Crazy for You: The Making of Women's Madness

Rating:
Summary: new look at an old subject
Review: This book takes a new look at tradional ways of thinking which have defined women as mad. Astbury points out the flaws in defining men and their experiences as normal and women as pathological when they deviate from this norm. "Science" has long defined women as more mentally ill than men, and attributed women's increased rates of mental illness to women's minds and women's bodies, rather than looking at cultural causes. This book examines historical views about women's mental health, paying close attention to Freud. She proposes alternative ways of viewing old theories and discusses the long ignored impact of childhood sexual abuse on women's lives and mental health.