“Good Girls,” Sexy “Bad Girls,” and Warriors: The Role of Trauma and Dissociation in the Creation and Reproduction of Gender

Abstract

SUMMARY The thesis of this article is that substantially, “femininity” and “masculinity,” the gendered personality styles so common in our culture, are direct and indirect outcomes of trauma, and reflective of dissociation. In addition to being direct sequellae of trauma, these “post-traumatic styles” may become consensually accepted modes of interaction by virtue of vicarious and anticipatory trauma. The patterns tend to differ for females and males, reflecting social forces, including sex-typed child-rearing patterns, and biological predispositions interacting with trauma. While presenting self-states of abused girls and women often tend to be compliant, childlike, passive, masochistic, “good,” vulnerable, sweet, and dependent–characteristics often considered stereotypical for females, posttraumatic aggressivity of boys may appear indistinguishable from stereotypical “masculinity.” Aggressivity and violence reproduce trauma, which then contributes to the reproduction of gender.