In this account of the purpose, practice and outcomes of groupwork with women, the author draws on her own involvement in establishing and running community based womens' groups. The book provides accounts of the structured content of group sessions and the definitions and measurements of change developed by women participants themselves. By examining the impact of group process and dynamics on self and group identity, the book accentuates the changes which take place during and after the life of a group. The book offers a convincing rationale for adopting a feminist approach with women isolated in their own communities who bear the brunt of socio-political disadvantages, but a central tenet of the book is that feminist groupwork is applicable across a range of settings in the state and private sectors. The authors also address the conflicts which can arise from working from a feminist perspective within mainstream organizational settings. Throughout, the focus is on women's perceptions and explanations of themselves and their experiences, where women's groups promote alternative potentially liberating interpretations which have profound consequences on women's lives. The book demonstrates the distortions and inadequacies of mainstream psychological interpretations of female behaviour and highlights the ways in which these oppress and constrain women.
In this full-length study of Helene Cixous, the first to be published in English, Verena Andermatt Conley adopts a chronological and expository approach, bravely taking on the daunting task of presenting to non-French-speaking readers an author who specializes in word-play. "Whether you have or have not attempted to read Cixous, I highly recommend ......
And Other Essays in Feminist Philosophy and Social Theory
Feminist social theory and female body experience are the twin themes of Iris Marion Young's twelve outstanding essays written over the past decade and brought together here. Her contributions to social theory raise critical questions about women and citizenship, the relations of capitalism and women's oppression, and the differences between a ......
Leading feminist researchers consider the implications of contemporary feminism for sociological theory in this volume, which focuses on the feminist critique and re-evaluation of existing theories, new concepts and areas of research, and interdisciplinary links. Contributors highlight the important feminist theoretical work which has remained sociological theory, and argue for its inclusion into the mainstream. The text has been designed for both students and academics of sociological theory and women's studies.
Theoretical Approaches and Guidelines for Nonsexist Usage
This book explores biased usage in depth-its origins, its effect, the related controversies-and provides sensible and sensitive guidelines for nondiscriminatory speech and writing.
This classic anthropological study debunks the many myths behind the idea of "natural" male superiority. Drawing on extensive historical and cross-cultural research, Eleanor Burke Leacock shows that claims of male superiority are based on carefully constructed myths with no factual historical basis. She also documents numerous historical examples ......
Why do men batter their wives? How do women define their experiences of violence? Is wife abuse related to child abuse? How do medical authorities react to wife abuse? This unique volume brings together well-known academics, activists and clinicians who approach these questions from a distinctly feminist perspective. They critically analyze lay and academic theories of wife abuse in order to develop theories that more accurately reflect the experiences of women.
This book synthesizes and analyzes three decades of economic, political, and cultural policies and politics toward third world women. Focusing on the impact of the current global economic and political crises - debt, famine, militarization, and fundamentalism - the authors show how, through organization, poor women have begun to mobilize creative ......
