Even in these days of the fitness boom far to few women take part in enough exercise to glean the significant health benefits on offer. This work explores one reason many women suggest for their lack of involvement in sport and exercise that they are not the sporty type. The author argues that the sporty type is masculine, and to determine how this notion might affect women's self-perceptions, she critically examines the experiences of women athletes, bodybuilders, recreational exercisers and girls' physical education. What emerges is the importance of visible differences between women and...

Women are particularly vulnerable to depression. Understanding Depression provides an in-depth critical examination of mainstream approaches to understanding and treating depression from a feminist perspective. Janet Stoppard argues that current approaches give only partial accounts of womens' experiences of depression and concludes that a better understanding will only be achieved when womens' experiences and lived realities are considered in relation to the material and social conditions in which their everyday lives are embedded. The impact of this change in approach for modes of...

Is language sexist? Do women and men speak different languages? Gender, Language and Discourse examines the contribution that psychological research - in particular, discursive psychology - has made to answering these questions.

Is language sexist? Do women and men speak different languages? Gender, Language and Discourse examines the contribution that psychological research - in particular, discursive psychology - has made to answering these questions.

Ageing in women has traditionally been defined by the menopause, however it is often social and economic changes which are more important to women. In this text, author Linda Gannon redresses the balance. From a feminist perspective, she critically reviews late 20th century research and provides a more comprehensive analysis of the psychological effects of life-span changes for older women. Some of the topics she explores include second careers, empty-nest, divorce, chronic illness, retirement and sexuality.

This text presents a critique of contemporary housing policy with a philisophical analysis of the role of the state and the capabilities of individuals. Offering a detailed examination of the role of the state as controller and funder of housing, the author argues that the state is not capable of planning and controlling a sustainable housing policy. The book opens with a discussion of libertian prinicples which place individuals and their action as the focus of social action. These principles are then used to develop a critique of the housing finance literature and the view that housing is a...

This book presents a powerful case for the application of discursive psychology to feminism, guiding the reader through cutting-edge debates and providing valuable evidence of the benefits of discursive methodologies.

Experimental psychology formulates and resolves research questions about 'body image' in terms of the pathology of particular women. What it does not focus on, however, are the discursive practices at work in its own assumptions. This can lead to the perpetuation rather than questioning of dominant narratives about women and the nature of body image dissatisfaction. With acute cross disciplinary awareness Body Image: The Social Construction of Women's Bodies exposes the assumptions at work in the methods and status of experimental approaches. Penetrating beyond the usual dichotomy between...

This book takes a unique approach to the study of the material and discursive practices associated with the construction and regulation of the female body.