Gender issues continue to be a prominent concern of academics and policy-makers, and increasingly arise in various forms to be debated in the public sphere and popular media. But what exactly do we mean by gender? How can we best understand gender differences? How are current gender relations changing? What new paths are 'femininity' and 'masculinity' taking? What would it be like to live in a society in which differences of gender were transcended? In this new edition of her popular and highly lauded book, Harriet Bradley provides an introduction to the concept of gender and the different theoretical approaches which have developed within gender studies.

Gender has now become a pervasive topic in the humanities and social sciences. Yet despite its familiarity within universities and colleges, some have argued that the radical debates which first characterized gender studies have become ghettoized or marginalized -- so that gender no longer makes the impact on creative thinking and ideas that it once did. Brooke Holmes here rescues ancient ideas about sex and gender in order precisely to reinvigorate contemporary debate. By re-examining ancient notions of sexual difference, bodies, culture, and identity, Holmes shows that Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, Epicureans and others force us to reassess what is at stake in present-day discussions about gender. The ancient world thus offers a vital resource for modern gender theory.

Gender: The Basics is an engaging introduction which examines the impact of cultural, historical, biological, psychological and economic forces on qualities which have come to be defined as masculine or feminine. Highlighting that there is far more to gender than biological sex, it takes a global perspective to examine the interaction between gender and a wide range of topics. Supporting theory with examples and case studies from a variety of contexts, suggestions for further reading and a detailed glossary, this text is an essential read for anyone approaching the study of gender for the first time.

For gender-focused courses in Psychology, Sociology, Women's Studies, and Gender Studies.   Unlike other gender texts, Psychology of Gender  focuses equally on both men and women, drawing from empirical research and conceptual discussions.   The book includes research and discussions surrounding gender in the areas of psychology, sociology, anthropology, medicine, and public health.

In Gender Inequality: Feminist Theories and Politics, Fifth Edition, internationally renowned feminist Judith Lorber examines various evolving theories of gender inequality. Tightly structured around Lorber's own paradigm of "reform, resistance, rebellion," this combination text/reader acknowledges feminism's significant contributions to redressing gender inequality and celebrates its enormous accomplishments over the last forty years. It also documents feminism's ongoing political activism, and, with an awareness of postmodern and third-wave trends, points toward its future.

Gender stands as one of the great conceptual devices of the twentieth century. It has becomes such a part of the English language that it seems indispensable and even ahistorical today. Yet until the 1950s, gender in English marked relations between words rather than people. Gender: A Genealogy of an Idea represents a critical intervention into the concept of gender. It traces gender's historical specificity from its mid-twentieth century origins in sexology through the present and demonstrates the complex relation that the intersexed have to the concept. In doing so, this text applies a fresh approach to the study of gender as an object of knowledge and embodied experience.  

Theories of sexuality and desire are commonly used in literary and cultural studies. In this illuminating study Joseph Bristow introduces readers to the fundamental critical debates surrounding the topic. This fully updated second edition includes: a historical account of sexuality from the Victorians to the present discussions of the most influential theorists including Freud, Lacan, Bataille, Baudrillard, Cixous, Deleuze, Irigaray and Kristeva a new and extended discussion of queer and transgender theory, race, ethnicity and desire, a new glossary, annotated further reading section and bibliography.

Reading Sexualities confronts the reigning practices, priorities, and preoccupations of queer theory and sexuality studies. Looking at a range of texts, from novels to travel narratives to internet porn, Donald E. Hall deftly weaves the theoretical with the literary in order to: examine the vexed ethical, critical, and political questions arising from sexual consumerism and cross-cultural encounters, read the changing landscape of sexual identity, finding great cause for optimism and enthusiastic engagement urge readers to embrace a far-reaching dialogic practice as a mechanism for furthering radical social change.

Sexuality is an integral part of our lives, and our identities. But how do we study it? Written in a lively and accessible style, Studying Sexualities aims to introduce students to the critical study of sexuality, taking a look at the major theories, media representations, and cultural practices. After having carefully explained the key theoretical and empirical debates on the subject & outlining Foucauldian Constructionism, Psychoanalysis, and Queer Theory - the authors draw on their own original research to address timely topics related to gender, sexuality, and popular culture.

Pushing the boundaries of traditional sex, gender, and sexuality theories, the second edition of this edited volume brings together classic and cutting-edge works that engage, challenge, and excite. The front-and-center list of Key Terms will prove indispensable. This fantastic resource brings together sex, gender, and sexuality through the prism of race, ethnicity, religion, ability, age, and class.

This book examines sexuality in the past, and explores how it helps explain sexuality in the present. The subject of sexuality is often a controversial one, and exploring it through a world history perspective emphasises the extent to which societies, including our own, are still reacting to historical change through contemporary sexual behaviours, values, and debates. The study uses a clear chronological structure to focus on major patterns and changes in sexuality- both sexual culture and sexual behaviors- in the main periods of world history, with comparison and discussion across cultures and societies.

A Cultural History of Sexuality presents an overarching survey from ancient times to the present. With six volumes covering 2800 years, this is the most authoritative history of sexuality in all its many forms across Western cultures. Volume 1: A Cultural History of Sexuality in the Classical World Volume 2: A Cultural History of Sexuality in the Middle Ages Volume 3: A Cultural History of Sexuality in the Renaissance Volume 4: A Cultural History of Sexuality in the Enlightenment Volume 5: Sexuality in the Age of Empire Volume 6: A Cultural History of Sexuality in the Modern Age. Each volume discusses the same themes in its chapters: 1. Heterosexuality; 2. Homosexuality; 3. Sexual Variations; 4. Sex Religion, and the Law; 5. Sex, Medicine and Disease; 6. Sex, Popular Beliefs and Culture; 7. Prostitution; 8. Erotica.

Transforming Scholarship is a user-friendly work of practical guidance and inspiration for supporting a student's interest in a Women's Studies degree. It focuses on three of the major barriers students face when exploring Women's Studies: a lack of awareness that Women's Studies constitutes an academic field; the negative response a student often faces when announcing to the world that he or she is interested in Women's Studies; and the perceived lack of employment and career options that supposedly comes with graduating with a Women's Studies degree. This book will support students to think critically about what they know, how to demonstrate what they know, and how to prepare for life both personally and professionally after the degree.

As a leading introductory women's studies reader, Shaw and Lee's Women's Voices, Feminist Visions offers an excellent balance of classic, conceptual, and experiential selections including new contemporary readings. This student-friendly text provides short and accessible readings reflecting the diversity of women's experiences.

Feminism is arguably the most significant social movement of the last century and it is far from over. Sally Scholz unravels the fascinating coalition of social and political causes, goals, and ideals that came together to motivate the fight for women's liberation. By taking powerful examples from women's campaigns, Scholz highlights the ongoing relevance of this movement in parts of the world where the rights of women are still violated by such atrocities as genocide and war rape.

Fast Feminism is a new-old feminism grounded in politics, performance and philosophy. It is in close proximity to postfeminisms of the poststructuralist variety--third-wave feminism, queer feminism, cyberfeminism and feminism 3.0. While FAST FEMINISM operates in proximity to other feminisms, its "natural" home is in queer theory. Queer gets its meaning and its politics from its oppositional relationship to hegemonic norms. To queer something is to disrupt it, to put it under scrutiny and to attempt to change it.

Feminism is not dead. This is not a postfeminist era. Feminism is still vibrant, despite declarations that it is over. Feminism is a success, although many gender inequalities remain. Feminism is taking powerful new forms, which makes it unrecognisable to some. In The Future of Feminism, Sylvia Walby offers a provocative riposte to the notion that feminism is dead. Substantiating her arguments with evidence of the vibrancy of contemporary feminism in civil society and beyond, she provides a succinct yet comprehensive critical review of recent treatments of feminism explaining why they have got it wrong. The book provides the definitive account of feminism's new and varied projects, goals, alliances and organizational forms, including feminism as a global wave.

There's no denying that men's involvement and interest in feminism is key to its continuing relevance and importance. Addressing the question of why men should care about feminism in the first place, Men and Feminism lays the foundation for a larger discussion about feminism as a human issue, not simply a women's issue. Men are crucial to the movement as fathers, brothers, husbands, boyfriends, and friends. From "why" to "how" to "what can men do", Men and Feminism answers all the questions men have about how and why they should get behind feminism.