Description
Book SynopsisA survey of how women have been represented and influenced by the therapeutic culture from the mid-19th century. Dana Becker examines the myth that the problems women have are medical rather than societal; personal rather than political.
Trade ReviewThe Myth of Empowerment artfully documents 150 years of American efforts at self-improvement. Re-reading such sociological classics as Bellah, Lasch, Reiff, and Reissman, Becker expands (and sometimes explodes) their arguments by inserting women into their accounts of social life. Moving next to a savvy account of popular women-centered therapies arising out of the late 20th century feminism, Becker shows how they unwittingly incorporate some of the very premises that they repudiate. The Myth of Empowerment--delightfully informed by a witty sensibility, written with brio and clarity, and cast in elegant prose--is compelling reading. -- Jeanne Maracek
Dana Becker writes that for the past few decades women have been encouraged to believe that by taking care of their psychological selves they are becoming ever more powerful. Not so. In this intelligent and chilling examination, Becker traces how the repackaging of the psychological as power has led to the ultimate colonization of women's psyches. She is a beautiful writer, an exacting historian of ideas, and a tremendously intelligent guide through these troubled waters. -- Sharon Lamb,Professor of Psychology, Saint Michael's College and author of The Secret Lives of Girls and The Trouble with Blame
I was impressed with how the author marshaled this critical literature into a coherent and...compelling narrative. * Social Service Review *
