Feminist Theory and Family Medicine

In this wonderfully written book Lucy Candib brings a feminist perspective to that bastion of male privilege, medicine. You owe it to yourself to read this landmark book--it is stimulating, poignant, inspiring, and revolutionary.

Susan H. McDaniel, Ph.D.

Drawing on the best of feminist thought and her own rich experience as a caring physician, Lucy Candib has written a wise and wonderful book--a pathbreaking work.


Nel Noddings
Stanford University

For centuries, traditional medicine has been infused with masculine bias, often to the disadvantage of both doctors and patients. In this compelling book, Lucy M. Candib challenges prevailing views and offers a family-oriented feminist theory approach to the practice of family medicine. Drawing on her twenty years of experience as a family doctor, the author systematically dissects the assumptions underlying current teachings about child and adult development, sexual abuse, the family life cycle, and family systems. She examines the ways in which women are often ignored, subordinated, or blamed in the modern medical system.

Candib then reexamines the doctor- patient relationship from a feminist theory perspective, showing how "doctors-in- relation" allow caring to take center stage in clinical work, in contrast to the traditional medical emphasis on so-called rationality and so-called objectivity. By putting caring at the forefront, both caregivers and patients can begin to think about power in a new way, and to see the clinical relationship as healing and empowering, rather than unequal and combative.

Powerfully argued and generously illustrated with case examples, this book is certain to change the terms of debate about such critical issues as medical education, family violence, and the care of the poor and elderly. With its superb integration of feminist theory and modern medical thought, this book is ideal for physicians, nurses, social workers, and all mental health professionals who work with families.