Discourse analysis has become a popular approach to research across the social sciences, and a particularly important tool for feminist psychologists. This study examines a range of discourse analytical work in psychology from a feminist perspective. It constitutes a thorough critical evaluation of this approach for the feminist project of intellectual, social and political change. Researchers explore the benefits and contradictions of discourse analysis and consider its value for feminist psychology. The first part of the text illustrates the application of discourse analysis to four key topics of feminist concern: adolescent knowledge about menstruation, sexual harassment, gendered representations of childhood, and anorexia nervosa. The second part contains five assessments of the usefulness of discourse analysis - both as theory and as method - for feminists.
Table of Contents:
Introduction - Sue Wilkinson and Celia Kitzinger
PART ONE: EMPIRICAL WORK
The Bleeding Body - Kathryn Matthews Lovering
Adolescents Talk about Menstruation
Sexual Harassment - Celia Kitzinger and Alison Thomas
A Discursive Approach
`What Is It?′ Masculinity and Femininity in Cultural Representations of Childhood - Erica Burman
Conflicting Opinions? `Anorexia Nervosa′, Medicine and Feminism - Julie Hepworth and Christine Griffin
PART TWO: THEORETICAL ADVANCES
Feminist Discourses and Women′s Heterosexual Desire - Wendy Hollway
Identity, Politics and Talk - Sue Widdicombe
A Case for the Mundane and the Everyday
Romantic Discourse and Feminist Analysis - Margaret Wetherell
Interrogating Investment, Power and Desire
Pragmatism, Extravagance and Feminist Discourse Analysis - Corinne Squire
Relativism, Reflexivity and Politics - Rosalind Gill
Interrogating Discourse Analysis from a Feminist Perspective
About the Author :
Sue Wilkinson and Celia Kitzinger are active members of the Loughborough Discourse and Rhetoric Group (DARG) and teach courses on Feminism and Psychology in the Department of Social Sciences at Loughborough University. Wilkinson: Feminism and Discourse
CONTRIBUTORS OUTSIDE WESTERN HEMISPHERE
Erica Burman Manchester Metropolitan University
Anna Dempsey Loughborough University
Rosalind Gill Brunel University
Christine Griffin Birmingham University
Julie Hepworth Birmingham University
Kathryn Matthews Lovering University of Plymouth
Deborah Marks Manchester Metropolitan University
Corinne Squire Brunel University
Alison Thomas University of East London
Margaret Wetherell Open University
Sue Widdicombe Edinburgh University
Review :
`I find the issues raised by these contributors to be both interesting and significant′ - Language and Literature
`Whether you are a feminist psychologist or simply a psychologist engaging with the challenges of discourse analytic work, this book is highly recommended... this is the first text of its kind dealing specifically with discourse analysis from a feminist psychological perspective... [a] long overdue collection. As a seminal work adding to the debate surrounding discourse analysis, it is a vital book for anyone engaged in discursive and/or feminist psychological work′ - The Psychologist
`This much-needed project brings together the newest scholarship on the intersection of discourse analysis, feminism and psychology... a stimulating and complex picture of the state of theory and practice in politically progressive psychological discourse analysis′ - Discourse & Society
