Their Own Voices

By Debra Viadero

Cambridge, Mass.

It has been nearly two decades since Carol Gilligan began to notice that, around the time girls crossed the threshold into adolescence, they began to talk about themselves differently.Girls who had been bold and insightful as preteenagers began to say "I don't know" when asked to express their thoughts--even though a little probing revealed that they clearly did have answers.

On a deeper level, these same girls talked about being torn between doing what they were "supposed" to do and doing what they wanted to do. And they seemed to fear, most of all, being alone--without...