The thin woman : feminism, post-structuralism and the social psychology of anorexia nervosa /
Helen Malson.
- London : Routledge, 1998.
- xv, 234p. ; 24 cm.
- Women and psychology .
Includes bibliographical references (p. 203-224) and index.
In The Thin Woman, Helen Malson aims to place gender in a position of central importance in the discussions surrounding anorexia. She argues that anorexia is not just a medical issue, & should be viewed within a wider social & political context. The Thin Woman provides an in-depth discussion of anorexia nervosa from a feminist social psychological standpoint. Medicine, psychiatry and psychology have all presented us with particular ways of understanding eating disorders, yet the notion of 'anorexia' as a medical condition limits our understanding of anorexia and the extent to which we can explore it as a socially, discursively produced problem.Based on original research using historical and contemporary literature on anorexia nervosa, and a series of interviews with women diagnosed as anorexic, The Thin Woman offers new insights into the problem. It will prove useful both to those with an interest in eating disorders and gender, and to those interested in the new developments in feminist post-structuralist theory and discourse analytic research in psychology.
Anorexia nervosa. Women--Health and hygiene--Sociological aspects. Health and Wellbeing. Psychology Psychological theory & schools of thought Psychology of gender Gender studies, gender groups Clinical psychology Sociology Eating disorders & therapy Social, group or collective psychology Health psychology Psychotherapy Feminism & feminist theory Psychology: sexual behaviour Anorexia Nervosa--history Anorexia Nervosa--psychology Body Image Feminism Sociology, Medical Women's Health