Side by Side
Mothers and Daughters Exploring Selfhood and Womanhood Together

By Mary Bly, Beth Graham, Judith Reinauer

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Theme and Description

In Side by Side, mothers and their pre-adolescent daughters get a rare opportunity to deepen their communication with each other, sharing thoughts and feelings about growing up as girls and women in today’s society. The program challenges our culture’s narrow definition of the feminine, countering messages in music, television, advertising, and other media.

Goals for Participants

To improve the relationship between mothers and daughters and provide them with communication skills that will help both to weather the storms of adolescence;
To find support and gather information from peers—both mothers and daughters;
To explore personal and cultural ideas about womanhood and femininity;
To raise daughters’ self-esteem at a vulnerable time in their lives.

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Age Range

Mothers and their pre-adolescent daughters (generally fifth and sixth graders)

Size of Group

8 to 24

Space Requirements

A room large enough to arrange chairs for all participants in a circle. Also recommended are separate rooms or extra space which allows the group to separate into several smaller discussion groups.

Number and Length of Sessions

7 sessions
Length: 2 hours

Leader Training

No special training is required. The presence of two co-leaders is necessary, not optional.

Leader Preparation

Requires the gathering of several music videos, segmets of four television shows, and other media such as magazines and popular music.

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Strengths

Includes ample introductory information and resources for leaders;
Lesson plans are well-organized, clear, and offer time suggestions for the different activities;
Deals with issues pertinent to participants in their everyday lives;
Creates a supportive forum for mothers and their daughters to get to know one another better;
Includes appropriate openings and closings.

Limitations

Excludes girls who do not have mothers present in their lives.

Adaptability

Because of the multimedia nature of this curriculum, there is much flexibility in what material to use. The authors suggest visiting a museum or attending a play as a class, or putting together a Sunday service dealing with mothers, daughters, and womanhood.

Unitarian Universalist Values

Rooted in the Unitarian Universalist Principles and buoyed by them throughout, this curriculum successfully positions itself for use in Unitarian Universalist contexts as well as outside of the Unitarian Universalist faith.

Reviewed on January 01, 2006

Unitarian Universalist Association
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