Cost of Competence: Why Inequality Causes Depression, Eating Disorders, and Illness in Women

Cary, North Carolina, U.S.A.: Oxford Univ Pr on Demand, 1995. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. Moderate shelf wear to pricaea-clipped dust jacket. Spine is tight; pgs are unmarked. Nice, sturdy copy. From Booklist, Denise Perry Donavin : "Drawing upon their own and other recent scientific studies and biographies of notable historical women, the authors demonstrate that eating disorders are not a new social phenomena and that they are inexorably linked to the "limited traditional definition of what it means to be female." The use of historical figures--actresses, scientists, authors, activists, and world leaders--lends an interesting aura to this reevaluation of the reasons behind anxious somatic depression, anorexia, and overeating. The authors emphasize that preferential treatment of sons, devaluation of mothers, and other instances of inequality in the home, educational world, and workplace have affected even the most outwardly successful woman. Scientific methodology is cited within the appendix along with a guide to references to famous women.".