Anne Walker shows that women are neither the victims of raging hormonal fluctuations nor entirely unaffected by them. Unlike most previous publications that focus on menstruation (a part of the cycle), The Menstrual Cycle presents a well researched study of the entire menstrual cycle and its relationship to women's lives.
Women's own experiences in different cultures are contrasted with medical textbook descriptions and the "normal" is found to be rather elusive.
This book will be read by discourse analysts, doctors, nurses and any woman who has felt curious about her menstrual...

Post-Natal Depression challenges the expectation that it is normal to be a 'happy mother'. It provides a radical critique of the traditional medical and social science explanations of 'post natal depression' by supplying a systematic feminist psychological analysis of women's experiences following childbirth. Paula Nicolson argues that, far from it being an abnormal, undesirable, pathological condition, it is a normal, healthy response to a series of losses.
Post Natal Depression makes an important contribution to the psychology of women and feminist research and will be...

Only women have abortions, yet it is mainly men who decide whether they may have them. This text shows how a psychological analysis of the abortion debate can increase understanding of why it arouses such strength of feeling. Psychology's relationship to abortion has been complex and pervasive, yet traditional approaches neglect the topic or consign it as a health problem of individual women. Mary Boyle argues that this approach overlooks the social context in which legislation is developed and in which women experience abortion. She believes that the concept of gender is central and reveals...

In this psychological study of women in heterosexual relationships, the author examines the social context of their experiences and emotional struggles. The text places case study material in the context of the power balance between women and men. It finds that there are contradictions between stereotypical gender roles and the maintenance of an equal partnership that can cause problems for both women and men. The text should be valuable to students studying psychology or gender and women's studies and to marriage guidance counsellors and psychotherapists.