Conference turris::womannotes-v1

I had hoped to be able to post a review of this but unfortuantely I can't. I
was delayed by construction on Rt. 3, and when I got to ZK the Babbage was
PACKED. There was supposed to be a closed circuit TV link in the cafeteria
for the overflow, but although there was picture there was no sound. No
subtitltes either.

However, outside the Babbage there were a few of Dr. Miller's articles
posted on the bulletin board. They made very interesting reading. I think I
will be looking for the videotape of the seminar, and also articles and/or
books by Dr. Miller.

Don.

I won't be able to make either of Dr. Miller's talks. Anybody know if
there will be videotapes available, and how to get them?
	Mez

    the library in zk videotaped the last talk and is planning to videotape
    the next one. presumably, you'll be able to request the tapes from
    the zk library in a few weeks.
    
    btw, is anyone planning to go next tuesday?

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    		Speaker: JEAN BAKER MILLER, M.D.
    		  	 Wellesley College, Stone Center
    	
    		   TOPIC: "The Development of Women's Sense of Self"

    		   DATE: May 26th 	TIME: 10:00 - 12:00 ** Babbage **
    			 (Video of the 12th presentation)


    		   TOPIC: "Women & Power"
  			 May 26th (live presentation)  TIME:  1:30 - 3:30
                	    *** ZKO CAFETERIA ***
    

    

   The first lecture held on May 12th was videotaped and will be shown
   the am of the 26th in the Babbage. To accommodate more people, Jean's
   second lecture will be given in the Cafeteria -- this will also be
   videotaped and available for future viewing.

   These lectures are the beginning of a project in SSG which will
   use the model as a framework for examining differences between
   men and women, the implications for how we work together and
   the opportunities that exist to enhance the working environment
   for both men and women in SSG.   

   No registration required -- seminars open.

    * Host: Maureen Harvey, ZKO Personnel

   ** PUBLICATIONS FROM THE STONE CENTER ON THESE AND OTHER RELATED **
      TOPICS AVAILABLE IN THE ZKO LIBRARY

These two seminars were a brief introduction to the results of 9 years of
research by Dr. Miller and her associates. The result of this research is a
revolutionary concept of women's psychological development which is still
(as Dr. Miller told us) fairly controversial. Dr. Miller has recently
published some findings in a book, entitled _Towards_a_New_Psychology_of_
_Women_. 

I'll try to convey some of the ideas presented in these seminars and hope
for the best. I'm not sure I understood everything perfectly, and I might
not explain what I did understand perfectly, but I'll do my best.

The gist of the revolutionary concept is as follows: 1) At this point in
history women's experience is different from that of men. 2) At this point
in history, and in our culture, women's experience is undervalued, with the
result that it is under-explored. 3) By examining the experience of women in
their own terms we gain a new perspective which the dominant group has
ignored, and this sheds new light on problems which have hitherto been
intractable.  

When oppressed groups start out the fight for acceptance and inclusion there
is the need to work hard to dispel grossly false myths. There is an implicit
acceptance of the values and standards of the dominant group in the struggle
to prove that "we're just as good as you." Once some progress is made in
this process a second tendency emerges, to view the oppressed group in its
own terms.  

To illustrate this idea in only one dimension Dr. Miller picked the concept
of the Self, which is a concept in psychology that has received a lot of
study, but always from the point of view of men. So the process of
development of the self has been seen as the process of "becoming one's own
man." Dr. Miller's research has revealed that women's experience is not
reflected in this view. Women do not develop increasingly greater
independence and separation, but increasingly complex inter-relations with
other people.

With regard to women and power, Dr. Miller made the point that psychological
theory until now has seen power as a psychologically irrelevant issue,
because the exercise of power is seen as the opposite of psychological
development. Psychological development occurs in response to changes in the
environment, whereas exercising power results in changes to the environment.
However, this view does not reflect women's experience of power, which, when
examined, sheds light on the general issue of power.

The myth is that women do not and should not wield power in any dimension.
All women are affected by this belief and have to contend with it.
The fact is that women do and always have wielded power, but are most
comfortable with a style and role which is not generally accepted as
powerful. Women are most comfortable using power in the service of others.
The traditional role for women is to use power to empower others, i.e. to
enlarge or enhance the resources of others.  

Women tend to fear admitting that they need power for anything. A woman
using power is seen as selfish and destructive, and few women can bear the
feeling of being either selfish or destructive. A woman's use of power
provokes attack and abandonment, and since women's sense of self depends on
being in relationships this is a devastating result that can not be faced.
The challenge for women is to experience power in their own terms and to
empower themselves (and each other.) We can help the process by recognizing
the weight of history, and that women object to the current definitions for
good reason. Also realize that empowering relationships do not occur
overnight. It's helpful if you can just see a way to move in a positive
direction.

In closing: these findings are from clinical psychology and the medical
environment. They don't necessarily cover everything, and there is more to
be discovered in other areas. Women in the computer industry might have some
different experiences that shed light on other problems. But how to find
out? In most institutions women are not actively encouraged and facilitated
to speak from their own experience. In truth many of our institutions do not
welcome women's voices. For women to speak and act from their own experience
is seen by the institution as destructive to the institution. It's a good
idea to share experiences, and see what comes up.  

re: women's psychology

I'm getting heavier exposure to children now (being a "sponsor" of an
8 month old), so I'm thinking more about child psychology, or how children
develop. I remember hearing somewhere about the control issues associated
with potty training (Freud? Piaget?). The idea was that kids develop a sense of
self-control as they master their bodily functions, and move on to the next
stage. Some case histories on autism noted that some children stayed
at this stage, and couldn't progress until they were allowed to defecate
when and where they chose (control of their personal defecation).

Anyway, this seems all well and good, until females reach puberty. And
guess what: we lose control of a new bodily function forever!
(menstruation) Does anybody know of any theory or research along this
line of thought?
	Mez

    Never thought of it that way before....interesting!
    Of course, it's not "forever", just for most of your adult life.
    That's one of the nice side effects of The Pill for birth control
    - you know within hours when you are going to have to deal with
    that particular bodily function, and so can make plans based on
    that.  (Of course, since I have a congenital hormone imbalance problem,
    I may be a special case: when I am not on hormone treatment as I
    have been for most of my adult life, my periods vary from 10-12
    days apart to more than 40, and sometimes lasted for several weeks
    of very heavy, wear two-pads-at-a-time, flow - extrememly unpleasant!).
    I guess I can say that that aspect of having only X chromosomes
    has had a big affect on my adult life (defined as from junior high
    school onward, in my case).
    
    Of course, saying so doesn't help much in forwarding the cause of
    equal treatment, equal opportunity, etc. - discussing the subject
    gives me the same comfort-to-the-enemy feeling that maybe we shouldn't
    talk about these things in front of "the enemy" (menaing men)
    as discussing pre-menstrual syndrome does - I wonder if we are maybe
    reinforcing preconceived notions that women are "out of control".
    
    Sigh.  See what you get for analyzing things too much??
    
    /Charlotte

Well actually I was thinking about the positive side of lack of control
- not being anal retentive. Perhaps women learn a little more give and
take here. Perhaps they learn they can't control every aspect of
themselves, and their emotions, and so develop more flexible was of
dealing with life. Fewer rules, more pragmatism.
	Mez