For many women around the globe, health has become the central intersection of the personal and the political; women's bodies are the arena for policy debates about population, poverty, reproduction, and morality. Women's Global Health: Norms and State Policies is a comprehensive assessment of health for women around the globe that will inform debates underway in a wide range of disciplines. These fields include public health, most obviously, but also sociology, anthropology and other disciplines. This book will advance the interdisciplinary fields of ethics, women's studies, and international studies. It answers several questions with implications for knowledge in the preceding fields, along with relevance to policy. Some of these complex questions include: How do the laws and policies of a nation-state affect women's health? Is the state invested in these issues because women are seen to be bearers and nurturers of future citizens? Or are there other concerns such as economic development, human welfare, or religious ideology that shape this engagement? This book also examines the current and historical responsibilities of the state in addressing women's health issues, and how these responsibilities can they be measured and improved upon. Finally, the book looks at how to best approach the underlying ethical issues in practical and useful ways for women around the globe.

In the last three decades, the human body has gained increasing prominence in contemporary political debates, and it has become a central topic of modern social sciences and humanities. Modern technologies - such as organ transplants, stem-cell research, nanotechnology, cosmetic surgery and cryonics - have changed how we think about the body. In this collection of thirty original essays by leading figures in the field, these issues are explored across a number of theoretical and disciplinary perspectives, including pragmatism, feminism, queer theory, post-modernism, post-humanism, cultural sociology, philosophy and anthropology. A wide range of case studies, which include cosmetics, diet, organ transplants, racial bodies, masculinity and sexuality, eating disorders, religion and the sacred body, and disability, are used to appraise these different perspectives. In addition, this Handbook explores various epistemological approaches to the basic question: what is a body? It also offers a strongly themed range of chapters on empirical topics that are organized around religion, medicine, gender, technology and consumption. It also contributes to the debate over the globalization of the body: how have military technology, modern medicine, sport and consumption led to this contemporary obsession with matters corporeal? The Handbook's clear, direct style will appeal to a wide undergraduate audience in the social sciences, particularly for those studying medical sociology, gender studies, sports studies, disability studies, social gerontology, or the sociology of religion. It will serve to consolidate the new field of body studies.

The First World War was a turning point for modern globalised warfare. It involved the inclusion of women in 'war efforts', the homefront becoming the warzone, and produced millions of wounded and disabled men. At the same time, it incited an extraordinary arsenal of gendered discourses, practices and beliefs in the service of militarism, power structures and personal agency. This insightful collection of interdisciplinary essays, by a wide-ranging team of experts, draws out critical themes emanating from 1914. Spanning the First and Second World Wars, through to the Vietnam War, the 'War on Terror' and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the volume asks what has changed and what has continued? Ana Carden-Coyne demonstrates adeptly how understanding gender during periods of conflict has ongoing relevance across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

This book documents the progress that managerial and professional women have made in advancing their careers, and the challenges and opportunities that remain. In the context of increasing numbers of women entering the workplace and indeed pursuing professional and managerial careers, it examines why so few women occupy the top positions in corporations. The editors maintain that whilst the benefits of employing women in executive roles is now being recognised, and efforts are being made to ensure career advancement, female employees do still face a struggle against male bias and the proverbial 'glass ceiling'. In order to build upon the progress that has been made, the book advocates more successful role models for women, an increased commitment from corporations to look at the opportunities for leadership that women present, and extended research into the strengths and failings of organisations in this regard. A broad range of issues are explored, including ongoing challenges of work-family integration, perceptions of gender, leadership and career development, the ethics of office romances, and women at mid-life. Best practices for supporting women's career advancement are then illustrated using the efforts of award wining companies as case studies. The cutting-edge contributions to this book provide an outstanding review of the literature. As such, it will be invaluable to both academics and practitioners with an interest in business, management and human resources.

This book examines the relationship between words and images in various life-writing works produced by nineteenth to twenty-first century American and British women. It addresses the politics of images in women's life writing, contending that the presence or absence of images is often strategic. Including a range of different forms of life writing, chapters draw on traditional (auto)biographies, travel narratives, memoirs, diaries, autofiction, cancer narratives, graphic memoirs, artistic installations, quilts and online performances, as life writing moves from page to screen and other media. The book explores a wide range of women who have crossed the boundary between text and image: painters who have become writers, novelists who have become painters, writers who hesitate between images and words, models who seize the camera, and artists who use the frame as a page.

Women were leading actors in twentieth-century developments in Georgia, yet most histories minimize their contributions. The essays in the second volume of "Georgia Women," edited by Ann Short Chirhart and Kathleen Ann Clark, vividly portray a wide array of Georgia women who played an important role in the state's history, from little-known Progressive Era activists to famous present-day figures such as Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter.

Georgia women were instrumental to state and national politics even before they achieved suffrage, and as essays on Lillian Smith, Frances Pauley, Coretta Scott King, and others demonstrate, they played a key role in twentieth-century struggles over civil rights, gender equality, and the proper size and reach of government. Georgia women's contributions have been wide ranging in the arena of arts and culture and include the works of renowned blues singer Gertrude "Ma" Rainey and such nationally prominent literary figures as Margaret Mitchell, Carson McCullers, and Flannery O'Connor, as well as Walker.

While many of the volume's essays take a fresh look at relatively well-known figures, readers will also have the opportunity to discover women who were vital to Georgia's history yet remain relatively obscure today, such as Atlanta educator and activist Lugenia Burns Hope, World War II aviator Hazel Raines, entrepreneur and carpet manufacturer Catherine Evans Whitener, and rural activist and author Vara A. Majette. Collectively, the life stories portrayed in this volume deepen our understanding of the multifaceted history of not only Georgia women but also the state itself.

Published with the generous support of the Honorable Dr. M. Louise McBee

The turbulent Tudor age never fails to capture the imagination. But what was it actually like to be a woman during this period? This was a time when death in infancy or during childbirth was rife; when marriage was usually a legal contract, not a matter for love, and the education of women was minimal at best. Yet the Tudor century was also dominated by powerful and characterful women in a way that no era had been before. Elizabeth Norton explores the seven ages of the Tudor woman, from childhood to old age, through the diverging examples of women such as Elizabeth Tudor, Henry VIII's sister who died in infancy; Cecily Burbage, Elizabeth's wet nurse; Mary Howard, widowed but influential at court; Elizabeth Boleyn, mother of a controversial queen; and Elizabeth Barton, a peasant girl who would be lauded as a prophetess. Their stories are interwoven with studies of topics ranging from Tudor toys to contraception to witchcraft, painting a portrait of the lives of queens and serving maids, nuns and harlots, widows and chaperones.

The literature on Australian Aborigines is vast, but much of it is strangely silent about the experiences and activities of women. This collection of stories of the eventful lives and strong characters of a number of Aboriginal women offers a more intimate and personal view. Their lives span a century of history in fifteen communities scattered from Cape York Peninsula, Arnhem Land and East Kimberley to the Western Desert, the Centre, South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. One of these stories is an autobiography and each of the others contains transcriptions or translations of a woman's own reminiscences, with additional details given by the author. Some women recall the first time they saw a European in their land, others tell how Europeans had influenced their communities generations before they were born. While the authors lived in Aboriginal communities in order to study some particular aspect of the society, the women they describe here became their close friends, companions and helpers, and this book is a record of friendships formed against differences of background, experiences and age. Allegiance to family and familiar territory shapes the personal histories of Aborigines in ways scarcely appreciated by people reared in nuclear family households in cities. The strength of family and community ties can be better understood through reading about the women who contribute so much to the maintenance of these communities.

Although the last three decades have offered a growing body of scholarship on images of fantastic women in popular culture, these studies either tend to focus on one particular variety of fantastic female (the action or sci-fi heroine), or on her role in a specific genre (villain, hero, temptress). This edited collection strives to define the ""Woman Fantastic"" more fully. The Woman Fantastic may appear in speculative or realist settings, but her presence is always recognizable. Through futuristic contexts, fantasy worlds, alternate histories, or the display of superpowers, these insuperable women challenge the laws of physics, chemistry, and/or biology. In chapters devoted to certain television programs, adult and young adult literature, and comics, contributors discuss feminist negotiation of today's economic and social realities. Senior scholars and rising academic stars offer compelling analyses of fantastic women from Wonder Woman and She-Hulk to Talia Al Ghul and Martha Washington; from Carrie Vaughn's Kitty Norville series to Cinda Williams Chima's The Seven Realms series; and from Battlestar Gallactica's female Starbuck to Game of Thrones's Sansa and even Elaine Barrish Hammond of USA's Political Animals. This volume furnishes an important contribution to ongoing discussions of gender and feminism in popular culture.

Imbokodo: Women Who Shape Us is a groundbreaking series of books which introduces you to the powerful stories of South African women who have all made their mark and cleared a path for women and girls. These books recognise, acknowledge and honour our heroines and elders from the past and the present. South African women are silent no more on the roles that we have played in advancing our lives as artists, storytellers, writers, politicians and educationists. The title 'Imbokodo' was been chosen as it is a Zulu word that means "rock" and is often used in the saying 'Wathint' Abafazi, Wathint' Imbokodo!', which means "You Strike a Women, You Strike a Rock!" These books were made possible with the support of Biblionef and funding from the National Arts Council. In 10 Curious Inventors, Healers & Creators you will read about the women who shape our world through education, science and maths. You will read about women who became teachers, nurses, social workers, scientists and community workers, overcame obstacles and through their work fought for social change.

Women often forget they are the result of a long line of nurturing mothers who have survived overwhelming odds just to be here today. By realizing the thriving significance of this linear heritage, a woman can learn more about herself, her world, and even the meaning of human existence.In "The Linear Heritage of Women, " scientists Heidi and Adrian Arvin present a comprehensive study of women that focuses on a female's innate closeness with nature and explains why modern women have shied away from this much-needed intimacy. While offering an in-depth examination of the conflict women undergo during hormonal changes, this exploration shares scientific, religious, and historical evidence that confirms that women are carriers of a special consciousness imperative to maintaining the linear organism called life. After detailing the ways the psyche is interrelated to breath, spirit, and soul, the Arvins describe past goddesses, reintroduce the LifeConscious concept, reveal the many faces of linear heritage, and share personal experiences-all with the intent of presenting an alternative theory to evolution and creationism."The Linear Heritage of Women" provides an innovative way of looking at women, proving that females are complex, fascinating creatures who serve an important purpose in the world.

Jacob Abbott's account of Mary Queen of Scots life and untimely death is complete with original illustrations of Mary herself and her various residences. Abbott's history is both embracing and superb as an introduction to one of the most divisive and controversial figures of the Tudor era. Mary had a complex role in the politics of the day, and had potential as a rival to the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The book begins by examining Mary's childhood years, and her French education. The agreement - The Treaty of Greenwich - which would pair the young Mary to Edward, the son of Henry VIII, is detailed, as are hopes that the union would cement relations between the English and the Scots. Clever, capable and charming, Mary Queen of Scots was initially seen as a promising monarch. However the rules of accession of the time made her very existence problematic for Queen Elizabeth I. This problem would underline the remainder of Mary's life, her nature as a potential threat made eternal by her very blood.

China's late Chairman Mao Zedong once said "Women hold up half the world", but in several respects the full emancipation of women still remains a global challenge. This book, based on extensive empirical studies on Chinese female leaders in different fields, develops a "female professional status attainment theory". It summarizes the conditions for Chinese women to become leaders in various professions as the following: increased human, economic and social capital; gender equality awareness; gender-friendly environment; and improved work-life-balance. The book also proposes supporting policies for the development of high-level female talents female leaders in three different sectors: women in politics, in professional fields, and in enterprise management. With the comprehensive perspectives of female leaders' development that addresses women's unique needs in organizations, this book is a good choice for researchers and readers who are interested in China's top-level talent development, gender equality and women's professional attainment.

Ruth Silver's young life was challenged in ways most of us will never know. A silent, frightened child with undiagnosed vision loss, her world was one of limited vision that ultimately became one of total darkness. Once the situation had a name-retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a progressive eye disease-she at least knew what she was dealing with. As she grew, her other contact with the world-sound-was also taken from her. Where others might have given up, Ruth refused to surrender to the darkness and silence.

As Ruth Silver's world shrank around her, her heart and ambition grew. She never stopped looking for ways to add meaning to her life. Inspired by her own experiences and challenges, she founded the Center for Deaf-Blind Persons in Milwaukee, a nonprofit agency dedicated to helping others living with the double disability of deaf-blindness.

Ruth's story demonstrates how a resilient spirit can propel a profoundly disabled person forward toward a happy, productive life. A charming young man by the name of Marv was destined to change her life even more; their enduring love story is one of hope, patience, and acceptance.

"Invisible" dispels myths, suggests useful teaching procedures, gives hope to people who are disabled and their families, and offers reassurance through her example that a person with profound disabilities can live a full, rich life.

This volume provides an overview of the landscape of mediated female agencies and subjectivities in the last decade. In three sections, the book covers the films of women directors, television shows featuring women in lead roles, and the representational struggles of women in cultural context, with a special focus on changes in the transformative power of narratives and images across genres and platforms. This collection derives from the editors' multi-year experiences as scholars and practitioners in the field of film and television. It is an effort that aims to describe and understand female agencies and subjectivities across screen narratives, gather scholars from around the world to generate timely discussions, and inspire fellow researchers and practitioners of film and television.

Imbokodo: Women Who Shape Us is a groundbreaking series of books which introduces you to the powerful stories of South African women who have all made their mark and cleared a path for women and girls. These books recognise, acknowledge and honour our heroines and elders from the past and the present. South African women are silent no more on the roles that we have played in advancing our lives as artists, storytellers, writers, politicians and educationists. The title 'Imbokodo' was been chosen as it is a Zulu word that means "rock" and is often used in the saying 'Wathint' Abafazi, Wathint' Imbokodo!', which means "You Strike a Women, You Strike a Rock!" These books were made possible with the support of Biblionef and funding from the National Arts Council. In 10 Extraordinary Leaders, Activists & Protesters you will read about women who fought against colonialism and oppression. Here are the stories of women heroes through history, whose stories are connected because of a shared passion for equality and justice.