Perhaps more than any other issue, gender identity has galvanized the queer community in recent years. The questions go beyond the nature of male/female... to a yet-to-be-traversed region that lies somewhere between and beyond biologically determined gender. In this groundbreaking anthology, three experts in gender studies and politics navigate around rigid, societally imposed concepts of two genders to discover and illuminate the limitless possibilities of identity. Thirty first-person accounts of gender construction, exploration, and questioning provide a groundwork for cultural discussion, political action, and even greater possibilities of autonomous gender choices. Noted scholar Joan Nestle is joined by internationally prominent gender warrior Riki Anne Wilchins and historian Clare Howell to provide a societal, cultural, and political exploration of gender identity.Marketing Plans: National Advertising: The Advocate Academic mailing to gender studies and queer studies professors Media campaign hilighting authors Nestle and WilchinsJoan Nestle is the cofounder of the Lesbian Herstory Archives in New York and the writer and editor of six books including the groundbreaking Women on Women series. Riki Anne Wilchins is the executive director of GenderPAC, the national gender advocacy group, and the cofounder of the Gender Identity Project of New York City's Lesbian and Gay Center. She is the author of Read My Lips: Sexual Subversion and the End of Gender. Clare Howell is a senior librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library.

From gender issues in Desperate Housewives, to race in Ugly Betty, gender biases in video games, and portrayals of the American family in Extreme... Makeover, to analyzes of new genres like fandom and social media - no other book is so successful in engaging students in critical media scholarship. By encouraging students to critically analyze those media they already interact with for pleasure, and by editing the articles, Gail Dines and Jean Humez are able to make sophisticated concepts and theories accessible and interesting to undergraduate students.

Incisive analyses of mass media – including such forms as talk shows, MTV, the Internet, soap operas, television sitcoms, dramatic series,... pornography, and advertising-enable this provocative new edition of Gender, Race and Class in Media to engage students in critical mass media scholarship. Issues of power related to gender, race, and class are integrated into a wide range of articles examining the economic and cultural implications of mass media as institutions, including the political economy of media production, textual analysis, and media consumption.

This compelling book examines the interrelationship between gender, race, narrative, and nationalism in black politics specifically and within American... politics as a whole. Nikol Alexander-Floyd's new work highlights the critical role of race and gender, showing how they operate to define political discourse and to determine public policy.

Gender, Race, Class, and Health examines relationships between economic structures, race, culture, and gender, and their combined influence on health.... The authors systematically apply social and behavioral science to inspect how these dimensions intersect to influence health and health care in the United States. This examination brings into sharp focus the potential for influencing policy to improve health through a more complete understanding of the structural nature of race, gender, and class disparities in health. As useful as it is readable, this book is ideal for students and professionals in public health, sociology, anthropology, and women’s studies.

The Gender Reader's fifty-one selections, all related to issues and questions of gender, are organized into five parts that address sub-themes... within this broad and rich subject. The readings represent a balanced view of several gender-related topics and have been chosen to provide a background for rich discussion and thoughtful essays. The issues raised throughout the book are designed to provide readers with opportunities for personal and reflective writing as well as expository and argumentative writing. For anyone interested in issues of gender for balanced writing.

Laura Gowing provides unique insight into gender relations in a time of flux, from the women who tried to vote in Ipswich in 1640, to a grandmother... describing the first time her grandson wore breeches. Examining gender relations in the contexts of the body, the house, the neighbourhood and the political world, this comprehensive introduction gives readers both the evidence and the tools to reconstruct the hidden histories of early England.

This volume draws together ethnographies of female initiation rites in Melanesia which require anthropologists to rethink their analysis of initiations... and their perceptions of gender. The contributors argue that female initiation rites express more than cultural notions of femininity, narrow definitions of reproduction, or coming of age rituals - instead they play an important role in other life cycle rituals and in the political and economic organization of society.

The 4th edition of Gender Roles provides the best balance between “gender” and “women” as a focus—especially with the expanded content on... men and masculinity. It addresses religion and integrates history at various points. An objective of the book is to dispel myths about gender. Both sociological and interdisciplinary content organized around clear and appropriate research serves this objective well—providing readers with a sociological perspective of gender that can be meaningfully applied to their daily lives. The more controversial topics related to gender have a greater array of supporting references directing readers to explore the topics further. Gender Roles integrates insights and research from other disciplines—especially biology, psychology, anthropology, and history. Interdisciplinary material is organized, presented, and guided by the sociological perspective, however, so readers can understand the commonalities and differences in the ways the various disciplines research and explain gender. An exciting and interesting read for anyone interested in gender roles and sexual identity.

For mid-to-upper level courses in Gender Roles, Introduction to Women's Studies, and Sociology of Sex Roles.   This text provides a balanced,... non-polarized view of controversial issues that dispel gender myths and demonstrates how material can be meaningfully applied to a student’s personal life.      Focusing on the most recent research and theory—both in the U.S. and globally—Gender Roles provides an in-depth, survey and analysis of modern gender roles and issues from a sociological perspective while also integrating insights and research from other disciplines like biology, psychology, anthropology and history.

In this study of devotional hagiographical texts and contemporary ritual performances of the Shi'a of Hyderabad, India, Karen Ruffle demonstrates how... traditions of sainthood and localized cultural values shape gender roles. Ruffle focuses on the annual mourning assemblies held on 7 Muharram to commemorate the battlefield wedding of Fatimah Kubra and her warrior-bridegroom Qasem, who was martyred at the battle of Karbala, Iraq, in 680 C.E. before their wedding was consummated.Ruffle argues that hagiography, an important textual tradition in Islam, plays a dynamic role in constructing the memory, piety, and social sensibilities of a Shi'i community. Through the Hyderabadi rituals that idealize and venerate Qasem, Fatimah Kubra, and the other heroes of Karbala, a distinct form of sainthood is produced. These saints, Ruffle explains, serve as socioethical role models and religious paragons whom Shi'i Muslims aim to imitate in their everyday lives, improving their personal religious practice and social selves. On a broader community level, Ruffle observes, such practices help generate and reinforce group identity, shared ethics, and gendered sensibilities. By putting gender and everyday practice at the center of her study, Ruffle challenges Shi'i patriarchal narratives that present only men as saints and brings to light typically overlooked women's religious practices.

Gender, Sex and the Shaping of Modern Europe explores the key transformations of sexual identities and sexuality in Europe from the French Revolution to... the present day. Crucially, its focus is on gender, as it is impossible to understand masculinity or femininity in isolation. The book is designed to introduce students to the major issues surrounding gender and sexuality in modern European history. It is divided into five thematic chapters representing the critical moments in gender history: The Age of Revolution and Enlightenment, Capitalism and the Industrial Revolution, Imperialism/Colonialism, Total War in the Twentieth Century, and the Long Sexual Revolution. The authors provide an overview of how gender roles were socially constructed and how they influenced political and economic developments. Throughout, Gender, Sex and the Shaping of Modern Europe presents complex narratives and introduces theoretical perspectives in language accessible to students.

THE BOOK addresses topics of importance for students and scholars of multiple disciplines-including anthropology, sociology, gender studies, Asian... studies, religion, geography, political science, and history. This engagingly written booklet-designed for use in undergraduate humanities and social science courses-has great potential for use in the classroom. It will also appeal to specialists in the field owing to Peletz's ability to present sophisticated yet accessible discussions of a broad range of topics. Drawing on the vast body of scholarship of those who have either grown up in the region or have spent many years engaged in anthropological fieldwork or other research, Peletz provides a masterful overview of gender, sexuality, and body politics in modern Asia, presenting multiple perspectives in an accessible, jargon-free style. The "Suggestions for Further Reading" section at the back of the booklet provides students and scholars with a comprehensive guide for further research. "This is a very important book. Addressing ideologies of female inferiority, practices of gender transgression, and patterns of sexual violence, Peletz takes an unflinching look at the politics of bodies and intimacy over a very large area of the contemporary world." Sherry B. Ortner Distinguished Professor of Anthropology University of California, Los Angeles

In this engrossing and original book, Leslie Salzinger takes us with her into the gendered world of Mexico's global factories. Her careful ethnographic... work, personal voice, and sophisticated analysis capture the feel of life inside the maquiladoras and make a compelling case that transnational production is a gendered process. The research grounds contemporary feminist theory in an examination of daily practices and provides an important new perspective on globalization.

Charismatic Christianity is the most recent and fastest growing expression of Pentecostal religion in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Ghana's capital, Accra, the... charismatic churches dominate the religious scene. This book focuses on the gender discourses of Ghana's new churches, and considers charismatic perspectives on womanhood, manhood, marriage and family life. Offering a fresh perspective on the organisational structures of the charismatic churches, this study looks at the leadership roles of female pastors and pastors' wives, and draws attention to the links between female leaders and spiritual power. By highlighting the importance of spiritual power in interpreting gendered social change, the book sheds new light on the socio-cultural role of Ghana's new churches.