Thinking about women : sociological perspectives on sex and gender / Margaret L. Andersen with Dana Hysock Witham.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Pt. I: Introduction -- 1. Studying women: feminist perspectives -- Why study women? -- The sociological imagination -- Defining feminism -- women's studies and the inclusion of women -- the growth of men's studies -- the significance of gender, race, and class -- A sociological framework for thinking about women --

pt. II: Gender, culture, and sexuality -- 2. The social construction of gender -- Biology, culture, and society -- The biological basis of sex identity -- Ambiguous sexual identities -- Nature / nurture and sexually dimorphic traits -- Biological determinism -- The difference culture makes -- The institutional basis of gender -- Socialization and the formation of gender identity -- Sanctions and expectations -- Race and gender identity -- Socialization across the life course -- Infancy -- Childhood play and games -- Socialization and the schools -- Adult socialization and the aging process -- Theoretical perspectives on the formation of gender -- Identification theory -- Social learning theory -- Cognitive-developmental theory -- Symbolic interaction and "doing gender" -- Comparing theoretical perspectives -- Limitations of the socialization perspective -- 3. Gender, culture, and the media -- Gender and language -- Gender, popular culture, and the media -- Analyzing the media -- Media and the body culture -- Portrayals of aging -- Presenting women's sports -- Gender, children, and the media -- Diverse, but controlling, images -- Violence, sexualization, and the media -- Theorizing the media's influence -- The sociology of knowledge -- Marx and the social construction of knowledge -- Sexism as ideology -- 4. Sexuality and intimate relationships -- The social construction of sexuality -- the history of sexuality in the United States -- Contemporary sexual attitudes and behavior -- Sexual development over the life cycle -- Menstruation -- Menopause -- Race, sexuality, and power -- Race and sexual politics -- Sex work and sex trafficking -- Love and intimate relationships -- Interracial relationships -- Friendship -- Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender experiences --

pt. III: Gender and social institutions -- 5. Gender, work, and the economy -- Historical perspectives on women's work -- The family-based economy -- The family-wage economy -- The family-consumer economy -- Ideology and the history of women's work -- What is work? -- Economic restructuring, class, and gender stratification -- The contemporary status of women -- Labor force participation -- Gender segregation -- Earnings -- Promotions -- Gender and immigration -- Retirement and social security -- Work environments -- Poverty and welfare -- Intersections of family and work -- The second shift -- Housework and care work -- Policies for gender equity -- 6. Gender and families -- Historical perspectives on modern families -- Feminist perspectives on families -- The social construction of families -- Family diversity -- The influence of class, race, and gender -- Linking social structure and human action -- The family ideal -- The diversity of contemporary families -- Measuring family status -- Divorce -- Balancing family and work -- Cohabitation -- Gay and lesbian families -- Motherhood -- Fatherhood -- Race, gender, and families -- Families and social problems -- Family violence -- Teen pregnancy -- Child care -- 7. Women, health, and reproduction -- the social structure of health -- Race, class, and health -- Reproduction and protective legislation -- Gender, health, and social problems -- Gender and the body: weight, food, and body image -- Substance abuse: alcohol, drugs, and smoking -- Women and AIDS -- Disability -- Health insurance -- The politics of reproduction -- Birth control -- Abortion -- Racism and reproduction -- the politics of birth: pregnancy an childbirth -- New reproductive technologies -- Gender and the health-care system -- women as health-care workers -- The Women's Health Movement -- 8. Women and religion -- Sociological perspectives on religion -- Religion and social control -- Religion and the emergence of feminism in the United States -- Women and religiosity -- Images of women in religion -- Religious texts as interpretive documents -- Gender and religious beliefs -- Women's status in religious institutions -- Gender and religious participation -- women as clergy -- Religion and social justice -- Race, religion, and civil rights -- Religion and antifeminism -- Feminism and the Religious Right in the United States -- The abortion debate: a conflict of worldviews -- Faith, feminism, and spirituality --

9. Women, crime, and deviance -- Sociological perspectives on crime and deviance -- Early studies of crime and deviance -- Defining deviance -- Labeling and social deviance -- Deviance, power, and social conflict -- Feminist perspectives on deviance -- Women as victims of crime -- Rape -- Causes of rape -- Women as criminals -- The extent of criminality among women -- Causes of women's crime -- Women in the Criminal Justice System -- Gender and the Courts -- Women and prison -- 10. Gender, education, and science -- Women and the history of education -- Gender and educational success -- Gender and schooling -- Academic achievement: is there a gender gap? -- Gender and the curriculum -- Class and race inequality -- Women in higher education -- Gender, science, and society -- The status of women in science -- Science, feminism, and the social construction of knowledge -- 11. Women, power, and politics -- Defining power -- Women and the state -- Women and the law -- Women in government -- The gender gap -- Do women make a difference? -- women and the military -- Lesbians and gays in the military -- Feminism and militarism -- Rethinking the political -- The Women's Movement -- American feminism in the Nineteenth Century -- The emergence of the contemporary women's movement -- Feminism and civil rights -- The second wave of feminism -- Feminism for the Twenty-First Century: a third wave? --

pt. IV: Gender and social change: frameworks of feminism -- 12. Women and social reform: liberal feminism -- Frameworks of feminist theory -- The liberal basis of modern feminism -- Liberalism as a mode of social thought -- The origins of liberal thought -- The continuing influence of liberal thought -- Early liberal feminists -- Mary Wollstonecraft -- Harriet Martineau -- John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor Mill -- The critique of liberal feminism -- 13. Contemporary frameworks in feminist theory -- The radical origins of feminist theory: the critique of liberal feminism -- Historical roots of radical feminism -- Socialist feminism: the importance of class and capitalism -- Karl Marx and historical materialism -- Class and capitalism -- Ideology an consciousness - The woman question -- The feminist critique of Marx -- Radical feminism: the power of patriarchy -- The sex-gender system -- Sexuality and the state -- Intersections of capitalism and patriarchy -- Comparing liberal, socialist, and radical feminism -- Multiracial feminism -- Postmodernist feminism -- Queer theory and sexualities -- Continuing questions for feminist theory.

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