Gender

by Claire Colebrook

Why has Western thought been so persistent in its organisation of human bodies, and other categories, in terms of the binary opposition male and female? Is gender nothing more than an ideology, or does it have its basis in sexual difference?

This invaluable introductory guide offers a clear overview of the concept, and problem, of gender. Claire Colebrook places the term in its historical contexts and traces its development from the Enlightenment to the present, before moving on to the evolution of the concept of gender from within the various stances of feminist criticism, and exploring recent developments in queer theory and post-feminism. Close analysis of key literary texts, including Frankenstein , Paradise Lost and A Midsummer Night's Dream , shows how specific styles of literature enable reflection on gender.

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction, Gender

288 pages, Paperback

First published October 21, 2003

About the author

Claire Colebrook is an Australian cultural theorist, currently appointed Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of English at Pennsylvania State University. She has published numerous works on Gilles Deleuze, visual art, poetry, queer theory, film studies, contemporary literature, theory, cultural studies and visual culture.

Reviews

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

An introductory guide to gender, Claire Colebrook's Gender explores the way Western thought uses terms of binary opposition in conceptualising and understanding the world. Colebrook analyses this while explaining how different theorists have written about sex/gender, tracing the concept's development from the Enlightenment (1700s) to the early 2000s.

Pretty solid, information-packed intro to gender. Sorta liked the way the book repeats itself a lot - good for learning/remembering and it made it possible for me to understand stuff if I didn't get the first time around - but sorta didn't (I was prepping for an exam! Time was of the essence!). I also really appreciated the bits on literary criticism (really makes me wanna read Frankenstein now!).

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Radically changed how I understand the term gender. I also learned a lot about the differences between the pre-, modern, and post- by reading this text. It's another foundational one for me.