploration of her ideas.

Fulfilling a sense of duty: how men and women giving care to spouses with multiple sclerosis interpret this role

“…Once again, what Gilligan has to say on this topic is interesting. She uses the metaphor of a web to describe the moral orientations of women (Wolfinger et al, 1999). Women are supposed to meet moral dilemmas mainly in terms of social relationships, while men, when faced by them, tend to establish priorities and to assess the dilemma in terms of costs and benefits rather than in terms of interpersonal connections.…”