This groundbreaking book challenges the medicalized approach to women's experiences including menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause and suggests that there are better ways for women to cope with real issues they may face. Before any woman diets, douches, botoxes, reduces, reconstructs, or fills a prescription for antidepressants, statins, hormones, menstrual suppressants, or diet pills, she should read this book. Contesting common medical practice, the book addresses the many aspects of women's lives that have been targeted as "deficient" in order to support the billion-dollar profits of the medical-pharmacological industry and suggests alternatives to these "remedies." The contributors-psychologists, sociologists, and health experts-are also gender experts and feminist scholars who recognize the ways in which gender is an important aspect of the human experience. In this eye-opening work, they challenge the marketing and "science" that increasingly render women's bodies and experiences as a series of symptoms, diseases, and dysfunctions that require treatment by medical professionals who prescribe pharmaceutical and surgical interventions. Each article in the book addresses the marketing of a specific "condition" that has been constructed in a way that convinces a woman that her body is inadequate or her experience and behavior are not good enough. Among the topics addressed are menstruation, menopause, pregnancy, post-partum adjustment, sexual desire, weight, body dissatisfaction, moodiness, depression, grief, and anxiety. Addresses popular topics including the "thin ideal," the health realities of weight, cosmetic surgery, birth as a medical emergency, sexual desire and menopause, depression, and mourning Critiques the "science" and marketing that sees all women's complaints as symptoms, diseases, and dysfunctions requiring medical treatment Explains how psychological and social factors affect women's health and argues for a more well-founded approach such as using talk therapy first Explains why events like menopause, sexual desire, body dissatisfaction, and grief are examples of issues often not best treated with drugs, but with psychotherapy for permanent resolution Will appeal to all adult women who might, or do, question current medical approaches and media promises

Every woman in the world has the right to control her own body, plan her family, receive good quality medical care, and give birth to a healthy baby. This book takes a comprehensive look at the status of women's reproductive rights from a transnational, human-rights perspective. "Reproductive justice" is a relatively new term that underscores the fact that the existence of reproductive rights does not mean that women are able to exercise those rights. For women unable to exercise their rights for any number of reasons-a lack of available services where they live, lack of money or health insurance to pay for services, being forbidden by family members to seek services-the reality is they have no choices to make and possess little if any control over their own bodies, regardless of what the government states their "rights" are. Reproductive Justice: A Global Concern provides a comprehensive and integrated examination of the status of reproductive rights for the world's women, covering a wide range of reproductive rights issues. Topics include women's rights to determine their own sexuality and choose their own partners, rape, sex trafficking, fertility treatments and other assisted reproductive technologies, contraception and abortion, maternal and infant mortality, postpartum support, and breastfeeding. Contributions from 25 distinguished international scholars with research, practice, and public policy expertise on reproductive rights Bibliography with each chapter Concluding chapter on international public policy

Feminist psychology is vigorous, creative, and increasingly activist. This volume reflects women's diversity and incorporates strategies for social action and opportunities for political activism. It anticipates trends and developments in the psychology of women and feminist psychology. Chapters include those about women and self-esteem, leadership skills, welfare reform, spirituality, and domestic violence. The emphasis on social activism is unique. Unusual and cutting-edge research methodologies and techniques are also discussed.

This book will be of interest to clinicians and scholars aiming to enhance their expertise and awareness in this field. The focus on contemporary research and future directions of the psychology of women will be a welcome, sophisticated addition to a syllabus for graduate courses in the psychology of women.

A woman's middle age had traditionally been regarded as a time of loss and decline. But, in the wake of the women's movement and other societal and cultural events, a profound shift has taken place. Far from being marginalized, midlife women stand at the forefront of a great transformation of cultural perceptions and attitudes. They are rejecting stereotypes, embracing new opportunities, and forming what this important book terms a new collective middle-aged identity. Women over Fifty: Psychological Perspectives analyzes the challenges, benefits, coping strategies, problems, and accomplishments associated with the midlife experience. Ten chapters present the state of research (and correct longstanding myths) regarding significant aspects of middle-aged women's lives: Mind-body, which covers illness, body image, and exercise;

These are paradoxical times to be an older woman. As individual older women take the stage as role models in the arts and the public sphere, female elders as a group are marginalized as dependent, declining and unimportant. Women and Aging surveys the evolving sociopolitical landscape in an era still struggling with gender and age discrimination. This insightful volume recasts familiar concepts such as social roles, appearance, health, sexuality and transition through the related lenses of empowerment/restraint and quality of life/well-being for a deeper understanding of the disparities that exist both with men and within their own gender. Two especially relevant questions emerge from this framework: how women over 60 are contributing to the current climate of societal change and how these positive developments can improve the lives of older women as a whole. Featured topics analyze the wider implications of older women's experiences as family members, sensual and sexual beings, drivers of economies and members of a diverse population worldwide: Older women, power and the body. Older women, economic power and consumerism. The impact of multiple roles on older women: Strain or enrichment? Older women, leadership and encore careers. Sexuality in older women: Desirability and desire. Lesbians over 60: Newer every day. Clinical interventions to empower older women. A significant advance in femi nist research, Women and Aging brings path-breaking perspectives to scholars in women's studies, gerontology, psychology, sociology, social work and human development, whether they study women who have overcome barriers or those who need support in changing the rules.

TheRoutledge International Handbook of Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health is the authoritative reference work on important, leading-edge developments in the domains of women’s sexual and reproductive health.

The handbook adopts a life-cycle approach to examine key milestones and events in women’s sexual and reproductive health. Contributors drawn from a range of disciplines, including psychology, medicine, nursing and midwifery, sociology, public health, women’s studies, and indigenous studies, explore issues through three main lenses:

the biopsychosocial model

feminist perspectives

international, multidisciplinary perspectives that acknowledge the intersection of identities in women’s lives.

The handbook presents an authoritative review of the field, with a focus on state-of-the-art work, encouraging future research and policy development in women’s sexual and reproductive health. Finally, the handbook will inform health care providers about the latest research and clinical developments, including women’s experiences of both normal and abnormal sexual and reproductive functions.

Drawing upon international expertise from leading academics and clinicians in the field, this is essential reading for scholars and students interested in women’s reproductive health.

Table of Contents

Author biographies

Introduction – Joan C. Chrisler, Jane M. Ussher and Janette Perz

Part I: Menarche, menstruation and menopause

1. Pubertal development and menarche: physiological and developmental aspects – Margaret L. Stubbs

2. Menarche. psychosocial and cultural aspects – Maria Luisa Marván and Verónica Alcalá–Herrera

3. The menstrual cycle: its biology in the context of silent ovulatory disturbances – Jerilynn C. Prior

4. The menstrual cycle: attitudes and behavioral concomitants – Joan C. Chrisler and Jenifer A. Gorman

5. Premenstrual mood disorders: a feminist psychosocial perspective – Jane M. Ussher and Janette Perz

6. Menopause and midlife: psychosocial perspectives and interventions – Myra S. Hunter

Part II: Reproductive and gynecological disorders

7. Menstrual-cycle-related disorders: polycystic ovary syndrome, dysmenorrhea and menstrual migraine – Nancy Fugate Woods and Nancy J. Kenney

8. Women’s experience of endometriosis – Elaine Denny and Annalise Weckesser

9. Breast and reproductive cancers: genomics and risks – Cheryl B. Travis

10. Psychosocial aspects of women’s sexual and reproductive well-being after cancer – Chloe Parton

Part III: Contraception and infertility

11. Contraception across the reproductive life-course – Deborah Bateson

12. Abortion in context – Jeanne Marecek

13. Women’s experiences of infertility – Jessica L. Barnack–Tavlaris

14. Fertility and cancer – Michelle Peate, Lesley Stafford and Yasmin Jayasinghe

15. Assisted conception: fertility preservation, surrogate motherhood, gamete/embryo donation and in vitro fertilization – Olga B. A. van den Akker

Part IV: Pregnancy and childbirth

16. ‘Adolescent pregnancy’: social problem, public health concern, or neither? – Catriona Ida Macleod and Tracey Feltham–King

17. Smoking and pregnancy: risk factors, women’s experiences and interventions – Michael Ussher, Felix Naughton, Cailtlin Notley and Linda Bauld

18. Medical aspects of pregnancy – Annemarie Hennessy

19. Miscarriage – Heather Rowe and Alexandra J. Hawkey

20. The ultimate in women’s labor: stillbirth and grieving – Joanne Cacciatore and Jill Wieber Lens

21. Psychological aspects of pregnancy and pregnancy health care in their social and cultural contexts – Jane R.W. Fisher and Karin Hammarberg

22. Childbirth and sexuality – Hannah H. Dahlen and Sahar Sobhgol

23. Postpartum adjustment: psychological aspects – Paula Nicolson

24. Understanding perinatal mental health problems: prevalence, risk factors, approaches to prevention, early identification and treatment – Virginia Schmied

Part V: Sexuality and sexual health

25. Women’s sexual health and embodiment – Niva Piran

26. Sexual health of adolescent girls – S. Rachel Skinner, Cristyn Davies, Jennifer Marino, Jessica R. Botfield and Larissa Lewis

27. Older women and sexual health: social, relational and medical considerations – Camille J. Interligi and Maureen C. McHugh

28. Sexuality and sexual dysfunction: psychological perspectives and interventions – Julia Velten and Sonia Milani

29. Sexuality and sexual dysfunction: critical analyses – Peggy J. Kleinplatz, Lianne A. Rosen, Maxime Charest and Alyson K. Spurgas

30. HIV, STIs, risk taking and sexual health – Jennifer Power

31. Impacts of sexual violence on women’s sexual health – Kyja Noack–Lundberg

32. Feminist perspectives on child sexual abuse – Sam Warner

33. Female genital mutilation and genital surgeries – Hilary Burrage

Part VI. Marginalized women’s health

34. Shame, silence and secrecy: migrant and refugee women’s sexual and reproductive health and embodiment – Alexandra Hawkey

35. Reproductive health disparities among women experiencing homelessness – Courtney Cronley and Shamsun Nahar

36. Reproductive justice and culturally safe approaches to sexual and reproductive health for indigenous women and girls – Pat Dudgeon and Abigail Bray

37. Reproductive health of women in low- and middle-income countries – Kirsten I. Black and Miriam O’Connor

38. Experiences of reproductive and sexual health and health care among women with disabilities – Heather Dillaway, Brianna Marzolf, Heather Fritz, Wassim Tarraf and Catherine Lysack

39. Women with intellectual and developmental impairments: differences not deficits – Jan Burns

40. Lesbian, bisexual, queer and transgender women’s sexual and reproductive health – Ruth P. McNair

Index/

These are paradoxical times to be an older woman. As individual older women take the stage as role models in the arts and the public sphere, female elders as a group are marginalized as dependent, declining and unimportant. Women and Aging surveys the evolving sociopolitical landscape in an era still struggling with gender and age discrimination. This insightful volume recasts familiar concepts such as social roles, appearance, health, sexuality and transition through the related lenses of empowerment/restraint and quality of life/well-being for a deeper understanding of the disparities that exist both with men and within their own gender. Two especially relevant questions emerge from this framework: how women over 60 are contributing to the current climate of societal change and how these positive developments can improve the lives of older women as a whole. Featured topics analyze the wider implications of older women's experiences as family members, sensual and sexual beings, drivers of economies and members of a diverse population worldwide: Older women, power and the body. Older women, economic power and consumerism. The impact of multiple roles on older women: Strain or enrichment? Older women, leadership and encore careers. Sexuality in older women: Desirability and desire. Lesbians over 60: Newer every day. Clinical interventions to empower older women. A significant advance in femi nist research, Women and Aging brings path-breaking perspectives to scholars in women's studies, gerontology, psychology, sociology, social work and human development, whether they study women who have overcome barriers or those who need support in changing the rules.

This book analyzes the challenges, benefits, coping strategies, problems, and accomplishments associated with the midlife experience of women. Ten chapters present the state of research (and correct longstanding myths) regarding significant aspects of middle-aged women's lives. The book bridges a major knowledge gap in the feminist-psychology literature. It balances optimism and realism about older women 's lives and younger women 's futures.

Donald R. McCreary and Joan C. Chrisler The Development of Gender Studies in Psychology Studies of sex differences are as old as the ?eld of psychology, and they have been conducted in every sub?eld of the discipline. There are probably many reasons for the popularity of these studies, but three reasons seem to be most prominent. First, social psychological studies of person perception show that sex is especially salient in social groups. It is the ?rst thing people notice about others, and it is one of the things we remember best (Fiske, Haslam, & Fiske, 1991; Stangor, Lynch, Duan, & Glass, 1992). For example, people may not remember who uttered a witty remark, but they are likely to remember whether the quip came from a woman or a man. Second, many people hold ?rm beliefs that aspects of physiology suit men and women for particular social roles. Men's greater upper body strength makes them better candidates for manual labor, and their greater height gives the impression that they would make good leaders (i. e. , people we look up to). Women's reproductive capacity and the caretaking tasks (e. g. , breastfeeding, baby minding) that accompany it make them seem suitable for other roles that require gentleness and nurturance. Third, the logic that underlies hypothesis testing in the sciences is focused on difference. Researchers design their studies with the hope that they can reject the null hypothesis that experimental groups do not differ.

Donald R. McCreary and Joan C. Chrisler The Development of Gender Studies in Psychology Studies of sex differences are as old as the ?eld of psychology, and they have been conducted in every sub?eld of the discipline. There are probably many reasons for the popularity of these studies, but three reasons seem to be most prominent. First, social psychological studies of person perception show that sex is especially salient in social groups. It is the ?rst thing people notice about others, and it is one of the things we remember best (Fiske, Haslam, & Fiske, 1991; Stangor, Lynch, Duan, & Glass, 1992). For example, people may not remember who uttered a witty remark, but they are likely to remember whether the quip came from a woman or a man. Second, many people hold ?rm beliefs that aspects of physiology suit men and women for particular social roles. Men's greater upper body strength makes them better candidates for manual labor, and their greater height gives the impression that they would make good leaders (i. e. , people we look up to). Women's reproductive capacity and the caretaking tasks (e. g. , breastfeeding, baby minding) that accompany it make them seem suitable for other roles that require gentleness and nurturance. Third, the logic that underlies hypothesis testing in the sciences is focused on difference. Researchers design their studies with the hope that they can reject the null hypothesis that experimental groups do not differ.

The Routledge International Handbook of Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health is the authoritative reference work on important, leading-edge developments in the domains of women's sexual and reproductive health. The handbook adopts a life-cycle approach to examine key milestones and events in women's sexual and reproductive health. Contributors drawn from a range of disciplines, including psychology, medicine, nursing and midwifery, sociology, public health, women's studies, and indigenous studies, explore issues through three main lenses: the biopsychosocial model feminist perspectives international, multidisciplinary perspectives that acknowledge the intersection of identities in women's lives. The handbook presents an authoritative review of the field, with a focus on state-of-the-art work, encouraging future research and policy development in women's sexual and reproductive health. Finally, the handbook will inform health care providers about the latest research and clinical developments, including women's experiences of both normal and abnormal sexual and reproductive functions. Drawing upon international expertise from leading academics and clinicians in the field, this is essential reading for scholars and students interested in women's reproductive health.

In this compelling book, Joan Chrisler and Ingrid Johnston-Robledo examine how women relate to their bodies and how attitudes toward the body affect women's sense of self. In particular, they document the disturbing, never-ending barrage of standards used to judge women's bodies. For example, women are taught that their bodies should be beautiful (but not as a result of too much effort), sexy (but not slutty), pure (but not prudish), slender (but curvy in the right places), youthful (if they are adults), mature (if they are adolescents), feminine, healthy, and able-bodied. These impossible standards prompt women to pursue life-long body improvement projects - which leads to self-objectification or a negative embodied self. The authors review the research on these phenomena and analyze them through the lens of various psychological theories, including objectification theory, stigma theory, terror management theory, and stereotype embodiment theory. Importantly, they then suggest ways to help women and girls achieve a positive embodied self, which includes challenging and resisting pressures to alter and discipline their bodies in unhealthy ways.

Making oneÆs way through the minefields that are found in the academic professions is difficult for anyone, but the issues encountered by women in academe are pervasive and require specific strategies. In this new volume, editors Lynn H. Collins, Joan C. Chrisler, and Kathryn Quina provide a wealth of information about institutional pitfalls in higher-education professions, advice on how to handle difficult situations, and encouragement to those who persevere in their pursuit of an academic career. The book first considers the current state of women in higher education and then turns to an examination of womenÆs roles in academe. Next, a section on assuming leadership in higher education provides insights and advice on breaking the "glass ceiling." A final section looks at how to take charge of oneÆs self and oneÆs career. Full of personal accounts including "success stories and cautionary tales," Career Strategies for Women Academics is a must-own for women looking for success in academia.