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Adventures in Feminist Health Psychology: Teaching about and Conducting Feminist Psychological Science

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Feminist Perspectives on Building a Better Psychological Science of Gender

Abstract

Feminist psychology and health psychology both coalesced into organized fields of scientific study and clinical practice in the 1970s. However, there has been relatively little integration of the two fields. In this chapter, the authors consider why it can be difficult to conduct feminist research in health psychology and teach health psychology from a feminist perspective. Reasons include changing perspectives on “feminists” and “feminism” and differences in philosophical approaches (e.g., medicalization, research methods) that can be difficult to reconcile. The authors also discuss strategies they have employed in their careers as feminist psychologists with strong interests in health psychology.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Connecticut College, New London, CT, USA

    Joan C. Chrisler & Jennifer A. Gorman

Authors
  1. Joan C. Chrisler
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  2. Jennifer A. Gorman
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joan C. Chrisler .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

    Tomi-Ann Roberts

  2. Psychology, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

    Nicola Curtin

  3. Psychology, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, USA

    Lauren E. Duncan

  4. Psychology and Women’s Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

    Lilia M. Cortina

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Chrisler, J.C., Gorman, J.A. (2016). Adventures in Feminist Health Psychology: Teaching about and Conducting Feminist Psychological Science. In: Roberts, TA., Curtin, N., Duncan, L., Cortina, L. (eds) Feminist Perspectives on Building a Better Psychological Science of Gender. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32141-7_10

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