Through history, interviews, anecdotes, and popular culture, this book examines pregnancy from all angles, covering changing expectations for pregnancy; new definitions of when fatherhood begins; the implications of new, earlier connections to the fetus; and the political, economic, and social consequences to the public. In the 21st century, pregnancy is more than a biological event—it's a cultural phenomenon. A Womb with a View: America's Growing Public Interest in Pregnancy addresses how media influence and changes in society have exposed and commoditized pregnancy like never before, while technology has enabled us to share, record, and preserve all aspects of the pregnancy experience. Each chapter of the book focuses on an aspect of the pregnancy experience, including efforts to peer in and bond with the fetus, the various ways of obtaining advice, the evolving role of expectant fathers, how pregnancy is depicted and treated in popular culture, and branding and marketing to pregnant couples. Interviews with those marketing products and services to pregnant women reveal how pregnancy is now "big business," while real-life stories from pregnant women and images from television and film serve to illustrate our culture's fascination with pregnancy.

This book delves into the life of the Church of England at a near grassroots level during a period of seismic change. It seeks to capture the essence of experimental ministry during a time of national uncertainty. While it doesn’t provide definitive answers, it explores various possibilities with honesty and humour. The narrative shares the joys and challenges of parish ministry in diverse settings: from the heart of a bustling city to the serene depths of rural Wensleydale, from a sprawling inner-city housing estate to the hills and coastlands of Cumbria. It enthusiastically engages with ecumenical matters and approaches interfaith diversity with a certain naivety. “Here are the workings out of a practical theologian – a priest working across disciplines, and most powerfully working with and alongside communities.” – The Ven. Chris Burke, Archdeacon of Barking. “He created a platform to build on of the largest centres for social action and community activity in the country... Malcolm is courageous beyond belief and a true advocate of his faith and belief in human kind.” – Mark Law MBC. Chief Executive, BARCA, Leeds. “I found this lovely book quite a nostalgic read, because it reminded me of the church into which I was ordained nearly 40 years ago. I also found it deeply moving, endearingly honest, and at times profoundly inspiring. Malcolm - who is a natural entrepreneur – manages to tackle some very serious subjects without ever taking himself too seriously and he enables some powerful reflection on the meaning of ‘success’ in ordained ministry without trying to provide to many answers. I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I did.” – James Newcome, Bishop of Carlisle.

Womb With A View: Tales from the Delivery, Emergency and Operating Rooms offers a journey through medical training and practice in the life of an obstetrician and gynecologist. It singles out some of the most poignant and touching chapters that are both extraordinary and at the same time ordinary in the world of reproductive medicine.

The use of assisted reproductive technology (ART) is on the rise in our culture as an alternative for couples facing infertility issues and single women desiring to have children. Is it right – morally, ethically, biblically – to engage this new technology? Are there some aspects of ART that are more acceptable than others? Outside the Womb: The Ethics of Reproductive Technologies addresses the whole issue of “making life”, providing valuable information, both theologically and scientifically, for Christian couples to reflect upon as they consider the various fertility treatments.

This book tells the real-life horror story of states' abusing laws and infringing on rights to police women and their pregnancies.

Womb Fantasies examines the womb, an invisible and mysterious space invested with allegorical significance, as a metaphorical space in postwar cinematic and literary texts grappling with the trauma of post-holocaust, postmodern existence. In addition, it examines the representation of visible spaces in the texts in terms of their attribution with womb-like qualities. The framing of the study historically within the postwar era begins with a discussion of Eero Saarinen’s Womb Chair in the context of the Cold War’s need for safety in light of the threat of nuclear destruction, and ranges over films such as Marguerite Duras’ and Alan Resnais’ film Hiroshima mon amour and Duras’ novel The Vice-Consul, exploring the ways that such cultural texts fantasize the womb as a response to trauma, defined as the compulsive need to return to the site of loss, a place envisioned as both a secure space and a prison. The womb fantasy is linked to the desire to recreate an identity that is new and original but ahistorical.

If it is true that God is a male, then His Divinity or Deity is expressed in His masculinity. Yet I am a woman, and there are parts of my body; such as my breasts, my vagina, and my womb that are telling a story about God that I have never learned or understood. This is an exploration of the significance of a womb that must shed and bleed before it can create. How will we engage our body which cyclically bleeds most of our life and can build and birth a human soul? How will we honor the living womb, that lives and sometimes dies within us? This is a book about the theology found in the cycle of the womb, which births both life and death. Every day each one of us is invited to create, and every day we make a decision knowing that from our creation can come death or life. Women's voices have been silenced for a long time as society and the church has quieted their bodies. Will we courageously choose to listen to the sound of your voice, the song of your womb, and speak for the world to hear?

The Princess of the Flaming Womb, the Javanese legend that introduces this pioneering study, symbolizes the many ambiguities attached to femaleness in Southeast Asian societies. Yet, despite these ambiguities, the relatively egalitarian nature of male-female relations in Southeast Asia is central to arguments claiming a coherent identity for the region. This challenging work by senior scholar Barbara Watson Andaya considers such contradictions while offering a thought-provoking view of Southeast Asian history that focuses on women's roles and perceptions. Andaya explores the broad themes of the early modern era (1500-1800) - the introduction of new religions, major economic shifts, changing patterns of state control, the impact of elite lifestyles and behaviors - drawing on an extraordinary range of sources and citing numerous examples from Thai, Vietnamese, Burmese, Philippine, and Malay societies.

In this deeply moving and life-affirming tale, a mother must nurture her five-year-old son through an unfathomable situation with only the power of their imagination and their boundless capacity to love. Written for the stage by Academy Award® nominee Emma Donoghue, this unique theatrical adaptation featuring songs and music by Kathryn Joseph and director Cora Bissett takes audiences on a richly emotional journey told through ingenious stagecraft, powerhouse performances, and heart-stopping storytelling. Room reaffirms our belief in humanity and the astounding resilience of the human spirit. This updated and revised edition was published to coincide with the Broadway premiere in Spring 2023.

A quiet revolution has been taking place during the past three decades. The way that children enter families has changed radically among upper middle class families. In the 1980s infertility increasing became defined as a medical problem that could be solved with assisted reproductive technologies (ART) rather than through adoption. Asexual or ‘assisted conception’ involving medical technologies such as in vitro fertilization and embryo transfers began to replace sexual reproduction for infertile couples. Third parties, referred to as surrogates are hired to assist individuals and/or couples who wish to conceive and child with whom they share a genetic tie. This has resulted in a ‘surrogate baby boom.’ Outsourcing the Womb provides a critical introduction to the global surrogacy market. A comparative analysis of the assisted reproductive technology and surrogacy industry in Egypt, Israel, India and the United States disentangles the intersecting roles of race, religion, class inequality, religious law, and global capitalism. Gestational surrogacy challenges the idea of ‘natural’ reproduction and of the meaning of parenthood. What role should the state play in providing individuals and families with access to reproductive technologies? This book concludes with a discussion of ‘reproductive justice’. The goal of this new, unique series is to offer readable, teachable "thinking frames" on today’s social problems and social issues by leading scholars, all in short 60 page or shorter formats, and available for view on http://routledge.customgateway.com/routledge-social-issues.html For instructors teaching a wide range of courses in the social sciences, the Routledge Social Issues Collection now offers the best of both worlds: originally written short texts that provide "overviews" to important social issues as well as teachable excerpts from larger works previously published by Routledge and other presses.