Feminist Perspectives on Eating Disorders

This important work illuminates the relationship between the anguish of eating disorder sufferers and the problems of ordinary women. It covers a wide variety of issues from ways in which gender may predispose women to eating disorders to the widespread cultural concerns these problems symbolize. Chapters all share three basic elements: The psychology of women is reflected in the concepts and methods described; there is an explicit commitment to political and social equality for women; and therapy is reevaluated based on an understanding of the needs of women patients and the potentially differing contributions of male and female therapists.

Patricia Fallon, Ph.D., is a psychologist in private practice and a clinical faculty member, University of Washington, Seattle. She serves on the editorial board of Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment & Prevention and speaks frequently at conferences on feminist theory and treatment of eating disorders. She is co-author of Bulimia: A Systems Approach to Treatment and author of articles in the areas of eating disorders, family therapy, and abuse. Melanie A. Katzman, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist in private practice in New York City and serves on the faculty of New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. She is on the editorial board of Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment & Prevention and lectures frequently to national audiences. The author of articles and book chapters on eating disorders, women's issues, and group therapy, she is the co-author of two books, Treating Bulimia: Psycho-Educational Approach and You Can't Have Your Cake and Eat It Too.Susan C. Wooley, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology and Co-founder and Co-Director of the Eating Disorders Clinic in the Psychiatry Department, University of Cincinnati Medical College. Widely published in the fields of obesity, eating disorders, and body image, she is especially noted for her feminist orientation to these topics. A consulting editor to a number of journals, who serves on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Eating Disorders and Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention, she is a frequent presenter at national conferences and is currently nearing completion of her own book, Screaming in a Different Language.