God Images and Self Esteem: Empowering Women in a Patriarchal Society / Edition 1

by Carroll Saussy

Overview

Carroll Saussy believes that women, especially, have difficulty with self-esteem because their lives are shaped and controlled by patriarchal rules and roles that make them second-class citizens. Only in recent decades and in highly educated or politically active communities have women awakened to and begun to expose the damaging effects of the domination-subordination soul of patriarchy. Saussy takes a theological and ideological approach in reviewing the system that fosters such poor self-esteem.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780664251994
Publisher:	Westminster John Knox Press
Publication date:	09/01/1991
Edition description:	1st EDITION
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Carroll Saussy is Howard Chandler Robbins Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. She is the author of several books that combine spirituality with practical insights.

Table of Contents

	Introduction	11
1.	Coming to a Sense of Self	29
2.	God Images and the Self Esteem of Women	46
3.	Good Enough Self Esteem	77
4.	Women Struggling to Be Themselves	100
5.	Conclusion: Enacting Feminist Insights	141
	Appendix A	161
	Appendix B	167
	Appendix C	171
	Notes	177
	Index	185

Editorial Reviews

Using a ten-item questionnaire, Saussy interviewed 21 women volunteers about their faith and self-esteem. The results form the basis for her study. Although the sample is unscientific, respondents were diverse (e.g., two were African American women). Saussy considers the development of faith in self, the effect of almost exclusively masculine God-images upon women's self esteem, and the relationship between self-esteem and women's abilities to see themselves as God images. She examines the conflict between unrealistic desire for unqualified approval and the experience of abuse (focusing especially on the experience of three women in the research group). She concludes with psychological and theological recommendations for gaining self-esteem. Recommended for most libraries.

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