To purchase, return to Bridging the Gender Gap homepage. An ideal gender awareness group provides men and women with an opportunity to relate to one another more openly and honestly than our society usually encourages. Through an open communication process, participants can examine the way traditional gender roles have influenced them and continue to affect their lives. They can make discoveries about who they would like to be without culturally-imposed expectations and restrictions. Participants in gender awareness groups may carry different agendas.
Women often seek equal opportunities in education and work.
If they have already learned to be more assertive in their interpersonal and sexual relationships with men, they may not feel dependent on men for a definition of themselves. Men, on the other hand, may not know what they want from the group. Some, confused about changing gender roles, may feel somewhat defensive and apprehensive, fearful of attack and nonsupport. Some may also want to explore the alienation they feel from women, other men, or even themselves. Men and women attending as couples may also have varying objectives.