Gender / Key Concepts (ePub)

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. Utilizing life narratives, she investigates processes of
gendering in three important spheres of contemporary social life:
production, reproduction and consumption. The book highlights the
centrality of gender in everyday life and shows how thinking about
gender is influenced by changing political contexts. As well as
updating the discussion with the latest scholarship, political
concerns and economic data, the new edition pays closer attention
to intersectionality and hybrid identities, as well as exploring
the complexities of contemporary relations of masculinity and
femininity in the light of new feminist activities.



This lively and accessible book will be of interest to students
across the social sciences, as well as anyone interested in
contemporary relations between women and men.