Gender studies: women and girls Books

Book SynopsisWhile the existence of maternal ambivalence has been evident for centuries, it has only recently been recognized as central to the lived experience of mothering. This accessible, yet intellectually rigorous, interdisciplinary collection demonstrates its presence and meaning in relation to numerous topics such as pregnancy, birth, Caesarean sections, sleep, self-estrangement, helicopter parenting, poverty, environmental degradation, depression, anxiety, queer mothering, disability, neglect, filicide and war rape. Its authors deny the assumption that mothers who experience ambivalence are bad, evil, unnatural, or insane. Moreover, historical records and cross-cultural narratives indicate that maternal ambivalence appears in a wide range of circumstances; but that it becomes unmanageable in circumstances of inequity, deprivation and violence. From this premise, the authors in this collection raise imperative ethical, social, and political questions, suggesting possibilities for vital cultural transformations. These candid explorations demand we rethink our basic assumptions about how mothering is experienced in everyday life.

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Book SynopsisBreasts are integral to mothers’ bodies; over the life course, they can swell, droop, be judged, be aroused, lactate, be altered, be removed. A woman’s own breasts may be foremost in her mind during some life events, only to recede into the background at other times. Breasts are complex; they are enveloped by larger cultural meanings that go far beyond their mammary gland function, and we cannot fully understand breasts without examining the myriad discourses surrounding them. Social policies, cultural norms, and interpersonal interactions all help construct localized breast discourses which, in turn, shape mothers’ breast experiences. Through examining commonalities and differences over the lifespan, we can see that women’s breast experiences inform us about the social conditions in which women live their lives. The chapters in this volume bring together perspectives from Spain, Brazil, Canada, and the United States, among other countries. They include historical and contemporary examinations, and feature diverse types of writing such as first-person narrative accounts, academic interviews, and art analyses. Contributors come from an array of fields including nursing, sociology, English, art history, and psychology. Each chapter offers readers a unique context for understanding how temporally- and geographically-situated breast understandings shape mothers’ personal breast views and breast-related body practices. Taken together, the chapters in this edited collection reveal the significant ways that societies shape mothers’ embodied experiences and breasted selves.Trade Review“Breasts Across Motherhood is rich with diverse insights into the stigmas, realities, and expectations around what breasts mean to mothers, their offspring, and the many parts of society that influence attitudes and outcomes. This exploration of how breasts are seen across motherhood in different regions and situations provides a unique and essential angle from which to understand women and children’s rights and roles across cultures. Renée E. Mazinegiizhigoo-kwe Bédard’s essay on the sacredness of Anishinaabeg mothers’ breasts, for example, offers deep insight into one cultural approach and its effects. Breasts Across Motherhood’s explorations of public breastfeeding and societal norms, and consideration of issues such as foster/adoptive mothers and their breasts and breastfeeding options, highlight contemporary biases that, ultimately, affect everyone. The diversity of subjects and approaches in this collection, paired with reflective and often touching first-hand accounts, makes for compelling and thought-provoking reading for anyone interested in gender studies, human rights, or the value we place on the well-being of both parents and children.” —Anita Dolman, fiction writer, poet and editor; co-editor, Motherhood in Precarious Times; and author, Lost Enough: A collection of short stories

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Book SynopsisMothers, Sex, and Sexuality talks about things not normally dared spoken out loud — the interconnectedness and conflict between our parental and sexual selves, the taboo of the sexual mother, and why it matters so much to shatter it. What is it about the sexual mother that is incompatible, and at times even disturbing? Why are we threatened by maternal sexuality? And what does this tell us about the structures of gender and power that govern our bodies? Mothers, Sex, and Sexuality presents a rigorous academic analysis of the myriad ways in which the sexual/maternal divide affects women, birthing people, and those of us who assume or are ascribed the title “mother”. We examine the way we as mothers talk to our daughters about sex, the way we talk about sex in a cultural context, and the deafening silence around sex in a medical system that overlooks maternal sexuality. We return repeatedly to the impact of both Christianity and Hinduism on the mother as someone to be revered but tightly controlled. We embrace the lost eroticism of mothering and hail breastfeeding as a sexual maternal practice, arguing for a new, broader, feminist understanding of sexuality. We discuss the way fat mothers destabalise the heteronormative maternal model, the way kinky queers are reconfiguring the sexual/maternal divide through erotic role-play, and we explore the strange, intense, and romantic domestic relationship that springs up between mothers and nannies—two heterosexual women trapped together in a homoerotic triangulation of need and desire. In a titillating climax we revel in the sexual maternal as embodied through performance art, poetry, installations, and comedy, disrupting queer readings of bodies as we are invited to both fuck, and fuck with, the maternal. This book boldly provides both a challenge to the patriarchal constraints of motherhood and a racy road-map escape route out of the sexual-maternal dichotomy.

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Book SynopsisThe story of motherhood is told through many voices and in many contexts. When honoured with the task of composing a collective story from our authors’ experiences, we gestured toward the function and power of story to transform. The collection is organized in three movements that mirror the interdependent narrative acts of reflecting, re-imagining, and re-writing. By reflecting, we refer to conscious engagement with experience that makes meaningful connections between past, present, and potential futures, provides context for who we understand ourselves to be, and guides our awareness of the narratives shaping our lives. Only after we become conscious of tired narratives and ontological frameworks that no longer serve, can we be free to re-imagine our experiences: to re-create and reconstruct the very foundations of meaning on which the emplotment of our lives is based. Finally, by re-imagining, we create opportunities to re-write all dimensions of experience (temporal, personal, and cultural) in ways that reclaim and redeem the narrative composition of our lives. When these narrative acts are engaged, we write alternate realities and open futures into existence. Each narrative act is illustrated in the collection by stories that most exemplify its function and power. Stories in the first movement, demonstrate authors’ engagement with the process of reflecting through memory and over time to make sense of experience, in particular, the reality of change and trauma. In the second movement, the act of re-imagining is illustrated as writers challenge limited definitions of care and explore futures beyond convention. Finally, the third movement is dedicated to the act of re-writing in which our authors demonstrate how changes in perspective, and faith in possibility, can be written into our being in ways that transform both the meaning of experience and the evolution of self. As editors, we embarked upon this journey seeking answers, but we have come to realize that open questions and ongoing dialogue create the possibility for open futures. Our stories—those lived, those told, and those yet to be written—engage us in a quest to reclaim, to restore, and to transform our personal and social mothering spaces, leading us toward liberating social, cultural, and institutional narratives.

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Book SynopsisFeminist Parenting: Perspectives from Africa and Beyond asks and considers: What is feminist parenting? Is it something for all parents? What does it mean to be a feminist parent in practice? The collection aims to fill a gap on feminist parenting in the existing literature by bringing timely post-Western perspectives. More specifically, the anthology’s main contribution is its explicit focus on feminist parenting from the margins to the global periphery: from Africa and its diaspora, from the Global South to Europe and America. The 27 parents from diverse backgrounds, walks of life and countries gathered in this anthology share powerful responses to the above questions by narrating their experiences of some of the challenges, dilemmas, promises and compromises of parenting with a feminist perspective. The volume is the one of the first collections published with first-person essays describing very touching, beautiful and sometimes painful stories of what it means and more importantly what it costs to become a feminist parent with an intersectional approach. In doing so, the authors of this book aim at (re)claiming parenting as a necessarily political terrain for subversion, radical transformation and resistance to patriarchal oppression and sexism.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines the complexities of mothers who are entrepreneurs in different parts of the world. This uniqueness and contribution to the area of women's entrepreneurship presents many challenges. One must historicize context; focus on socio-political realms and on lived realities. All challenging endeavours, when focusing on mothering and entrepreneurship, in different global contexts. What of the workers in these contexts? More specifically what of female workers within these contexts? How have women negotiated gendered roles within old and new structures? What complexities have preconfigured the diverse realities and positionalities of maternal-workers? How have these intricacies shifted the boundaries of work-family interface? This book focuses on a specific subset of work and the economy for mothers who are entrepreneurs in different parts of the world. In this edited collection, we examine how mothers are negotiating their entrepreneurial endeavors within the contexts of local and global economic shifts. We explore how the socio-cultural, economic and national contexts that (re)structure and (re)frame multiple nodes of power, difference, and realities for mothers as workers across diverse contexts. This type of contextual analysis allows for new lines of inquiry and questions that move beyond the descriptive profiling and gendered assessment of women entrepreneurs. Lastly, the mother-entrepreneur-worker-life balance frames our discussion. We particularly set the work-family discourse within many points of contentions related to how the researchers have conceptualized work-life interface, the specific assumptions embedded within these investigations, and the implications of these for how we (re)present the dynamics related to mothering and entrepreneurship. The participation of mothers within entrepreneurial space offers a rich site for analyzing the contextual nature of maternal identity, work life relationships and entrepreneurial identities. In so doing, the chapters addressed the different histories of oppression, movement of people, socio-economic conditions that underpin that experience, the various axes of power that affect the precariousness of work and citizenship on a global scale. Where existing examinations also center on the concerns for work-life interface, such scrutiny also brings to bear the complexities and ambiguities of working within these two boundaries. This is presented as a way of reframing not just work life interface, but also, that of how these affect the specific practices, choices, and responses of entrepreneurial mothers within specific localities and positionalities. No doubt, these insights provide important foundations for advancing theorizations on entrepreneurial mothers.

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Book SynopsisBody stories capture a nuanced, interconnected, interactive and complex telling of our understanding, perception and experience of and through our bodies. Plenty has been published on body image but image suggests a static fixed body unmitigated through our social interactions and varying times and spaces. This book is not a 'how-to' guide for fat confidence. It's not a compendium of fat suffering. It's simply a collection of narratives about what it's like to survive in a weight-hating world. It resists the ways that marginalized bodies are being written and researched and put into other people's ideas about our existence. The stories in this book are celebratory and are painful. They look at intersections of race and queerness; they destabilize womanhood by presenting a range of possible female embodiments. They explore issues of disability and madness. The full range of possibilities that are collected here give a picture of what it means to live in a society with strong and powerful messages about size, about normalcy, about what a moral and healthy life and body look like.This book is a snapshot of its place and time, but these stories remind us that we're here to stay. The body stories will change but we will keep owning our own narratives. While story, especially written by women, is often seen as outside the academic canon, these stories, these creative offerings, are theory, are research, and are activism. They are nothing less than the blueprint for liberation. Writing about fat and about bodies outside of medicalized narratives, without ignoring the impact of race, sexuality, class, ability, gender, fashion, appearance and beyond, is radical and rigorous.It is impossible to think about the future without wishing for liberation. Liberation can come in many forms. It can mean an awareness, the ability to confront. The stories in this book display the ways that liberation isn't a finish line or a thing we can complete - rather it is a million small actions and understandings in aid of a renewed and hopeful world.

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Book SynopsisThis anthology calls Pagan and Goddess mothering into focus by highlighting philosophies and experiences of mothers in these spiritual movements and traditions. Pagan and Goddess spirituality are distinct, yet overlapping and diverse communities, with much to say about deity as mother, and about human mothers in relationship to deity. Authors share creative voices, stories, and scholarship from the forefront of Pagan- and Goddess- centered home, in which divine mothers, Goddesses, diverse female embodiments, and generative life cycles are honoured as sacred. Authors inquire into how their spirituality impacts the perceived value and experiences of mothers themselves, while generating new ways of imagining and enacting motherhood in spiritual and daily life. Pagan, Goddess, Mother opens spaces for dialogue in areas such as how Pagan- and Goddess- centred mothers engage in, and are impacted by, their spiritual leadership through practices of ceremony, ritual, magic, and priestessing. Authors consider mothers' lived connections with their children, family life, and themselves, through nature, the Earth, and mothering as a spiritual practice. Chapters reflect upon the ways that Pagan- and Goddess- identified mothers creatively navigate daily interactions with dominant religions, the public sphere, community leadership and activism facing the challenges of such while forging new pathways for spirited well being in mothering and family life.

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Book SynopsisIn a world full of messages about the joys of motherhood, ticking biological clocks, pronatalist ideologies and socio-cultural imperatives for women to mother, what does the alternative look like? That is, what is the experience of women who choose, or find themselves without progeny, when they are deemed 'other', instead of being a 'mother'? This anthology of interdisciplinary work links to sociology, anthropology, psychology, demography, religion, language, literature, popular media, medicine and child and family studies. Are women that choose to be childfree always narcissistic, self-obsessed, and lonely? Or can they be free, mobile, and successful? Do all women who choose to be childfree do it in the same way or have the same motivation? What is the role of age, partnership status, trauma or poverty in this decision? Using techniques such as literature review, ethnographic interviews, autoethnography, and textual analysis and reframing, these sixteen authors from around the globe unpack largely pronatalist, racist, sexist and heteronormative views and assumptions about childfree women.

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Book SynopsisMotherhood is one of those roles that assumes an almost-outsized cultural importance in the significance we force it to bear. It becomes both the source of and the repository for all kinds of cultural fears. Its ubiquity perhaps makes it this perfect foil. After all, while not everyone will become a mother, everyone has a mother. When we force motherhood to bear the terrors of what it means to be human, we inflict trauma upon those who mother. A long tradition of bad mothers thus shapes contemporary mothering practices (and the way we view them), including the murderous Medea of Greek mythology, the power-hungry Queen Gertrude of Hamlet, and the emasculating mother of Freud’s theories. Certainly, there are mother who cause harm, inflict abuse, act monstrously. Mothers are human. But mothers are also a favourite and easy scapegoat. The contributors to this collection explore a multitude of interdisciplinary representations of mothers that, through their very depictions of bad mothering, challenge the tropes of monstrous mothering that we lean on, revealing in the process why we turn to them. Chapters in Monstrous Mothers: Troubling Tropes explore literary, cinematic, and real-life monstrous mothers, seeking to uncover social sources and results of these monstrosities.Trade ReviewThis collection asks us to do a hard thing: to look at, not away, from the monstrous mother. In probing essays, the contributors and editors ask readers to consider what conditions create the monstrous mother, and if so-called monstrous mothers really are monstrous. Products of the patriarchal construction of motherhood, victims of neoliberal privileging of the individual over community (and lack of societal supports), as well as personal variables create the monstrous mother, and all such mothers in this collection are deserving of another look, and often, our empathy. An important collection for those who study mothers, and those who wish to see social growth and change in the promulgation of empowered mothering. - Nicole L. Willey, Professor of English, Kent State University // Monstrous Mothers: Troubling Tropes is a difficult read, but that is only because the authors in this edited volume challenge readers to hear the stories of mothers who have been deemed irredeemable, transgressive, incomprehensible--in short, monstrous. In each chapter the authors trouble this narrative as they expose readers to maternal violences of loss, abandonment, ambivalence, abuse, and murder in historical and contemporary texts and media. The deeper we engage these rich, diverse analyses the more we come to understand that the horror is not the monstrosity of the mothers, but their scapegoating as bad mothers. By showing us who the mothers are, by unpacking the context within which they have mothered, the authors in this volume ultimately expose the unsustainable, nay, monstrous lies we have been told about motherhood itself. - Michelle Hughes Miller, Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies, University of South Florida // Monstrous Mothers peers into the dark cavern of mothers who are too often shunned without exploration or nuance. - Katie B. Garner, Executive Director, IAMASTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction: Abigail L. Palko Part I: Precarious Mothering Chapter 1: “Patchwork Girl – fractured maternal monsters” by Anitra Hunter Chapter 2: “Laura’s Story: Applying De-colonial Love to Indigenous Mothers of Missing Children” by Josephine Savarese Chapter 3: “‘Science Put Babies in My Belly’: Mothering and Monstrosity in Orphan Black” by Susan Harper and Jessica Guillon Chapter 4: “The Maternal Maleficent” by Abigail L. Palko Part II: Maternal Violence Chapter 5: “Central Intelligence and Maternal Mental Health: The Apparently Aberrant Bad Mother in Homeland” by Aidan Moir Chapter 6: “Karla Homolka, A Mom of Three” by Rebecca Bromwich Chapter 7: “‘A Victim Twice’: Maternal Violence in the Poetry of Ai” by Jessica Turcat Part III: Mothers Made Monstrous Chapter 8: “The Monstrosity of Maternal Abandonment in the Literature of Women Writers from the American South” by Jennifer Martin Chapter 9: “‘What is Incomprehensible’: The Myth of Maternal Omniscience and the Judgment of Maternal Culpability in Sue Klebold’s A Mother’s Reckoning and Monique Lépine’s Aftermath” by Andrea O’Reilly Chapter 10: “‘She laughed at anything’: The Portrayal of the Monstrous Maternal in Anna Burns’ No Bones” by Shamira Ransirini Chapter 11: “Monster Mothers and Mother Monsters from Dracula to Stranger Things” by Melissa Dinsman Coda: “A Trace of What It is Not: The Hauntings of the Monstrous Mother” by Andrea O’Reilly Notes on the Contributors

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Book SynopsisDuring the pandemic, the focus has been on how education and social interaction with peers were integral to children? s functioning. However, very little regard was given to another very important question- how do our children feel about the pandemic and how do they process this experience? Why is it assumed that cognitive functioning and social interaction are the most significant areas of child development? What emotional factors are at play? Are the children alright? How are their families coping and does this have an impact on the children? What I hope to achieve by compiling this edited collection is to bring awareness to the child? s perspective, within the family unit, in addition to addressing other contributing factors that had an impact on their coping mechanisms. This collection will hopefully inform whether the choices, that were made and should be made related to children, have been sound ones and perhaps should be re-examined as a result of this book? s findings, conclusions and speculations

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Book SynopsisMothering and Mother(work) in the Times of Black Lives Matter is an edited collection that sprouted alongside the beginnings of the Black Lives Matter movement but seeks to root itself in the historic and ongoing fight against anti-Black, state-sanctioned violence. Utilizing research, personal narratives, poetry and art, this book explores the experience of mothering and ?motherwork? alongside these movements and efforts to protect and value Black life. Centering the voices of Black mothers, Black other mothers and Black birthing people, the collection also seeks to explore the just world that Black mothers hope to create for their futures and the futures of their families and communities.

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Book SynopsisAt some point in their careers, many women encounter the mirrored door—the place where, when presented with opportunities, we reflect inward and hesitate, deem we’re not ready or worthy enough to move forward whether that is to raise our hands or go for the next role. But there is a way to break through, and to overcome the gendered expectations that girls and women internalize over our lifetimes that create a hidden barrier that keeps us from reaching our full potential. Drawing on research, stories from her own career, and those of her students and the mid-late career women she has coached, Professor Ellen Taaffe explains why the five perils of success—being prepared to perfection, eager to please, trying to fit the mold, pushing too hard, and patiently performing and expecting rewards to follow—get us to a certain level, and then may prevent our taking the next step in our careers as expectations rise. She offers a new, empowering framework for navigating the challenges of the workplace with more awareness and expertise. With a firm grounding in research, Taaffe teaches us about the realities of the workplace, how it influences perceptions of women, and what we can do to overcome the distorted self-reflections that ultimately hold us back. A former Fortune 50 senior executive turned board director and professor, Taaffe is on a mission for women to have more seats and voices at the table of workplace decisions. In The Mirrored Door, she guides us to assess ourselves and our situations realistically so that we can take charge of our career success and take the lead in our lives.Trade Review"This incisive, inviting guidebook surveys the challenges high-achieving women face in the workplace and shares fresh advice for navigating obstacles both inner and outer... With welcome nuance about the complexities and varieties of workplace experiences, Taaffe lays out techniques for women to knock at [the mirrored] door rather than wait to be invited in... Throughout, Taaffe blends striking insights... with inspiration, practical takeaways, and engaging storytelling." Publishers Weekly "The Mirrored Door is an insightful self-help book that exposes, and enables pushing past, the particular barriers that women in business face." Foreword "Taaffe blends research, professional expertise, and personal experience in a concise examination of women's self-doubt in the workplace." Kirkus Reviews "Ellen Connelly Taaffe's image of the 'mirrored door' brilliantly and accurately describes women's tendency to second-guess themselves when they bump up against barriers at work. Gazing into that mirror and asking, 'Is it me?' can paralyze us and make it difficult to take action. Ellen's work is a powerful corrective to the endless focus on 'imposter syndrome, ' which pathologizes self-doubt rather than offering a path forward. In this wise and humane book, she shows how women can address the internal barriers most likely to hold them back. Highly recommended!" Sally Helgesen, bestselling author of How Women Rise, Rising Together, and The Female Advantage "The Mirrored Door is an inspiring guide for women looking to advance in their careers. Ellen Connelly Taaffe outlines the external and internal biases that lead to women getting stuck in their jobs. Through engaging stories, she offers frameworks and advice on how to move past these obstacles and create the future we all want." Deepa Purushothaman, author of The First, the Few, the Only "The Mirrored Door is a must-read for career-minded women who aspire to more. Ellen Connelly Taaffe connects insightful research, shares engaging stories, and thoughtfully reveals what might have once worked but could now be in the way. This book informs and inspires women to take charge of their careers." Dorie Clark, Wall Street Journal-bestselling author of The Long Game "The Mirrored Door is the book that every female leader--of all ages and stages--needs to read. If you have ever struggled in your career, this book will provide you with valuable insights to identify and overcome the challenges that are preventing you from achieving the success that you want. Ellen Connelly Taaffe is a kind, wise mentor who provides you with the road map you need to create the future you want. I wish I had this book when I started my career." Tricia Montalvo Timm, board director, former general counsel at Looker, and author of Embrace the Power of You "The Mirrored Door is a terrific primer for career-oriented women to create their own successful path, navigating through the systemic biases that women face in today's workplace. It's a compelling blueprint by former business executive and current professor, Ellen Connelly Taaffe." Carter Cast, clinical professor of entrepreneurship at the Kellogg School of Management and author of The Right--and Wrong--Stuff "Be the protagonista! That's what practitioner-turned-professor Ellen Connelly Taaffe teaches women (and any leader who wants to sponsor women) how to do with her splendid storytelling and actionable advice. Ellen describes herself as the 'professor full of doubt, ' but there's no doubt about this book: if you want to shatter the glass ceiling, you'll open The Mirrored Door. This book belongs alongside Sally Helgesen's How Women Rise--welcome to the canon of literature sure to inspire the next generation of women leaders." Whitney Johnson, CEO of Disruption Advisors and Wall Street Journal--bestselling author of Smart Growth "Ellen Connelly Taaffe cleverly focuses on the one thing any woman can do to power her career: burst through the self-created 'mirrored door' that often holds us back. This book is a compelling manual for banishing self-doubt and grabbing your desired and deserved future!" Gena Cox, PhD, executive coach, speaker, and author of Leading Inclusion "Ellen Connelly Taaffe brings a depth of knowledge and breadth of personal experience to every page. All women, regardless of career stage, will see themselves more clearly and be better equipped to step through the 'mirrored door' after reading this book." Laurie Weingart, coauthor of The No Club "While women often say they experience self-doubt and imposter syndrome, Ellen Connelly Taaffe's excellent book points out that the system--through ingrained biases and outdated work practices--is designed to make us feel that way. She offers ways that each of us can pivot our thinking away from self-blame, and, through a series of journal prompts, gives readers a chance to reflect on how they can have a healthier relationship to work and achievement." Sarah Kaplan, director of the Institute for Gender and the Economy (GATE) at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management "The Mirrored Door opens up the conversation for all women who are seeking to grow professionally and personally, no matter their stage in life. Ellen Connelly Taaffe generously shares her life and professional experiences while weaving in research-based evidence and the stories of women who navigated male-dominated corporate cultures while discovering their own gender biases that are so deeply ingrained in each of us. This book is an enlightening and practical guide for all women who seek to leverage their talents and power--and make a difference wherever they land." Tammy Gooler Loeb, award-winning author of Work from the Inside Out "The Mirrored Door is like having a caring, wise mentor show you the ropes of how to navigate the workplace and take charge of your own career and life. I wish it had been around for me to read at several different points in my career." Anne Lester, former managing director of JPMorgan Asset Management, board director, speaker, and author of Your Best Financial Life "If you lead women or are a woman, you must read The Mirrored Door. Ellen Connelly Taaffe has brilliantly written an inspiring, yet practical leadership book that is sure to become a go-to guide for aspiring and experienced career women and their allies. Through storytelling, research, and personal experience, she reveals what holds women back and what we can do about it. I wish I had it earlier in my career. Highly recommend!" Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, vice chair of external affairs at Royal Caribbean Group, former CEO of Celebrity Cruises, board director, and author of Making Waves

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Book Synopsis'An unforgettable, unmissable book for the new global feminist.' The Times 'All the men I did get to know filled me with but one desire: to lift my hand and bring it smashing down on his face.' So begins Firdaus's remarkable story of rebellion against a society founded on lies, hypocrisy, brutality and oppression. Born to a peasant family in the Egyptian countryside, Firdaus struggles through childhood, seeking compassion and knowledge in a world which gives her little of either. As she grows up and escapes the fetters of her childhood, each new relationship teaches her a bitter but liberating truth – that the only free people are those who want nothing, fear nothing and hope for nothing. This classic novel has been an inspiration to countless people across the world. Saadawi's searing indictment of society's brutal treatment of women continues to resonate today.Trade ReviewNawal El Saadawi writes with directness and passion, transforming the systematic brutalisation of peasants and of women in to powerful allegory * New York Times *This book will look you dead in the eye… I thoroughly recommend this book because it will make you examine the ways in which people in impossible situations can retain dignity and control over themselves. Read it wide-eyed. * Books By Broads *The most influential feminist thinker in the Arab world over the past half-century. * Financial Times *El Saadawi has a flair for melodrama and mystery. * International Journal of Middle East Studies *A powerful indictment of the treatment of women in many parts of the Middle East * Labour Herald *Woman at Point Zero should begin the long march towards a realistic and sympathetic portrayal of Arab women. * Middle East International *Scorching * New Internationalist *Simple, but sharp and infuriating... Woman at Point Zero is the story of one Arab woman, but it reads as if it is every woman’s life. * Spare Rib *An unforgettable, unmissable book for the new global feminist. * The Times *This novella opened my eyes to the ideas of power structures. * Ailah Ahmed, Stylist *This extraordinary novel, written with such compassion, forces us to the edge, and deep inside what must be one of the worst tales of women’s oppression while somehow managing to inspire hope, if only through the courage of Nawal El Saadawi for being one of the first to tell this story to the world. * Jacqueline Rose *Leaves an indelible mark. This is a tale of injustice, inequality and sheer bad luck - written with such grace and skill as to be on a part with the finest literature of this or any era - haunting, poetic and fiercely relevant. * Scott Pack, The Friday Project *

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Book SynopsisWhat have a deaf nun, the mother of the first baby born to Europeans in North America, and a condemned heretic to do with one another? They are among the virtuous virgins, marvellous maidens, and fierce feminists of the Middle Ages who trail-blazed paths for women today. Without those first courageous souls who worked in fields dominated by men, women might not have the presence they currently do in professions such as education, the law, and literature. Focusing on women from Western Europe between c. 300 and 1500 CE in the medieval period and richly carpeted with detail, A Medieval Woman’s Companion offers a wealth of information about real medieval women who are now considered vital for understanding the Middle Ages in a full and nuanced way. Short biographies of 20 medieval women illustrate how they have anticipated and shaped current concerns, including access to education; creative emotional outlets such as art, theatre, romantic fiction, and music; marriage and marital rights; fertility, pregnancy, childbirth, contraception and gynecology; sex trafficing and sexual violence; the balance of work and family; faith; and disability. Their legacy abides until today in attitudes to contemporary women that have their roots in the medieval period. The final chapter suggests how 20th and 21st century feminist and gender theories can be applied to and complicated by medieval women's lives and writings. Doubly marginalised due to gender and the remoteness of the time period, medieval women’s accomplishments are acknowledged and presented in a way that readers can appreciate and find inspiring. Ideal for high school and college classroom use in courses ranging from history and literature to women's and gender studies, an accompanying website with educational links, images, downloadable curriculum guide, and interactive blog will be made available at the time of publication.Trade Review...a wonderfully illustrated and pleasant read, touring its audience through short biographies of notable women of the Christian, European Middle Ages while simultaneously providing context and historical overview… Morrison succeeds in her project to present an accessible and relevant group of medieval women to her audience… The book as a whole provides a friendly, accessible user experience. * Medieval Review *If you’re writing about medieval women or teaching medieval history or literature, this book is an essential. What a resource!Morrison does a superb job of making medieval women accessible to mainstream audiences, and tying in traditional and digital sources. * Medieval Magazine *A Medieval Woman's Companion is—I'm not exaggerating here—the best introduction I know of to the widely-varied lives of medieval women. * Story Circle Reviews *Table of ContentsIntroduction Part I: PIONEERS 1.Gudrun Osvifsdottir: Viking Vixen 2. Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir: Fearless Explorer 3. Hrotsvit of Gandersheim: First Woman Playwright 4. Anglo-Saxon and Norman Women: Political Power Dynasties and Steadfast Sovereigns Emma of Normandy; St. Margaret of Scotland; Matilda of Scotland 5. The Importance of Language Part II: FEARLESS FEMALES 6. St. Christina of Markyate: Resolute Virgin 7. Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen and Cougar 8. Margaret of Beverley: Fighting Crusader Part III: WOMEN OF WISDOM 9. Anna Komnene: Dutiful Daughter 10. Understanding the Female Body: Misogyny and Sympathy 11. Trota of Salerno: Compassionate Physician 12. Hildegard von Bingen: Audacious Innovator 13. Heloise d’Argenteuil: Scandalous Nun 14. Marie de France: Rhyming Romancer Part IV: NON-CONFORMISTS 15. Women Troubadours/Trobairitz: Clever Composers 16. Marguerite Porete: Heroic Heretic 17. St. Birgitta of Sweden: Righteous Reformer 18. Margery Kempe: Peerless Pilgrim Part V: “MOST HONORED LADIES” 19. Christine de Pizan: Vocal Feminist 20. Joan of Arc: Savior of France 21. Textile Concerns: Holy Transvestites and the Dangers of Cross-Dressing Part VI: “EXPERIENCE IS RIGHT ENOUGH FOR ME” 22. Teresa de Cartagena: Foremother of Deaf Culture 23. Margaret Paston: Matchless Matriarch 24: Looking Forward: Contemporary Feminist Theory and Medieval Women Acknowledgements Glossary Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources Websites

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Book SynopsisHow and why have women come to play a central role in the political project of Islamic revivalism and in the power struggles between Islamic and secular forces in Turkey? Ayse Saktanber rejects approaches to this issue that ask what Islam means for the position of women or see Muslim women as the 'reverse' or the 'dark' side of modernity. She examines the experiences of women for whom the discourse of modernity has no relevance and looks at the ways in which they have become crucial agents in the effort to make Islam a living social practice in a secular order. Full of fascinating accounts of the lives of Islamist women, this study is essential for anyone interested in the contemporary Muslim world.

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Book SynopsisA collection of empowering stories and captivating photos, My Beautiful Black Hair celebrates an aspect of Black femininity—natural hair—and embraces it as a central part of Black womanhood. "A powerful celebration of self-acceptance and sisterhood." – Kirkus Review My Beautiful Black Hair is a book about Black women embracing their natural hair. One hundred and one Black women share their stories of learning to love their natural hair and the immense power in that self-love. St. Clair Detrick-Jules was inspired to write the book when her little sister, Khloe, came home from preschool where a classmate had told her that her hair was ugly. St. Clair wanted to send a message to Khloe and young Black women everywhere that their hair is beautiful just the way it is. The stories she captured reveal both the depth of the physical and emotional damage done to many women by relaxing their hair and trying to make it look "acceptable," and the incredible resilience, self-love, and acceptance they gained by learning to embrace their hair and free themselves from Eurocentric beauty standards. Accompanied by beautiful and intimate photographs of each woman, the book is an encouraging voice for young Black women and the adults who remember their own journeys to self-acceptance. WRITTEN BY BLACK WOMEN, FOR BLACK WOMEN: With powerful interviews and vivid photographs, this book offers an uplifting message to empower any woman looking to love herself just the way she is. It is a love letter to Black women everywhere navigating their relationships to their own hair. TIMELY TOPIC: My Beautiful Black Hair celebrates Black women's ability to embrace their natural hair and let go of toxic thinking and processes around manipulating it. UNIQUE TAKE ON FEMINISM: This book offers an uplifting message to empower any woman looking to love herself just the way she is as well as a love letter to Black women everywhere navigating their relationships to their own hair. Perfect for: Black and Afro-Latinx women from their 20s to 40s, Black and Afro-Latinx parents with young children, fans of women's empowerment stories

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Book SynopsisMany women impacted upon the life of Moses. The woman who bore him, the young girl who shadowed him, and the foreigner who raised him are just three of the key influencers on his life. Their actions meant that a Hebrew child was reared as a prince of Egypt and became one of the greatest leaders of all time. Each woman who influenced the life of Moses was guided by God to bring his plans to pass. As you read about their lives you will discover the unique role women have to be mightily used of God too. Trade Review"Dorothy Patterson is a born Bible teacher and a marvellous mentor for Christian women everywhere. I highly recommend this book." -- Denise George (Author, teacher, speaker www.denisegeorge.org)"Dorothy Patterson is one of the most engaging teachers I have ever had the privilege to sit under. As she writes this new book Touched by Greatness, she once again has captured the student's heart and mind with her approach to the women in the life of Moses. Not only does she teach the scriptural text, she includes history, quotations, illustrations, interesting facts surrounding the woman, and even a teaching outline to make it so practical for anyone to use this to teach others. This will be one book all women will want to read and then share." -- Chris Adams"She masterfully imparts historical insights, inspiration, and instruction for women desiring to grow in wisdom serving the Lord Jesus Christ while interacting with those around them, great or small" -- Lennie B. Knight"Touched by Greatness is a book that will inspire, challenge and encourage women to be more Christ-like in their everyday lives. This book will help women understand the importance of their unique and meaningful roles -- even when the world does not take note or reward their efforts. Dr. Patterson's wisdom makes clear that whatever we do for Christ -- whether in a major role or one in the background in service to others -- will last and count for eternity." -- Janice Shaw Crouse"Dorothy Patterson reveals the creativity of God in working through women in a variety of circumstances to prepare this man of God. Every woman will perceive in these examples the potential to be used by God to influence and change another life. With a foundation of careful exegesis, readers are challenged to apply these lessons of sacrifice and courage in the context of daily decisions to influence another generation." -- Tammi Ledbetter"Behind every great man . . . are many influential women! Dorothy Patterson's book illustrates that truth through an insightful look at the women in the life of Moses. I enthusiastically recommend Touched by Greatness." -- Robert Jefress"Dr. Dorothy Patterson's thought-provoking book chronicles God's carefully crafted plan to shape the life of Moses though the women who influenced his life. Women everywhere will be inspired to be women of influence as they observe the examples of Jochebed, Miriam, and even the more obscure women who played their part in God's redemption story for the nation Israel." -- Marge Lenow"The vignettes encourage, edify, challenge, and motivate women of all ages, regardless of their giftedness or social status, to offer themselves as vessels to be used to glorify their heavenly Father." -- Patricia A. Ennis"This is one of the best books on women I have ever read! It is thoroughly engaging, practically enriching and extremely relevant for women today." -- Debbie Stuart"From the intensely important roles of his mother, wives, and sister, to the small, unnamed players in this drama, each woman's involvement in Moses' life shaped a man called by God." -- Raelene Soritau"this prolific author and woman of God has crafted an excellent resource for Bible study and personal enrichment." -- Zhava Glaser"Dorothy Patterson speaks to the very heart of women. In this insightful book you will find a kindred spirit." -- Debbie Brunson"This extensive and eloquently written work tells the inspirational stories of women who overcame major challenges and setbacks allowing God to do the work He intended through the life of Moses. Without these women who were willing to go against the norm to protect and preserve family, Moses would not have lived to accomplish what God intended. It is absolutely one of the most fascinating books written about the significance mothers and women play in family life." -- Glenda Eitel"Mrs. Patterson shares insights from several lifelong passions-in depth Bible study, observation of the role and high value of women in society and family, and the history of God's people, Israel especially during Moses' leadership. " -- Michael H. Eden"Dr. Dorothy Patterson presents deep Biblical insights and unchanging principles pertinent to the 21st century woman." -- Monica Rose"Dorothy Patterson helps us understand what it was to be a woman touched by the visionary, creative, and courageous life of Moses." -- Jaye Martin

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Book SynopsisA moving photo-story of four-year-old Kadi, subjected to female genital mutilation in accordance with the traditions of her community.Trade Review"Spinifex Press should be congratulated for having the courage to publish this book and subsequently promoting a greater awareness of FGM in the community." --"Healthsharing Women"

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Book SynopsisThis book combines Kaethe Fine's play "Wollstonecraft Live!" and the story of the 10-year campaign to raise funds and erect a statue on Newington Green in London, in honour of Mary Wollstonecraft, the "Mother" of Feminism. The unveiling of the sculpture by Maggi Hambling caused controversy with some viewers attempting to cover it up and others praising the originality of the artwork. Fine's play was performed to celebrate the regeneration project and to raise awareness of the campaign for a statue honouring the 18th century radical. The play depicts the shooting of a film about the relationship between Mary Wollstonecraft and the writer William Godwin. Their daughter, Mary, would become the author of a classic: Frankenstein.Trade Review'Mother of feminism reborn in triplicate. Wollstonecraft makes for a great multimedia heroine. Long may she live!' -The Independent; 'The dialogue provides a satirical commentary on the preoccupations of the film industry. More importantly, however, it invites reflection on the way commercial interests and gendered assumptions can shape Hollywood biopics of women, flattening complex personhood into cliched narratives of frustration and victimhood or - patronising in their own way - one-dimensional portraits of feisty, go-getting feminists... If Wollstonecraft Live! is postmodern in its self-consciousness, it also has the emotional intensity and spontaneity of abstract expressionism - disorientating but powerful. ' - Laura Kirkley, Newcastle University https://www.bsecs.org.uk/criticks-reviews/wollstonecraft-live-search-mary/; 'Past and present are superimposed onto each other, an editing technique which maps the present moment onto the history of the site, subjectivity onto context : the canvas of the site is used to dive into issues of contemporary culture.' - Live Art Magazine issue 36;

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Book SynopsisThe scholarship, research, and criticism of women who developed key theories of communication and methods for the study of media.The Ghost Reader: Recovering Women’s Contributions to Media Studies offers a fresh perspective on the intellectual history of the field of media studies, a broad scholarly field that encompasses the interdisciplinary and overlapping fields of media studies, cultural studies, and communication studies. By recovering the work of the diverse group of women who labored at the margins of media studies as it took shape during the formative years of communication research between the 1930s and the 1950s, and providing scholarly contexts for this work, The Ghost Reader shows that “intersectional considerations” were key modes of engagement for intellectuals, academics, and activists who happened to be women. They did so decades before feminist perspectives were reintegrated into histories of the field.

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Book SynopsisDiscourse concerning the ordination of women to ministry in the Christian Churches is over 200 hundred years old and spans the geoprpahical regions of the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia as well as Australia and the Pacific. Women have been present as ordained ministers in reformed churches since 1953. Yes, the debate still rages in some churches. This collections of essays examine the deabtes in many of these churches.

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Book SynopsisAs the fastest growing prison population worldwide, more and more women are living in cages and most of them are mothers. This alarming trend has huge ramifications for women, children and communities across the globe. Empathy for mothers behind bars and concern for criminalized mothers in the community is in short supply. Mothers are criminalized for their vulnerabilities and for making unpopular but difficult choices under material and ideological conditions not of their own choosing. Criminalized Mothers, Criminalizing Mothering shines a spotlight on mothers who are, by law or social regulation, criminalized and examines their troubles and triumphs. This book offers a critical and compassionate lens on social (in)justice, mass incarceration, and collective miseries women experience (i.e., economic inequality, gendered violence, devalued care work, lone-parenting etc.). This book is also about mothers’ encounters with systems of control, confinement, and criminalization, but also their experiences of care.

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