What is the difference between silent women and received knowers? Silent women feel words are used as weapons that separate and diminish people instead of empowering them. Received knowers rely on words of others as concrete and dualistically right or wrong. Both groups of women have relations with authorities. Silent women feel passive toward the authorities in their life. To a silent woman, the authorities have the ability to use words that provoke wrath. Received knowers feel that authorities are sources of truth. To a received knower, authorities have the capacity for constructing and retaining knowledge that has only one correct answer.

Silent women have a difficult time describing their individual selves. Knowledge is received and retained in others, and not the self. They are discouraged in their home-life to interact, play and listen to others. Vygosky suggests interaction and play is necessary in developing social skills for one's own self. Received knowers have a difficult time growing and evolving the self. They believe knowledge is outside the self. They listen and believe that knowledge can either be black or white, with no shades of gray.

Silent women and received knowers are socially, economically and educationally deprived of using their voices to reflect their own thoughts. The authorities in their lives either dominate by physical strength or words as truth. These women do not have confidence in their ability to learn from their own experiences. For example, silent women do not listen or question the ideas of authorities in their lives. To ensure their survival, they keep out of trouble by learning NOT to understand the reasoning of authorities. The received knowers want to do the right thing. They listen to others for direction and information that concludes with one answer. What would happen if silent women were to truly listen and understand the demands of authorities? What would happen if received knowers were to consistently reflect on incorrect information from their authorities? Both groups of women would be able to identify their inner selves, voices and words.