"In this remarkable and engaging book, Piran allows us to see into the worlds of girls and women across the lifespan and to hear their often confronting and poignant body journey narratives. Anchored in these narratives, she has described a new multidimensional theory of the development of embodied experiences - the Developmental Theory of Embodiment, which will certainly guide future practice and research in the field. This book is also an inspiring call to action to create environments in which girls and women can recapture embodied experiences of agency, functionality and passion." --Susan Paxton, Ph.D., FAED, FAPS, Professor, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
"Dr. Piran is the leading expert on the topic of embodiment in young women and this book pulls together her life's work on research, theory development, and application. I picked up the book and could barely put it down. While rich in theory, the text reads very easily due to the inclusion of various stories of body journeys of girls and women. Dr. Piran writes so beautifully about the Theory of Embodiment, which she has developed. As a long-time researcher on body image, a mother, a yoga teacher, and an adult woman with my own body journey, I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in learning about, and improving, the lives of girls and women." --Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, PhD, MPH, RD, Professor and Division Head, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, US
"Her book, Journeys of Embodiment at the Intersection of Body and Culture, is an in-depth description and discussion of the theory, illustrated with many quotes from the girls and women she interviewed.Women's studies faculty and students should find it especially interesting." -- Joan C. Chrisler, Ph.D., Professor Emerita of Psychology, Asian Women: The Research Institute for Asian Women.
"Chapters of this book would make for excellent readings for upper-level undergraduate courses that discuss such disparate topics as body image, eating psychopathology, violence against women, adolescent development, and mental health, among others. In addition, this book or portions of it should be required reading for courses on feminist theory, particularly as it relates to psychological issues. This book would make an excellent text for an undergraduate or graduate course on the Psychology of Women or Psychology of Gender." -- Taryn Myers, Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of Academic Effectiveness, Virginia Wesleyan University
1. The Developmental Theory of Embodiment: Discovering Paths in Girls' and Women's Unchartered Body Journeys2. Qualified Freedom on Borrowed Territory: Early Childhood (to Age 8)3. Intense Transitions: Tweens (Ages 9-12)4. The Practice of Corseting: Early Adolescence (Ages 13-14)5. The "Perfection" of Corseting: Late Adolescence (Ages 15-18)6. Re-Capturing Qualified Freedom, Possibilities: Young Adulthood (Ages 19-30) and Beyond7. Charting a Different Future: Repossession of Bodies Appendix: Methodological Innovations and Implications for Future Research
Dr. Niva Piran is an award-winning author, researcher, teacher, and mentor. She is Professor Emerita at the University of Toronto, a clinical psychologist, and a school consultant. A Fellow of the American and Canadian Psychological Associations and the Academy of Eating Disorders, Dr. Piran developed and implemented the first day hospital program for eating disorders (in 1984) and spearheaded eating disorder prevention. She is a prolific scholar, an author and co-editor of 5 books, and a frequent international speaker on embodiment, body image, and eating disorder prevention and treatment. Her book, Journeys of Embodiment at the Intersection of Body and Culture: The Developmental Theory of Embodiment (2017) won a 2018 Association for Women in Psychology Distinguished Publication Award.