Wrong Prescription for Women

Maureen C. McHugh, PhD, teaches gender and diversity at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP).Joan C. Chrisler, PhD, is the Class of 1943 Professor of Psychology at Connecticut College.

The threads that tie the volume together are clear: the pathologizing and undervaluing of women's health-related experiences; the double-edged sword of medicalization, which can take women's health risks seriously while patronizingly 'localizing authority for [their health] care in the hands of physicians' (to quote the chapter titled 'Pregnancy and Birth as a Medical Crisis'); and social context and the influences of the media. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

• Series ForewordMichele A. Paludi, Series EditorForewordPaula J. CaplanIntroduction: The Medicalization of Women's Bodies and Everyday ExperienceMaureen C. McHugh and Joan C. Chrisler1. Pregnancy and Birth as a Medical CrisisRuthbeth D. Finerman, Adriane M. F. Sanders, and Lynda M. Sagrestano2. (Re)Productive Disorders: The Expanding Marketplace of Infertility MedicineEmily Breitkopf and Lisa R. Rubin3. The Medicalization of the Menstrual Cycle: Menstruation as a DisorderJessica Barnack-Tavlaris4. The Medicalization of Women's Moods: Premenstrual Syndrome and Premenstrual Dysphoric DisorderJoan C. Chrisler and Jennifer A. Gorman5. Menopause: Deficiency Disease or Normal Reproductive Transition?Heather Dillaway6. Menopause and Sexuality: Resisting Representations of the Abject Asexual WomanJane M. Ussher, Janette Perz, and Chloe Parton7. Women's Sexual Problems: Is There a Pill for That?Leonore Tiefer8. The Thin Ideal: A "Wrong Prescription" Sold to Many and Achievable by FewMindy J. Erchull9. From Fat Shaming to Size Acceptance: Challenging the Medical Management of Fat WomenAshley E. Kasardo and Maureen C. McHugh10. Medicalizing Women's Weight: Bariatric Surgery and Weight-Loss DrugsJulie Konik and Christine A. Smith11. Can Women's Body Image Be "Fixed"? Women's Bodies, Well-Being, and Cosmetic SurgeryCharlotte N. Markey and Patrick M. Markey12. Women's Loss of Self through Antidepressants: The Depression Diagnosis as a Form of Social ControlAlisha Ali13. Mourning Matters: Women and the Medicalization of GriefLeeat GranekIndexAbout the Editors and Contributors