Psychology At The Intersections Of Gender Feminism History And Culture

The goal of Handbook of International Perspectives on Feminism is to present the histories, status, and contours of feminist research and practice in their respective regional and/or national contexts. The editors have invited researchers who are doing this work to present their perspectives on women, culture, and rights with the objective to illuminate the diverse forms that feminist psychological work takes around the world, and connect these forms with the unique positions and concerns of women in these regions. What does "feminist psychology" look like in Japan? In South Africa? In Sri Lanka? In Canada? In Brazil? How did it come to look this way? How do psychologists in these countries or regions, each with unique political, economic, and cultural histories, engage in feminist work in the societies in which they live? How do they employ the tools of "psychology" – broadly defined – to do this work, and what tensions and challenges have they faced?

Detailing the field of feminist psychology since its origins, this book assesses its early figures, theory, and research as well as current and emerging theory and research and its associations with general feminist beliefs. Feminist psychology developed as a reaction to historical psychological thought initiated by men who controlled the theory and research of the field. By holding all of society to "norms" based in male behavior, this so-called "masculine psychology" effectively assigned women lower societal status than men and had disturbing effects on women's health and self-esteem. Feminist Psychology focuses on gender differences, social structure, and the values and principles of women's rights within the world's individual, social, and political spheres. Contrary to popular notion, feminist psychology does not involve man-hating, but instead focuses on loving the concept that women have equal potential to set and achieve goals and to contribute to society. In this volume, psychologist Vera Maass explains the history, theory, research, and current state of this growing field, which is becoming increasingly popular as colleges offer majors or concentrations in feminist psychology, and argues that women are both different from and equal to men.

Gender and Culture in Psychology introduces new approaches to the psychological study of gender that bring together feminist psychology, socio-cultural psychology, discursive psychology and critical psychology. It presents research and theory that embed human action in social, cultural and interpersonal contexts. The book provides conceptual tools for thinking about gender, social categorization, human meaning-making, and culture. It also describes a family of interpretative research methods that focus on rich talk and everyday life. It provides a close-in view of how interpretative research proceeds. The latter part of the book showcases innovative projects that investigate topics of concern to feminist scholars and activists: young teens' encounters with heterosexual norms; women and men negotiating household duties and childcare; sexual coercion and violence in heterosexual encounters; the cultural politics of women's weight and eating concerns; psychiatric labelling of psychological suffering; and feminism in psychotherapy.

"With the publication of the Handbook of Diversity in Feminist Psychology, the field of feminist psychology has achieved a new depth; the volume is a sophisticated and cutting-edge compendium that not only describes the state of the field, but also pushes its boundaries in important ways."----Sex Roles: A Journal of Research "Critical for all those who are in the field of psychology to own, refer to, and use. No longer are diversity and gender issues considered to be on the periphery as they once were....one would be remiss in not considering these factors in psychology." --Florence L. Denmark, PhD (From the Foreword) Author, Psychology of Women "FINALLY--A collection of work that is built on decades, if not centuries, of hard work from many feminists of color and our allies! This is one of the few books that delves deeply into the complex world of considering the human condition in cultural context, something psychology is only [relatively] recently trying to do. This book is a must have for anyone interested in feminism OR diversity issues. It is a great example of feminist multiculturalism and both fields (i.e., feminism and multicultural psychology) should consider it an example of how to merge theoretical orientations in a way that is fitting for real people. I LOVE this book!" --Geneva Reynaga-Abiko, Psy.D. This handbook presents a multicultural approach to diversity in feminist psychology. Provocative and timely, the text comprehensively discusses the cutting-edge of feminist discourse, covering major topics such as multicultural feminist theory, gender discrimination, aging, health and therapy, violence and harassment, politics and policy, and much more. The unique quality of this book is that each contributor brings her own cultural perspective, values, and concerns to her chapter. Special emphasis is also given to the intersectionality of minority identities such as race, ethnicity, social class, sexual preference, and other socially constructed status differences among women. Key Topics Discussed: Intimate partner violence: perspectives from ethnic groups in the United States Gender-transgressive sexual minorities HIV/AIDS among women of color and sexual minority women Psychological perspectives on older women, including transitions, cognitive functioning, and mental health Ethnicity, disordered eating, and body image Methodological and statistical issues in research with diverse samples Low-income women, women with disabilities, workers, and immigrants/refugees

“Extremely lively and super-smart, this Feminist Companion is indeed the friend you want to sit beside in every social psychology class.” Alexandra Rutherford, Professor, Historical, Theoretical and Critical Studies of Psychology, York University, Canada “Madeleine Pownall and Wendy Stainton Rogers’ book pings with the vibrancy and creativity of feminist critique. With this companion, they have made feminist inspiration, analysis, and activism easily accessible to everyone studying social psychology!” Virginia Braun, Professor of Psychology, The University of Auckland, New Zealand “The Feminist Companion was written for undergraduate readers, but it holds much wisdom for us all.” Jeanne Marecek, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, USA The Feminist Companion series includes books which act as your friends and mentors in book form, supporting you in your studies, especially when things get tough. This companion offers a feminist, critical, better-informed understanding of social psychology; what it knows, what it can deliver – and what it can’t. Ultimately, it will help you gain a deeper understanding of the data, analytic tools and theoretical frameworks that inform Social Psychology, as well as empowering you to develop the capacity and authority to challenge assumptions and become a critical and engaged social psychologist. Key features include: •Five Reasons Why You Need a Feminist Companion – a helpful summary of what readers can expect to gain from this book •Activity boxes, suggesting ways you can put the theory you are learning in to practice •See and Hear for Yourself boxes, signposting readers to where they can find real-world examples of the concepts covered •Summary sections that articulate the main points of each chapter and provide a useful revision aid •A glossary of key terms This book maps to the British Psychological Society (BPS) curriculum on social psychology as well as the Quality Assessment Agency’s (QAA) Subject Benchmark Statement for Psychology. Madeleine Pownall is a lecturer in Social Psychology, Research Methods, and Advanced Social Psychology at the University of Leeds, UK. She is Chair of the Psychology Postgraduate Affairs Group (PsyPAG) and an Associate Editor at The Psychologist. Wendy Stainton Rogers is Emeritus Professor at The Open University, UK, and a member of the Open University Press Editorial Advisory Board. Across her career she has written ten bestselling books, the majority of which are for Psychology students. She is renowned for her clear-sighted and accessible writing style, as well as for her innovative work in Critical Psychology.

Drawn from a brilliant array of voices primarily from psychology, but also from other social sciences and humanities, this unique reader of creative and intellectually provocative essays investigates the social construction of gender. For the past several decades, those involved with the study of the psychology of women and gender have been struggling for recognition within the framework of psychology. This volume brings together the writings from psychology, philosophy, psychoanalysis, history, women's studies, education and sociology that critique mainstream thinking and exemplify new ways of creating inquiry.

Why do ordinary people turn to psychology in the hopes of making themselves healthier, wealthier, and happier? Governed by Affect offers a multi-sited history of psychology and its role in American public life. Focusing on a series of transformations since the 1970s, the book examines the rise of psychology as a health science and the discipline's growing entanglements with public policy inspired new theories of inattentive and unconscious affect, which have come to structure health care, education, the economy, and how we understand ourselves.