The Social Construction of Gender

by Judith Lorber (Editor)

Essentialist notions of gender difference are being challenged increasingly by research on the social construction of gender. Lorber and Farrell present a key collection of current research which illustrates how the constructivist approach has been applied to a variety of issues, including those centred on the family, the workplace, social class, ethnic identity and politics. Much of the recent work in this area has appeared in the journal Gender and Society which is the genesis of most of the papers in this volume.

Genres: Gender, Sociology

Hardcover

First published December 1, 1990

About the author

Judith Lorber is Professor Emerita of Sociology and Women’s Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center and Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. She is a foundational theorist of social construction of gender difference.

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unsure how to rate this. Its audience is people who are willing to read studies and lengthy essays, so probably a Gender Studies university class. For those people- yes, read it! Others, you might enjoy it if you are looking for nonfiction.

This was written in 1991 so has some limitations as that is almost 30 years ago now: use of words that we no longer use such as "transvestite." It is also very focused on the dichotomy of male/female and it's not until the very last chapter that it really discusses nonbinary ideas and that's all in hypotheticals.

BUT it does address some aspects of intersectionality and gives voice to researchers of colors and even has a chapter that analyses how researchers have race and class bias in interviewing different groups of people. This book was published just a few years after the term "intersectionality" was created so it never uses it, but some of its essays/studies cover that topic such as Masculinities and Athletic Careers (focuses on male, not female athletes, but does discuss race), Asian American Feminist Consciousness, The Development of Chicana Feminist Discourse, and Family, Feminism, and Race in America, among others.

While reading the section about men/women in the workplace, I wondered if the past 25 years have changed that and if their conclusions are outdated, but maybe not. The chapter on Men's Work and Male Intimacy was a case study of one man's personal journals in the 19th century and I found that very interesting.

Also special shout out to the chapter at the end about women's position in the Catholic Church- I wonder how it would be written today now that the Women's Ordination Conference has another 2 and a half decades under their belt. Also: "How do women go about living in an institution that many find patriarchal, clericalist, bureaucratic, and oppressive?" - Wow, attacked much? ;)

[Darrel Creary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great work to read as an intro to gender studies that allows for discussion on why society remains in state.

[marissa]

for school

[slumpeer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed reading this, got confused near end