What is Gender?: Sociological Approaches

Is gender something done to us by society, or something we do? What is the relationship between gender and other inequalities? What is Gender? explores these complex and important questions, helping readers to critically analyze how women's and men's lives are shaped by the society in which they live. The book offers a comprehensive account of trends in sociological thinking, from a material and economic focus on gender inequalities, to the debates about meaning initiated by the linguistic or cultural turn.

The book begins by questioning simplistic biological conceptions of gender and goes on to evaluate different theoretical frameworks for explaining gender, as well as political approaches to gender issues. The cultural turn is also examined in relation to thinking about how gender is related to other forms of inequality such as class and 'race'. Up-to date and broad in its scope, What is Gender? draws on a range of disciplines, such as: sociology, psychoanalysis, masculinity studies, literary criticism, feminist political theory, feminist philosophy and feminist theory. What is Gender? challenges popular assumptions and offers fresh perspectives on gender as a social construct. This makes essential reading for everyone studying the sociology of gender, as well as for all students and researchers interested in this field.

About the Author:
Mary Holmes is a lecturer in the Department of Sociology, The Flinders University of South Australia