LSHTM books on women's health

Books on women and health

To commemorate International Women’s Day (March 8th) here are a few books from the LSHTM Library collection focussing on women’s health and women’s rights.

Book: Women & Health by Goldman. Image: Amazon.co.ukWomen and health by Marlene B. Goldman and Maureen C. Hatch (Academic Press, 2000).

Library classmark: SOE.W 2000

A comprehensive work with an international perspective. Includes physical issues and conditions along with some of the social and behavioural factors that affect health.

Aimed at academics, public health workers and physicians.


Book: Handbook of Womens Health by Rosenfeld. Image: Amazon.co.ukHandbook of women’s health : an evidence-based approach edited by Jo Ann Rosenfeld (Cambridge University Press, 2001).

Library classmark: SOE.W 2001

Emphasises collaborative care between the person and their healthcare provider. Sections include preventive care, psychosocial health, sexuality, genitourinary medicine, breast disorders, psychological disorders, and common medical problems.


Book: Well Women edited by Morris and Nott. Image: Amazon.co.ukWell women : the gendered nature of health care provision edited by Anne Morris and Susan Nott (Ashgate, 2002)

Library classmark: ZVB.W 2002

A collection of 8 essays looking at women as recipients and providers of health care.

Essay titles include:
– “Care, control or coercion? Women in the mental health system in Ireland, England and Wales”;
– “Body beautiful? Feminist perspectives on the World Health  Organization”;
– “Psychologizing abortion: women’s ‘mental health’ and the regulation of abortion in Britain”;
“Infertility treatment and the HIV positive woman: old moral prejudices disguised as new ethical dilemmas”.


Book: Women and gender equity in development theory and practice. Image: Amazon.co.ukWomen and gender equity in development theory and practice edited by Jane S. Jaquette and Gale Summerfield (Duke University Press, 2006)

Library classmark: ZVB.W 2006

This book draws on the experience and research of academics, policymakers and development workers in Latin America, Asia and Africa to analyse international development themes in the context of women’s well-being.

Organised into three parts dealing with institutional opportunities and barriers, control of resources and livelihood, and mobilization.


Book: hooks Feminist Theory. Image from Amazon.co.ukFeminist theory from margin to center (2nd ed.) by bell hooks  (Pluto Press, 2000)

Library classmark: ZVB.W 2000 (Reference only)

In this classic piece of feminist writing, author bell hooks argues for the end of gender oppression and a fundamental transformation of society.

First published in the 1980s, the book challenged mainstream feminism to acknowledge the involvement and leadership of poor and non-white women in the liberation movement.


Book: Why do some men use violence against women... Image: Partners4PreventionWhy do some men use violence against women and how can we prevent it? by Emma Fulu, Xian Warner, Stephanie Miedema, Rachel Jewkes, Tim Roselli and James Lang (UNDP, UNFPA, UN Women and UNV, 2013)

Library classmark: TJH.W.21

Report of a UN study conducted with over 10,000 men in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Papua New Guinea exploring the prevalence of men’s use of violence against women and the complex interplay of factors that makes it more or less likely to occur.


Book: GirlsAndSex by Orenstein. Image: Amazon.co.ukGirls and sex : navigating the complicated new landscape by Peggy Orenstein (Harper, 2016)

Library classmark: UTL.W.6 2016

American journalist and author Peggy Orenstein reflects on interviews with psychologists, academics, experts and over 70 young women to offer insights into current sexuality and sexual practice.

“Did today’s young women have more freedom than their mothers to shape their sexual encounters, more influence and more control within them?”, Orenstein asks.  “Were they better able to resist stigma, better equipped to explore joy? And if not, why not?”


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