1st Edition

Women's Health and Social Change

By Ellen Annandale Copyright 2009
192 Pages
by Routledge

192 Pages
by Routledge

192 Pages
by Routledge

Shortlisted for the BSA Sociology of Health and Illness Book Prize 2009 Traditional distinctions between the experiences of women and men are breaking down and being reconfigured in new, more complex ways. The long-established life expectancy gap between men and women appears to be closing in many affluent societies. Many men appear to be far more ‘body and health conscious’ than they ever... Read more

Introduction  1. Recovering gender and health in history  2. Making connections: feminism, sociology and health  3. Two traditions of research on gender and health  4. Women, health and reproduction  5. Moving beyond sex and gender  6. Morbidity and mortality in transition  7. The making of women’s health: diversity and difference  8. Concluding remarks and ways forward

Biography

Ellen Annandale is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Leicester, UK.

"...include(s) nuanced and thought-provoking investigations of the body-versus-body-politic debate, the glorification of natural childbirth by 1970s-era radical feminists, the limitations of gender difference research, the deleterious impact of late capitalism on biomedicine, the pitfalls of postfeminism and the "body project," amd the weakening of health-oriented women's activism caused by identity politics and extreme individualism."

-- Choice, July 2009

'' Ellen Annandale’s book on women’s health and social change is a landmark text'' ''A beautifully written book, with flowing prose and some nice pieces of visual imagery that help bring the arguments expressed to life. Each of the seven chapters is well crafted as both a standalone piece of writing and as a building block for the book as a whole. The key points made and the arguments advanced in each chapter are well drawn out and summarised.''  ''This book will be equally rewarding for both those new to the area of gender and health, and those who have worked in it for some time. It represents both an excellent overview of work in this area and insightful analysis that contributes to long-running debates and suggests potentially fruitful directions for new work.''

-- Sociology of Health & Illness, 2010