This book explores cultural constructs, societal demands and political and philosophical underpinnings that position women in the world. It illustrates the way culture controls women's place in the world and how cultural constraints are not limited to any one culture, country, ethnicity, race, class or status. Written by scholars from a wide range of specialists in law, sociology, anthropology, popular and cultural studies, history, communications, film and sex and gender, this study provides an authoritative take on different cultures, cultural demands and constraints, contradictions and requirements for conformity generating conflict. Women, Law and Culture is distinctive because it recognises that no particular culture singles out women for 'special' treatment, rules and requirements; rather, all do. Highlighting the way law and culture are intimately intertwined, impacting on women - whatever their country and social and economic status - this book will be of great interest to scholars of law, women's and gender studies and media studies.

What makes a woman's body beautiful? Plastic surgery, cosmetic surgery and non-surgical interventions such as Botox are changing women's bodies physically and affecting cultural notions and expectations of what it means to be a woman. Yet where does the law stand? Is the renovation of women's bodies legal? This book explores a range of topics, including: whether shape-changing by surgical and non-surgical means is 'really' what women want; the question of legal intervention when operations, injections and other methods go wrong; the impact of consent determinations on whether women can or cannot freely seek changes to their body structure; and the role which culture and social expectations play in women's decision-making. Taking a legal perspective on the vast range of 'beauty' interventions available to women, Scutt discusses women's perceptions of body and beauty, pressures on women to conform to 'idealised' notions of the perfect woman's body, and outcomes of legal actions including those taken by individual women who are unhappy with results, as well as those launched against companies trading in products advertised as safe and for women's benefit. Beauty, Women's Bodies and the Law will appeal to readers with an interest in women's and gender studies, law, and cultural studies.

This book explores cultural constructs, societal demands and political and philosophical underpinnings that position women in the world. It illustrates the way culture controls women's place in the world and how cultural constraints are not limited to any one culture, country, ethnicity, race, class or status. Written by scholars from a wide range of specialists in law, sociology, anthropology, popular and cultural studies, history, communications, film and sex and gender, this study provides an authoritative take on different cultures, cultural demands and constraints, contradictions and requirements for conformity generating conflict. Women, Law and Culture is distinctive because it recognises that no particular culture singles out women for 'special' treatment, rules and requirements; rather, all do. Highlighting the way law and culture are intimately intertwined, impacting on women - whatever their country and social and economic status - this book will be of great interest to scholars of law, women's and gender studies and media studies.

First published in 1981. In the last few decades, interest in the study of crimes by women has increased. This interest has coincided with the accelerated momentum of the feminist movement and has led to claims that a rising female crime rate is somehow linked with the changing status of women. But are women committing more crimes? And if so, can this be attributed to the impact of the women's movement? In this book, nine essays survey aspects of the relationship between women and the criminal justice system. The contributors include historians, criminologists, lawyers, ex-prisoners and political scientists. Women and Crime will be of interest to students of criminology.

First published in 1981. In the last few decades, interest in the study of crimes by women has increased. This interest has coincided with the accelerated momentum of the feminist movement and has led to claims that a rising female crime rate is somehow linked with the changing status of women. But are women committing more crimes? And if so, can this be attributed to the impact of the women's movement? In this book, nine essays survey aspects of the relationship between women and the criminal justice system. The contributors include historians, criminologists, lawyers, ex-prisoners and political scientists. Women and Crime will be of interest to students of criminology.

What makes a woman's body beautiful? Plastic surgery, cosmetic surgery and non-surgical interventions such as Botox are changing women's bodies physically and affecting cultural notions and expectations of what it means to be a woman. Yet where does the law stand? Is the renovation of women's bodies legal? This book explores a range of topics, including: whether shape-changing by surgical and non-surgical means is 'really' what women want; the question of legal intervention when operations, injections and other methods go wrong; the impact of consent determinations on whether women can or cannot freely seek changes to their body structure; and the role which culture and social expectations play in women's decision-making. Taking a legal perspective on the vast range of 'beauty' interventions available to women, Scutt discusses women's perceptions of body and beauty, pressures on women to conform to 'idealised' notions of the perfect woman's body, and outcomes of legal actions including those taken by individual women who are unhappy with results, as well as those launched against companies trading in products advertised as safe and for women's benefit. Beauty, Women's Bodies and the Law will appeal to readers with an interest in women's and gender studies, law, and cultural studies.