The essays collected under the title On Female Body Experience represent twenty years of work in feminist phenomenology by one of its chief practitioners, Iris Marion Young. These essays showcase some of the best things that feminist philosophy has to offer - academically rigorous analysis, phenomenological descriptions, and personal, reflective evaluations.

Readers will want to begin with "Throwing Like a Girl,” Marion Young’s best loved essay that examines the gendered, embodied differences in a throwing exercise designed to explore gender differences. Using Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology of embodiment as a jumping-off point, Young argues that societal expectations and norms restrict women's use of their bodies, leading to a more constrained, inhibited way of moving and interacting with the world. She contrasts this with the typically more free and confident bodily comportment observed in men, highlighting the impact of gender norms on physicality and perception.

Readers will also not want to miss the follow up to this essay, “Pregnant Embodiment,” a wholly unique phenomenological analysis of the physical and existential experiences of pregnancy. She discusses how pregnancy transforms a woman's sense of bodily boundaries, leading to a complex relationship with her own body and the developing fetus. Young explores the dual nature of pregnancy as both a state of self-extension and alienation, emphasizing how it challenges traditional notions of autonomy and identity. The essay also considers how societal attitudes towards pregnant bodies reflect and shape gendered expectations.

These essays are sure to please a diverse audience, from philosophers and phenomenologists, to readers interested in sociology, medical practice and nursing, and education.