Who Cares?

Across societies and throughout time, women have been traditionally classified as caregivers and relationship builders. However, as we enter the future, the roles of girls and women are changing. Who Cares? offers investigations from theoretical and empirical perspectives into the ever changing views about the responsibilities of women. Contributions from current, outstanding feminist theorists examine the view that the ethic of care is gender related. The contributors explore the arguments for and against the traditional view that the ethic of care is associated with girls and women and the ethic of justice with boys and men. Who Cares? presents the work of scholars from philosophy, theology, psychology, and education who critically examine the questions surrounding the ever changing roles of women.

The book begins with an historical discussion of caring as described by women philosophers of the past two millenia. Further chapters discuss the ethic of care; the gender relatedness of care; the political and psychological price of attributing care to women; the socialization experiences that shape and develop the caring response and the caring self; the relationship between care and rationality and between care and justice; the distinction between a theory of care based on the norms of society and moral philosophy; ethical framework of Black, Third World, and pink collar women. This book is a must for students, educators, researchers, and professionals in women's studies.

MARY M. BRABECK is Associate Professor and Director of the Human Development Program at Boston College.