This landmark text introduces readers to the field of women's studies by analyzing the contradictions between social and cultural "givens" and the realities that women face in society. Written collectively by nine authors from various disciplines, Women's Realities, Women's Choices, Third Edition, has been updated to incorporate the latest research and statistics in the field. Covering the most recent developments in politics, labor, family life, religion, and culture, the book also features extensive research on relevant social issues, such as the impact of the post-Soviet world on women's lives, the experience of homosexuality in family life, and the effects of economic globalization on women worldwide. This edition features a discussion of the cultural construction of women's bodies, the expectations of girlhood, new perspectives on women's partnering roles, and the serious health issues women face today. Boxes and pictures now contain more information on the current cultural scene, including material on popular culture and women in music. Examining women as individuals, as family members, and as a force in the greater social fabric, Women's Realities, Women's Choices remains the most timely, comprehensive, and compelling introduction to the field of women's studies.

Each chapter ends with a Summary, Discussion Questions, Recommended Readings, and References. Introduction Women's Studies in the Twenty-first Century What is Women's Studies? Women's Studies and Feminism History of Women's Studies Missing Information About Humans Changed Views of Women and Men Issues and Goals Race, Class, and Other Oppressions Women's Studies as an Academic Discipline Women's Studies as a Source of Strength How This Book Presents Women's Studies References I. Defining Women 1. Imagery and Symbolism in the Definition of Women The Meaning of Imagery and Symbolism Experience, Perception, and the Symbolic Construction of Reality Classification and Perception Shaping of Reality Imagery and Symbolism in the Definition of Women The Construction of Images and Symbols The Use of Symbols and Their Influence The Use of Symbols and Their Influence Language Myths, Fantasies, and Imagery Some Predominant Imagery Frightening Females Venerated Madonnas Sex Objects Earth Mothers Women as Invisible The Effect of thee Images on Women Changing Reality by Changing Images Participating in Imagery Construction: An Example Women Define Themselves Women's Search for Self through Art Historical Perspective Contemporary Feminist Imagery Women's Search for Self through Literature Discovering Models in Women's Culture The Heroine Women's Words Women's Identity in Utopia The Propagation of Feminist Imagery of Women Conclusion: Being Whole 2. Ideas and Theories about Women Definitions and Theories Women as "Other" Women's "Nature" Contemporary Efforts to Define "Woman" Rethinking Knowledge Feminist Diversity Ideas about Freedom and Equality Liberalism and Feminism Wollstonecraft Mill and Taylor Contemporary Liberal Feminism Conservative Sentiments and Feminism Alternative Contemporary Feminist Views Socialist Feminism Radical Feminism Other Western Feminisms The Ethics of Care A Feminist Agenda Principles in Action 3. Women's Bodies The Body as Cultural Construct Feminism and the Body Mind/Body Dualism The Body as Natural The Nature of Sex Differences The Gendered Brain Sex(ing) Hormones Genital Anatomy Chromosomes The Politics of "Nature" Discourse/Knowledge/Power The Medicalization of the Body Discourses of Sexuality Body as Text The Commodified Body The Visibility Politics of the Body The Reproductive Politics of the Body Summary Discussion Questions Recommended Readings References 4. Women's Personalities Explanations for Differences between Women and Men Nature versus Nurture Biases in Research Studies Is Anatomy Destiny? Evolutionary Theories Traditional Psychoanalytic Theory Alternative Feminist Psychodynamic Theories The Importance of Culture The Importance of Relatedness Feminism and the Lacanian Turn Cognitive-Developmental Theory Socialization Theories Social Learning Theory Gender Schema Theory Social Interactions and Gender Roles Research on Gender Socialization The Gender Socialization of White Girls The Gender Socialization of African American Girls The Gender Socialization of Asian American Girls The Gender Socialization of Latino Girls in the U.S. The Impact of Gender Socialization Is There a Lesbian Psychology? Women and Aging Psychology and Culture: Implications for Feminism 5. Diversity among Women: Gender, Race, and Class Social Roles and the Individual The Determinants of Role Assignment Gender Race and Class Post-Modern Perspectives Social Roles and Social Stereotypes The Social Construction of Gender Race Ethnicity Understanding Contextual Difference Class, Race, Ethnicity, and Gender Rationalization and Resistance Constraints on Choice Resistance A New Consciousness of Choice Commonalties of Experience Family Roles Alternative Roles Society and Social Control The "Heterosexual Prescription" The Social Construction of Human Beings II. Families 6. Daughters and Sisters Daughter in the Family Female Infanticide The Value of Daughters Naming the Daughter Daughter's Work Parental Relationships Daughters and Mothers Daughters and Fathers Girlhood Sibling Relationships Sisters as Opposites and Companions Sister-Brother Relations Inheritance The Sisterhood of Women 7. Family Configurations: Wives, Partners, Alternatives Conventional Marriage Why Marry? Whom to Marry? The Marital Household The Incorporated Wife Children in the Family Western Marriage in Historical Perspective Infidelity Divorce Widowhood Marriage as an Institution at the Beginning of the Twenty-first Century Alternatives to Conventional Marriage Religious Communities Laboring Communities Utopian and Experimental Communities Alternative Families Single Parents Domestic Partners, Co-Habitations, Consensual Unions Visiting Unions Role Reversals Families of Women Choosing Not to Mother, Childless Couples Women on Their Own 8. Motherhood Images of Motherhood Perspectives: Who Creates the Image? "The Happy Mother": A Western Image as Political Ideology "Ethnic Mothers" and Social Mobility "Motherhood and the Media Mothers Speak Out Parental Behavior: "Instinct" and Culture Motherhood: Ideology and Reality The Assignment of Motherhood: Whose Interest Does it Serve? The Cultural Shaping of Biological Events Attitudes Toward Pregnancy Childbirth: A Cultural or a Natural Event? Breast-Feeding: Attitudes and Choices Support Systems: Fathers, Women's Networks, and Institutionalized and Societal Support Fathers Women's Networks, Community and Institutionalized Supports Child Rearing Manuals Choices and Control: Politics of Motherhood Whether, When, and How Often to Become a Mother Control over Children Working for Wages "Unnatural" Mothers: Mothers Who Give up Their Children Women Other Than Birth Mothers Who Mother Stepmothers Foster Mothers and Adoptive Mothers Godmothers III. Women In Society 9. Women and Religion Religious Beliefs What is Religion? Religion and Social Reform Established Religions Religions in Small Scale Societies World Religions Origin Myths Females in the Supernatural World Immortal Women: Souls, Saints, and Ghosts Goddesses The Gender of God Religion and Social Controls Religion and the Family Life-Cycle Rituals Sexual Controls Protection of Women Beyond the Family Women as Worshipers Syncretistic and Evangelistic Religions Women and Religious Movements Fundamentalism and Women's Human Rights Women as Religious Leaders Healers Missionaries and Martyrs Religious Expression The Religious Experience of Women Possession Women's Religious Groups and Orders Women and Religion in the United States Leadership by Women Protestant Denominations Jewish Denominations Catholicism Feminist Contributions to Religious Change 10. Women and Education Epistemology and the Politics of Knowledge Epistemologies as Political Systems The Politics of Knowledge and the Rise of Feminist Scholarship Education as a Contested Arena: Who Should be Educated? Women's Struggles for Formal Education in the Past European Colonization and Women's Education Education in the Developing World Today Affirmative Action in the United States Diversity in Higher Education Education as a Contested Arena: What Should Be Taught? Women's Traditional Knowledge Formal Knowledge Defined by Men The Goals of Women's Education Debated The Debate in the United States Modern Culture Wars The Struggle for Equal Access to Knowledge Expansion of Access to Higher Education Re-entry Women Transforming the Curriculum Schools as Socializers Elementary Schools Secondary Schools Higher Education Schools as Gendered Workplaces Education as Assimilation The Native American Experience The African American Experience Assimilation and the Immigrant Experience Empowering Women Learners Importance of Education Professional Advancement and Women's Realities Women's Studies and Critical Feminist Pedagogy 11. Women's Health The Women's Health Movement Redefining Health New Approaches Reforming the Health Care System Uncovering the Gender Dynamics of Western Medicine Woman as Deviant Woman as "The Weaker Sex" The Medicalization of Life Processes Menstruation Birth Control Abortion Childbirth Menopause Sexuality The Impact of Gender, Social, and Cultural Disparities on Women's Health Health Status and Risks Poverty Racial/Ethnic Discrimination Occupational Health Risks Violence: Physical Abuse and Rape Women and Physical Health: Some Specific Concerns Heart Disease Cancer Sexually Transmitted Diseases Birth Control, Sterilization, and Abortion Hysterectomy Osteoporosis Women and Mental Health Depression Issues in Therapy Addressing Homophobic Bias Drug Therapy Women as Special Risk/Vulnerable Populations Refugee, Disabled, Elderly and Incarcerated Women 12. Women and Work The Labor of Women Division of Labor by Gender Maintenance of the Domestic Unit Women's Work in the Marketplace The Contribution of Women to Economic Development The Domestic Mode of Production Food Production Maintenance Exchange and Marketing The Capitalist Mode of Production Urbanization and Class Distinction Working for Wages: Its Organizational Prerequisites Women's Work Globalization and the Transformation of Work Race, Ethnicity, and Work in the United States Self-Employment Unemployment The Politics of Work: Barriers and Strategies Conflict and Competition Between Women and Men Sexual and Gender Harassment Social Support for Working Women Laws against Sexist Job Discrimination Equal Pay-Comparable Worth Impact of the Women's Movement 13. Women and Political Behavior Feminism and Politics "The Personal is Political Politics and the "Public" Sphere Political Power What is Power? Power and Authority Types of Government Women's Political Power in the Past Patterns of Male Dominance Patterns of Male Dominance Women as Political Leaders Recent Political Gains of Women in the United States Political Gains of Women in Office Around the Globe Do Women in Office Make a Difference? Obstacles Facing Women in Politics Women as Citizens Women and War Women and the Law Women's Voluntary Associations Equal Rights The Struggle for the Vote The Modern Women's Liberation Movement Global Feminism The Political Climate in the New Millennium Index

Hunter College Women's Studies Collective, Ülkü Ü. Bates, Florence L. Denmark, Virginia Held, Dorothy O. Helly, Shirley Hune, Susan H. Lees, Frances E. Mascia-Lees, Sarah B. Pomeroy, Carolyn M. Somerville

"By far the finest text for Women's Studies I have seen. . . . A balanced, reasonable, comprehensive, and academically sound review."--M. Joanne Fisher, Loyola Marymount University |k No