The Short Guide to Gender

Description

This accessible guide provides readers with an introduction to the key concepts and main developments in gender studies. Presenting definitions, explanations and policy implications through discussion of case studies, this book shows how gender intersects with different dimensions of diversity and demonstrates the connections between sex and gender. Using a range of pedagogical features and highlighting the importance of gender in the contemporary world, this succinct text provides an ideal overview for students and professionals alike.

Kath Woodward is Professor of Sociology at the Open University, where she has chaired women's studies, sociology, and gender and technology courses at all levels. She is a member of the Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change and researches gender identities and diversity, most recently in sport. Her recent publications include Why feminism matters with Sophie Woodward (2009) and Social sciences: The big issues (2009).

"It's one of the easiest and refreshing books I've read recently on sex and gender." Lynn Baxter in Community Care "In this accessible, exciting and important new text, Woodward interrogates both the conceptual and policy implications of gender in a lively and very topical way. She reveals how gender needs to be continually rethought, given its ongoing use in a diversity of ways by theorists across a range of disciplines, as well as how it still matters in the social world." Vicki Robinson, University of Sheffield, UK "Woodward overviews the increasingly complex terrain of gender studies in a lucid, concise and readable manner. She charts theoretical developments and contentious debates in the field with contemporary and relevant examples which will resonate with a wide readership." Barbara Pini, Curtin University of Technology, Australia