But for women especially, bras, panties, bathing suits, and other stereotypical gear are visual reminders of a commercial, idealized feminine image that our real and diverse female bodies can’t possibly fit. Without those visual references, however, each individual woman’s body can be accepted on its own terms. We stop being comparatives. We begin to be unique.After spending a few days at a spa in the company of 90 or so women, Gloria Steinem wrote In Praise of Women’s Bodies, a short but powerful essay that’s part ode and part treatise and fully in awe of the female form, in all its unique variety. In Praise of Women’s Bodies was originally published in Ms., April 1982. Cover design by Adil Dara.

    Published decades ago, it made women's voices heard, in their own right, with their own integrity, for virtually the 1st time in social scientific theorizing about women. Its impact was immediate & continues in the academic world & beyond. Translated into 16 languages, with over 750,000 copies sold. In a Different Voice has inspired new research, new educational initiatives & political debate--& helped many women & men to see themselves & each other in a different light. Gilligan believes that psychology has persistently & systematically misunderstood women: their motives, their moral commitments, the course of their psychological growth & their special view of what is important in life. Here she sets out to correct psychology's misperceptions & refocus its view of female personality. The result is a tour de force, which may reshape much of what psychology now has to say about female experience.AcknowledgmentsIntroductionWoman's place in man's life cycleImages of relationship Concepts of self & moralityCrisis & transition Women's rights & women's judgmentVisions of maturityReferencesIndex of Study ParticipantsGeneral Index

    a classic work." --Phyllis CheslerOne out of seven American women who have ever been married has been raped by a husband or ex-husband. Written by the principal investigator for the National Institute of Mental Health study that discovered this shocking statistic, this book is a monumental, eye-opening work that dispels misinformation and illusions about a previously ignored aspect of family violence.

    The voices of women such as Abbess Hildegard of Bingen, Clara Schumann, and Marian Anderson resonate as they emerge from the wide range of materials in this volume, which includes letters, diaries, poems, novels, and reviews that reveal women's achievements not only as patrons and educators but also as composers and performers.

    An examination of lesbian eroticism, this is a powerful book of poems about one woman's escape from deadening housewifery to a new world of liberating artistic creation and love between women.