A jargon-free, non-technical, and easily accessible introduction to women's studies All too many students enter academia with the hazy idea that the field of women's studies is restricted to housework, birth control, and Susan B. Anthony. Their first encounter with a women's studies textbook is likely to focus on the history and sociology of women's lives. While these topics are important, the emphasis on them has led to neglect of equally important issues. Transforming the Disciplines: A Women's Studies Primer is one of the first women's studies textbooks to show feminist scholarship as an...

In order to advocate the end of the punitive and coercive Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Program and reinstate the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program, social scientists explore how welfare and prison increase the dual control of women and distort their strength; blockages to autonomy; gender, age, and health interactions; bad w

A compelling look at the crisis of disadvantaged women This powerful document takes a sobering look at the phenomenon of marginalized women pushed to the edges of society, holding on with the barest of hope and extraordinary bravery. Handicapped by the increasing societal inequality they face as an everyday fact of life, these women (and in many cases, their children) have been disconnected from the mainstream for reasons of age, race, gender, health, incarceration, domestic abuse, unwanted pregnancy, unemployment, and economic circumstance. They are poor in an affluent society, powerless in...

Frank discussions by 16 women from a broad spectrum of social, economic, and religious backgrounds who have had legal or illegal abortions from the 1950s to the 1980s. They recount their ideas and feelings about sex, pregnancy, and abortion; and reveal much about communication with men, the social and psychological contexts, family support, and oth

Tending Inner Gardens: The Healing Art of Feminist Psychotherapy transforms the theory and practice of psychotherapy, one that values both the feminine and masculine perspectives. Set within a naturalistic framework, this model utilizes nature s growing and healing processes. It proposes nature s seasonal cycles as a model for the psychotherapy process, and author Lesley Irene Shore introduces nature s seasonal cycle as a model for successful psychotherapy and demonstrates how to tune techniques to the rhythms of each season.

Dr. Shore speaks with the voice of an experienced...

Kimball (women's studies and psychology, Simon Fraser U.) opens a dialectic between the two traditions of feminism similarities-based and difference-based analyzing gender research, psychoanalytic gender theory, and maternal feminisms of the 20th century. She looks at feminist critiques of science and technology, and offers a broad overview of wome

The Way of the Woman Writer, Second Edition continues the work of the inspirational original, offering guidance to women who wish to document their lives in writing. More a template than a how-to manual, this insightful book addresses the concerns, needs, and issues of women writers (both aspiring and experienced), concentrating on the internal process of putting thought to paper, including new chapters on the creative process and the ethics and integrity of writing. The author, Dr. Janet Lynn Roseman, offers writing exercises in women's autobiography that draw on the significant rhythms of a...

Powerful women aren't just men walking around in dresses

As women continue to assume positions of social leadership in increasing numbers, the dynamics of the social construction of power need to be examined. Have women adopted traditionally male patterns of behavior in an effort to gain and maintain power in business, industry, politics, academics, etc.? And if not, what kind of power are women practicing? The authors of Women, Power, and Ethnicity: Working Toward Reciprocal Empowerment endeavored to find out by conducting a research study on how women from various racial and...

Explore the distinct relationships of close female friends

Women s Best Friendships: Beyond Betty, Veronica, Thelma, and Louise gives new and comprehensive insight into the complex world of women s closest friendships. Recent studies have shown that women place enormous value on best friendships and consider them to be woven tightly into the fabric of their lives. Using in-depth interviews, along with close readings of relevant literature and theory, this book focuses on the many facets of these relationships.

With heartfelt first-person accounts and insightful commentary...