To Henry Maudsley, in the 1870s, it seemed that the novel American approach to education for women was probably to blame for an inability of American mothers to nurse their children and for their increasing emotional instability. ‘There is sex in mind’, he remarked, ‘as distinctly as sex in body’ (Reference MaudsleyMaudsley, 1874). He evaluated the competing hypotheses of male oppressionv. innate disposition and decided in favour of the latter.

The debate continues, but what has changed? This book is an attempt to contribute to the concept of ‘women's health studies’ in a way similar to the academic development of ‘women's studies’. One of the key components of this approach is that women contribute to the debate and do not just remain as observed objects. In addition, medical assumptions and research are looked at more closely to see whether the needs of women are being met. Classic findings include the frequent failure to involve women as subjects in the evaluation of pharmaceuticals, although their physiologies are clearly different, and the failure to recognise gender differences of presentation in cardiovascular disease. These topics are by now quite well rehearsed, however, and there is a more general recognition that looking at gender differences in disease can benefit under-standing of its processes.

In terms of ‘the mind’ this book promises more than it delivers, as only one of its five sections is about mental health and this includes a chapter on women as stand-up comics! There are some interesting ideas, none the less — for instance, in the chapter by de Ridder on gender, stress and coping I learned that women are more sensitive to signals of short-term stress than men are. This can lead to apparent greater ‘fussiness’, but may be adaptive in, for example, the prevention of illness and better adaptation to a serious long-term stress. Men are inclined to ignore and avoid minor early-warning signs, which may be appropriate for many short-term situations that right themselves, but leaves them unprepared for serious long-term situations. And did you know that the house interiors of agoraphobic women are more ‘personalised’?

The chapters tend to more general descriptions than is necessary for mental health professionals and my recommendation would be that the ideas of some of the authors — such as Jane Ussher — deserve further study, but that an edited collection is not the ideal format for this.