Jane M. Ussher

Drawing on academic and clinical experience, including case studies and in-depth interviews, as well as on the now extensive critical literature in the field of mental health, Jane Ussher presents a critical multifactorial analysis of women's madness that both addresses the notion that madness is a myth, and yet acknowledges the reality and multiple causes of women's distress.

Myth and Experience

The Madness of Women

Managing the Monstrous Feminine takes a unique approach to the study of the material and discursive practices associated with the construction and regulation of the female body. Jane Ussher examines the ways in which medicine, science, the law and popular culture combine to produce fictions about femininity, positioning the reproductive body as the source of women's power, danger and weakness. Including sections on 'regulation', 'the subjectification of women' and 'women's negotiation and resistance', this book describes the construction of the 'monstrous feminine' in mythology, art, literature and film, revealing its implications for the regulation and experience of the fecund female body. Critical reviews are combined with case studies and extensive interview material to illuminate discussions of subjects including: the regulation of women through the body regimes of knowledge associated with reproduction intersubjectivity and the body women's narratives of resistance. These insights into the relation between the construction of the female body and women's subjectivity will be of interest to those studying health psychology, social psychology, medical sociology, gender studies and cultural studies. The book will also appeal to all those looking for a high-level introduction to contemporary feminist thought on the female body.

Regulating the Reproductive Body

Managing the Monstrous Feminine

Joan C. Chrisler

Janette Perz

The Routledge International Handbook of Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health is the authoritative reference work on important, leading-edge developments in the domains of women’s sexual and reproductive health. The handbook adopts a life-cycle approach to examine key milestones and events in women’s sexual and reproductive health. Contributors drawn from a range of disciplines, including psychology, medicine, nursing and midwifery, sociology, public health, women’s studies, and indigenous studies, explore issues through three main lenses: the biopsychosocial model feminist perspectives international, multidisciplinary perspectives that acknowledge the intersection of identities in women’s lives. The handbook presents an authoritative review of the field, with a focus on state-of-the-art work, encouraging future research and policy development in women’s sexual and reproductive health. Finally, the handbook will inform health care providers about the latest research and clinical developments, including women’s experiences of both normal and abnormal sexual and reproductive functions. Drawing upon international expertise from leading academics and clinicians in the field, this is essential reading for scholars and students interested in women’s reproductive health.

Routledge International Handbook of Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health

Paula Nicolson

The contributors show how and why clinical psychology has traditionally ignored gender issues, exploring the effects on both clients and clinicians, and suggesting ways of incorporating gender issues in both theory and clinical practice

Success Stories, 2008-2013

Karnataka : Crafting a New Future

An account of how women have managed to resist the archetypal fantasies of femininity and what it supposedly is to be a woman, and how women have consequently redefined the boundaries of their sex.

Reframing the Boundaries of Sex

Fantasies of Femininity

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

A feminist engagement with the psychology of the female body is long overdue. The author suggests both how to read the data and how a non-reproductionist psychology might be developed.

The Psychology of the Female Body

B. R. Simon Rosser

This book provides an overview of research and practice dealing with the specific needs of gay and bisexual men living with prostate cancer, as well as the special psychosocial needs of their partners. The intention is twofold: to provide insight into the unique experiences and concerns of gay or bisexual men living with prostate cancer in order to inform and assist future research, clinical practice and supportive care, and policy; and to ensure that the needs of gay and bisexual men are recognized and advanced on the mainstream prostate cancer agenda. Featuring both cutting-edge research and powerful portraits of gay and bisexual men living with prostate cancer, this book will be indispensable for health care, oncology, and mental health practitioners who seek to address their specific experiences and challenges.

From Diagnosis to Recovery

Gay and Bisexual Men Living with Prostate Cancer

"This handbook adopts a life-cycle approach to examine key milestones and events in women's sexual and reproductive health. Using a multi-disciplinary perspective, the contributors draw on psychology, sociology, medicine, public health, cultural studies, and women's studies. A feminist perspective underpins the chapters, and reproductive health is examined in the context of women's lives and relationships. The book also acknowledges the intersection of identity positions and their influence on women's health, including gender, culture, social class, sexuality, age, and relationship context. This is essential reading for scholars and students interested in women's reproductive health"--

Managing the Monstrous Feminine takes a unique approach to the study of the material and discursive practices associated with the construction and regulation of the female body. Jane Ussher examines the ways in which medicine, science, the law and popular culture combine to produce fictions about femininity, positioning the reproductive body as the source of women's power, danger and weakness. Including sections on 'regulation', 'the subjectification of women' and 'women's negotiation and resistance', this book describes the construction of the 'monstrous feminine' in mythology, art, literature and film, revealing its implications for the regulation and experience of the fecund female body. Critical reviews are combined with case studies and extensive interview material to illuminate discussions of subjects including: the regulation of women through the body regimes of knowledge associated with reproduction intersubjectivity and the body women’s narratives of resistance. These insights into the relation between the construction of the female body and women's subjectivity will be of interest to those studying health psychology, social psychology, medical sociology, gender studies and cultural studies. The book will also appeal to all those looking for a high-level introduction to contemporary feminist thought on the female body.

Christine D. Baker

The regulation of sexuality and the careful distinction between normality and abnormality has a long and checkered history--with psychologists at the forefront of this debate. Yet any attempt to identify a simple and unitary `psychology of sexual problems' inevitably becomes the focus of a great deal of criticism, particularly from the disciplines of psychoanalysis and feminism. The aim of Psychological Perspectives on Sexual Problemsis both to provoke and to promote a glasnost between those whose work directly involves research and intervention in the arena of sexuality, and those who would deconstruct, criticize, and reframe any understanding of sexuality outside of the dominant discourse of psychology. The contributors examine the psychological theories associated with sexuality and sexual problems and at the same time present examples of positive and empowering practice with groups of individuals whose sexuality is often ignored or marginalized. These individuals include those with learning difficulties or physical disabilities, sex offenders, gay men with AIDS, and women with eating disorders. Psychological Perspectives on Sexual Problemsis the first text to integrate critical theory and current clinical practice, in an attempt to arrive at a revolutionary approach to the psychology of sexuality.

Jane M. Ussher

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