Managing the Monstorous Feminine takes a unique approach to the study of the material and discursive practices associated with the construction and regulation of the female body. Jane Ussher examines the ways in which medicine, science, the law and culture combine to produce fictions about femininity, locating the female body as the source of women's power, danger and weakness.

Including sections on "Regulation", "The subjectification of women" and "Women's negotiation and resistance", this book describes the construction of the "monstrous feminine" that we see depicted in art, literature and film, revealing the implications on theory, research and practice. Critical reviews are combined with case studies and extensive interview material to illuminate discussions of subjects including:
? The regulation of women through sexual violence and abuse
? Regimes of knowledge associated with reproduction
? Intersubjectivity and the body
? Women's narratives of resistance

These insights into the relation between the construction of the female body and women's subjectivity will be of interest to those studying social psychology, gender studies and cultural studies.