Call for Submissions: Forum on Mental Health and Illness

The Feminist Wire is proud to announce that it will host a forum on mental health and illness. Because the topic of mental health can take many shapes and define many different aspects of society, we strive to showcase a diverse collection of writing from multiple perspectives. Submissions are invited from academics and professionals, as well as from individuals and families who have lived with and experienced mental health personally. We also seek solid representation of a variety of mental health diagnoses.

Mental health is an especially politically charged issue for many reasons, and as such serves as a provocative topic for feminist thought, critique, narrative, and rhetoric. Reasoning, analysis, and lived experiences of individuals are all critical to our understanding of this deeply complex issue. TFW invites submissions on any of the following:

• Theories surrounding mental health as a social construct vs. biological/genetic destiny.
• Mental health and women through the lens of national health care coverage (the so-called “Obamacare”).
• Mental illness and artistic expression, specifically the role of female writers in American literature.
• The impact of policy on mental health (anti-immigrant policy and psychological health of migrants, for example).
• Mental health explained through different religions, and the roles these religious entities play in advocating for/against the rights of the diagnosed.
• The potentially counter-productive effects of psychology on the culturally identified “psychiatric patient” and emerging debates surrounding neurodiversity.
• Experiences of mental health and illness from international audiences.

Those interested in contributing to the forum should note that this list is not exhaustive. TFW prides itself on hosting a variety of opinions from across the spectrum of feminism. Please feel free to submit a piece that addresses mental health and illness that may not necessarily fall into one of the categories noted above.

Submissions are to be sent electronically to Catherine Morrissey at [email protected]. Please include an author description and picture in case your submission is selected, as well as any contact information you would like readers to have (website, Twitter, email, etc.). You will be notified by email if your submission has been selected.

Submissions should be between 800-1500 words.

The deadline for submissions is February 17, 2012, for a planned publication date of March 12, 2012.

If you have questions, you may contact Catherine Morrissey at [email protected].