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Feminism as Therapy
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130 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 11, 2024
CAN FEMINISM AND WOMEN'S GROUPS FUNCTION AS "THERAPY“?
At the time this book was published in 1974, Anica Vesel Mander had taught "at various universities. She is presently devoting her energies to feminism"; she also wrote Blood ties: A woman's history. Anne Kent Rush was "a feminist body therapist" as well as the author of 'The Way of Stretching: Flexibility for Body and Mind,' 'Getting Clear: Body Work for Women,' 'The Modern Book of Yoga,' etc.
They wrote in the Introduction, "During the years we have been working in women's groups... two questions have come up repeatedly: what is feminism? and: what is therapy? There are many variations of these questions:... How does a woman's group differ from a therapy group? What is feminist therapy? Is therapy contradictory to the political consciousness of feminism? ... it struck us that the answer was simple: feminism can and does function as therapy. More and more people are becoming involved in this healing process and, therefore relating differently to themselves, to their environment and to other branches of the healing professions." (Pg. 3)
They add, "in spite of surface differences we are working on the same basic woman-identified ideology; that we want to restore the female principle and that this needs to be done in all the ways simultaneously. It is this recognition of the multi-faceted female consciousness emerging in the world as a healing principle that prompts us to write this book." (Pg. 8-9)
Mander wrote, "Those of us who have been well-educated, i.e., brainwashed with male concepts, know a lot of theories: we know that facts need to be documented, we know that logic can guide us toward acceptable conclusions and we know that if we want to make it in the world, we will not cry, we will not lose our temper and we will not interrupt... But there is another knowledge operating---one that has replaced the old: the knowledge that I have gained from other women. The only theories that work for me are those that match up with my feelings." (Pg. 21)
In an interview with Karen Petersen [co-author of 'Women Artists Through Ten Centuries: Recognition and Reappraisal], she states, "And so the question is where to find women artists? Why aren't women's works included in the books? First, it's hard to find good color reproductions of women's work because color reproduction is expensive and is reserved for famous male artists. And secondly, when the works of women's artists... are reproduced the token works chosen tend to be a typical woman's theme: a mother and child or a young girl. Minority artists have the same problem. Whatever male artists find non-threatening, the works that suit their vision of what women artists ought to be, that is all they will recognize." (Pg. 80)
More about feminism than about "therapy" as such, this book will be of most interest to those studying the earlier phases of the women's movement (particularly the woman-identified branch of it).
At the time this book was published in 1974, Anica Vesel Mander had taught "at various universities. She is presently devoting her energies to feminism"; she also wrote Blood ties: A woman's history. Anne Kent Rush was "a feminist body therapist" as well as the author of 'The Way of Stretching: Flexibility for Body and Mind,' 'Getting Clear: Body Work for Women,' 'The Modern Book of Yoga,' etc.
They wrote in the Introduction, "During the years we have been working in women's groups... two questions have come up repeatedly: what is feminism? and: what is therapy? There are many variations of these questions:... How does a woman's group differ from a therapy group? What is feminist therapy? Is therapy contradictory to the political consciousness of feminism? ... it struck us that the answer was simple: feminism can and does function as therapy. More and more people are becoming involved in this healing process and, therefore relating differently to themselves, to their environment and to other branches of the healing professions." (Pg. 3)
They add, "in spite of surface differences we are working on the same basic woman-identified ideology; that we want to restore the female principle and that this needs to be done in all the ways simultaneously. It is this recognition of the multi-faceted female consciousness emerging in the world as a healing principle that prompts us to write this book." (Pg. 8-9)
Mander wrote, "Those of us who have been well-educated, i.e., brainwashed with male concepts, know a lot of theories: we know that facts need to be documented, we know that logic can guide us toward acceptable conclusions and we know that if we want to make it in the world, we will not cry, we will not lose our temper and we will not interrupt... But there is another knowledge operating---one that has replaced the old: the knowledge that I have gained from other women. The only theories that work for me are those that match up with my feelings." (Pg. 21)
In an interview with Karen Petersen [co-author of 'Women Artists Through Ten Centuries: Recognition and Reappraisal], she states, "And so the question is where to find women artists? Why aren't women's works included in the books? First, it's hard to find good color reproductions of women's work because color reproduction is expensive and is reserved for famous male artists. And secondly, when the works of women's artists... are reproduced the token works chosen tend to be a typical woman's theme: a mother and child or a young girl. Minority artists have the same problem. Whatever male artists find non-threatening, the works that suit their vision of what women artists ought to be, that is all they will recognize." (Pg. 80)
More about feminism than about "therapy" as such, this book will be of most interest to those studying the earlier phases of the women's movement (particularly the woman-identified branch of it).
November 1, 2025
Found this at a used bookstore in London, and it's a real time capsule. I appreciated the authors' unvarnished take on feminism, current (at the time) therapy practices and how the two could intersect or not. If nothing else, it's interesting from an anthropological perspective.
May 31, 2007
I STARTED READING THIS WHILE I WAS DOING COMMUNITY SERVICE AT THE SALVATION ARMY. I FIGURED I MAY AS WELL BUY IT, AS IT WAS ONLY .50. HAVEN'T PICKED IT BACK UP BUT I WILL EVENTUALLY.
FEMINISM
THERAPY
LOL WUT
I can't find it, maybe I threw it away. Oh well.
FEMINISM
THERAPY
LOL WUT
I can't find it, maybe I threw it away. Oh well.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews