Waveland Press - Lectures on the Psychology of Women, Fifth Edition, by Joan C. Chrisler, Carla Golden

Twenty-two distinct essays, prepared especially for Lectures on the Psychology of Women, present readers with topics often not covered in depth in standard texts. Essays are written by feminist psychologists, all of whom are active and committed teachers and researchers within the psychology of women. More than half the lectures are new to this edition, and the others have been significantly updated to include recent research and contemporary examples.

The book’s organization aligns with core texts, making it ideal supplemental reading. However, each lecture stands alone, so instructors can assign readings to meet their own course needs. Part I on the diversity of women includes lectures on women with disabilities, social class, immigration, relational race privilege, aging, sexual fluidity, and mothering. Part II delves into body images and female embodiment, with lectures covering such topics as the sexualization of girls, PMS, weight and body image, media representations of Black women, genital anxieties, and the hairless ideal. Part III addresses women’s physical and mental health with lectures on depression, multicultural therapy, Black women’s health in the U.S., and institutional corruption in psychiatry. Part IV focuses on discrimination, control, and violence against women with lectures on slut-shaming, online gender harassment, and microaggressions. Part V on social justice and activism includes lectures on awareness of intersectional identities, and the relation between the psychology of women and feminist activism.

“I love the book. Content provides serious lecture discussions. Students are engaged from the beginning to the end of the semester.” — Rod Golden, Mesa Community College

Part I: THE DIVERSITY OF WOMEN
1. Poor Women in a Wealthy Nation (Deborah Belle)
2. Women with Disabilities (Rhoda Olkin)
3. Sexual Fluidity (Lisa M. Diamond)
4. Relational Race Privilege and White Patriarchy (Aida Hurtado)
5. A Feminist Psychology of Immigration (Oliva M. Espín)
6. Feminist Perspectives on Mothering: The Personal and the Political (Diane M. Hall)
7. Positive Aging for Women (Mary Gergen)

Part II: IMAGES AND EMBODIMENT
8. Mammy, Sapphire, Jezebel, and the Bad Girls of Reality Television: Media Representations of Black Women (Carolyn M. West)
9. The Sexualization of Girls (Eileen L. Zurbriggen)
10. Women, Weight, and Body Image (Christine A. Smith)
11. The Hairless Ideal (Susan Basow)
12. Genital Anxieties: Women's Attitudes Toward the Vulva and Vagina (Breanne Fahs)
13. PMS as a Culture-Bound Syndrome (Joan C. Chrisler)

Part III: PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH
14. The Unnatural State of Black Women's Health in the U.S.: Intersectional and Social Structural Perspectives (Lisa Bowleg)
15. Women and Depression (Alisha Ali)
16. Institutional Corruption in Organized Psychiatry: Implications for Women's Health (Lisa Cosgrove)
17. Feminist Multicultural Psychotherapy (Carolyn Zerbe Enns)

Part IV: DISCRIMINATION, CONTROL, AND VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
18. Slut Shaming: The Policing of Women's Sexuality (Maureen C. McHugh)
19. Online Gender Harassment: Revenge Porn, Nonconsensual Pornography, Sextortion, and Other Terrifying Topics That Are as Bad as They Sound (Emily Keener)
20. What Are You? Understanding and Coping with Microaggressions (Amanda L. Almond)

Part V: SOCIAL JUSTICE AND ACTIVISM
21. Development of Intersectional Awareness: Implications for Effective Feminist Activism (Nicola Curtin)
22. This Class Is an Action! Feminism and the Psychology of Women (Carla Golden)