Men are more abstract, women more caring and flexible. Many feminists were tantalized by the idea that women were different from men, and possibly morally superior to them. Colleagues, including a number of feminist academics, like Faye Crosby at the University of Santa Cruz and Zella Luria at Tufts, have asked that Ms. Gilligan produce some genuine evidence for her sweeping claims. She has yet to do so, preferring to say, in answer to her critics, that thousands of readers resonate to her message. Girls who are outspoken and spirited at age nine become silent and withdrawn as they enter adolescence.
Boys suffer as much or worse, but at an even earlier age.
This traumatic socialization supposedly shuts boys down emotionally and renders them vulnerable to a variety of mental illnesses. Ms. Gilligan believes that our society cannot prosper until it stops imposing gender stereotypes on children. For one reason or another, Ms. Fonda found this utterly persuasive. For one thing, Ms. Gilligan's claims about children run up against common sense. Nor is it clear that boys are suffering from some kind of separation trauma by being pulled away from their mothers.