Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies: An Interdisciplinary Approach is a truly interdisciplinary and intersectional text featuring global examples for women's, gender, and sexuality studies. Its student-centered rhetorical approach and pedagogical features--including an engaging image program, prompts for activism, a comprehensive glossary, appendices of key terms, annotated bibliographies for additional reading, and "Feminisms in Brief"--aid students in assimilating fundamental women's and gender studies terms and concepts. While it is a textbook and not an anthology, Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies adopts the best facets of the anthology approach: it includes discussions of frequently anthologized writers and writing that is more engaging and narrative in style than traditional textbooks. The book systematically covers core interdisciplinary concepts so that students are prepared for women's and gender studies courses in a variety of disciplines.

Melissa J. Gillis has taught the introductory Women's, Gender, and Sexuality course at SUNY Rockland Community College and has worked for various non-governmental organizations at the United Nations. She is a writer and editor.

Andrew T. Jacobs is Professor of Speech at SUNY Rockland Community College, where he co-developed the introductory Women's, Gender, and Sexuality course.

Part I: Gender and Society

Chapter 1: Sex, Gender, and Social Construction
Sex
Intersex
The Social Construction of Sex
Sex Identity
Gender
Gender Polarization
Doing Sex and Gender Across Cultures
Multiple Femininities and Masculinities
Gender Ideology
Androgyny
Sex and Gender as Cognitive Schemas
Gender Roles
Changing Ideas About Gender
Intersectionality
Gender Identity
Gender Non-Conforming
Baby X: The Conclusion
Sexual Orientation
Third Sex/Third Gender

Chapter 2: Language and Communication
What Language Reveals, Conceals and Imposes
The Primacy of Males and Masculine Terms
The Sex and Gender of Things
Parallel Language
Mr., Miss, Mrs., and Ms.
Language, Communication and Semantic Change
Appropriation of Stigmatized Names
Communication and Reception Theory
Sex, Gender and Communication
Gender, Class and Speech
Performativity
Women, Men and Communities of Practice

Chapter 3: Gender and In/Equality
The Social Construction of Gender
Gender Construction in Children
The Social Costs of Traditional Femininity and Masculinity
Sexism: A Special Case of Prejudice
Misogyny
Political and Economic Inequality
Patriarchy
Patriarchy at Home
Feminism
The "Mythical Norm"
Intersectionality
Oppression
What About the Oppression of Men?
Not All Discrimination is Oppression

Part II: Issues and Intersections

Chapter 4: LGBTQQIAA Identities and Challenges
Measuring Sexual Orientation
Kinsey Scale
Klein Grid
Homosociality
Storms' Scale
Looking Back, Looking Forward
LGBTQQIAA Identities
L/Lesbian
G/Gay
B/Bisexual
T/Transgender
Q/Queer
Q/Questioning
I/Intersex
A/Asexual
A/Ally
The Problem of Heterosexual Focus
The Lesbian Continuum and Marriage Resistance in Southern China
Anti-LGBT Attitudes
Straight Male Homonegativity Regarding Gay Men
Straight Male Homonegativity Regarding Lesbians
Straight Female Homonegativity Regarding Gay Men and Lesbians
Negative Attitudes Regarding Bisexuals
Negative Attitudes Regarding Transgender People
Racism and Homophobia Against LGBT People of Color
Microagressions against LGBT People of Color
Gay Community and Social Support

Chapter 5: Constructions of Homosexualities: Past and Present
Ancient Greece
Sappho and Female Same-Sex Sexuality
Ancient Rome
Male Same-Sex Relations
Female Same-Sex Relations
Male Same-Sex Sexual Relations in Latin American Cultures
The Emergence of the Modern Homosexual
Marriage in Early Modern England
(Im)possibility
(In)significance/(In)visibility
Social Relations in Modern Europe
The Rise of Capitalist Social Relations
The Modern Regime of Sexuality
Homosexual Identity as a Movement
The Stonewall Uprising and LGBTQ Liberation in the U.S.
Homosexualities in Africa
Boy-Wives and Bagburu Relationships
Mummy-Baby Relationships
Homosexuality as Un-African
Personification of Homosexuality
India's Hijras: Troubling Same- and Opposite-Sex Schemas

Chapter 6: Beyond the Mythical Norm: Considering Race, Class, and Gender
Examining Race
Essentialism
Biology and Racial Classification
Abandoning the Race Concept
Keeping Race to Aid Activism
Ethnicity
Us and Them
Gender, Race and Ethnicity Are Socially Constructed
Stereotypes
Socioeconomic Status in America
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in America
The Ideal of the Model Minority
History of Discrimination
Black People in the U.S.
The Myth of the Strong Black Woman
Black Women, Black Men and Public Surveillance
Representations of Black People
Latinas/os
The Latino Threat Narrative
Machismo and Marianismo
American Indians
A Rich History Rife with Exploitation
Multiracial America
Discrimination

Chapter 7: Embodiment, Beauty, and the Viewer
Fat Studies and Activism
History of Women's Body Shape and Clothing in the U.S.
1890's: Shifting Ideals in a Shifting Social Climate
1900's - 1920's: The Age of the Boyish Flapper
1930's: A Turn to Mature, Classical beauty
1940's -1950's: Move to Glamorous Fuller Figures
1960's - 1970's: Return to the Thin Ideal
1980's: Return to the Hourglass Look
1990's: Enter the Waif Look
2000's - 2010's: Slim and Hour-Glass Looks
The Significance of Female Body Shape and Fashion
Class
History of Men's Body Shape and Clothing in the U.S.
1666 - 1800's: Into the Great Masculine Renunciation
1890's: Enter the Athletic Muscular man
1907 - 1950's: Continuation of the Broad Shouldered Ideal
1960's: Enter the Peacock
1970's: Continuation of the Peacock and Rugged Masculinity
1980's: Rise of the Hypermuscular Ideal
1990's: Advent of the Metrosexual
2000's - 2010's: Popularization of the Slim Ideal
The Significance of Male Body Shape and Fashion
Viewing Gendered Bodies
The Male Gaze

Chapter 8: Work, Inequality, and Neoliberalism
Examining Unequal Pay
Starting Out Behind, Staying Behind
Paid Work and Parenting
Women's Work, Men's Work
Fewer Women and People of Color at the Top
Women Leaders in a Bind
The Politics of Housework
The Value of All that Housework
Why Count Unpaid Work?
Work, Family and Social Policy
Work in a Globalizing World
Documenting Life on the Global Assembly Line
Modern-Day Slavery
Neoliberalism and Globalization

Chapter 9: Gender-Based Violence
(Re)Defining Gender-Based Violence
Intimate Partner Violence
Intimate Partner Violence Globally
Intimate Partner Violence in the U.S. and Other Western Countries
Where We Get Our Data
Making Sense of the Data: Typologies of Violence
Intimate Terrorism
Violent Resistance
Situational Couple Violence
Risk Factors Associated with Intimate Partner Violence
Feminist Activism and Intimate Partner Violence
Women Advocate for Change
Sexual Violence
What Do We Know About Rape?
How We Study Who Rapes and Why
Debunking Rape Myths
Sexual Assault on Campus
The Case of Margaux J.
Sexual Violence by Women
The Role of Culture in Sexual Assault
Advocates Campaign against Sexual Violence
Violence against Members of the LGBT Community
Anti-LGBTQIA Violence and Hate Crimes
Stalking

PART III: Theory and Practice

Chapter 10: Human Rights and Global Activism
La Guerra del Agua --The Water War
Water and Gender
Water Privatization Globally
Water as a Human Right
Managing Water in the Public Interest
A Note About Reading This Chapter
Human Trafficking
Human Trafficking is a Global Problem
Global Trends in Trafficking
South and East Asia and the Pacific
Africa and the Middle East
Europe and Central Asia
Americas
Trafficking for Purposes of Sexual Exploitation
Who Is Vulnerable?
What Are the Causes of Human Trafficking?
Genital Cutting Practices
Traditional Female Genital Cutting
The Reasons Why Female Cutting is Practiced
The Consequences of Traditional Female Genital Cutting
Combating Female Genital Cutting
Critiquing the Western Discourse
Interrogating Genital Modification Globally
Human Rights and the LGBTI Community
No Country Is Free of Human Rights Abuses
The United Nations, Human Rights and Activism
Universal and Indivisible?
Public and Private Rights
Engendering Human Rights Law Through a Women's Convention
Where CEDAW Falls Short
U.S. Non-ratification of CEDAW
The United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women
A Conference of Firsts
Sex and Gender
Multiple Oppressions
Sexual Rights and Sexual Orientation

Chapter 11: History of Women's Activism in the U.S.: Struggles and Solidarities
Rethinking the Waves
The Roots of Feminist Organizing in the U.S.
The Anti-Slavery Movement and the Woman Question
Labor Movements in an Industrializing America
Seneca Falls, Suffrage and Beyond
Schism in the Woman Movement
Equal Rights for Women
There Is No Break in the Waves
The Anti-Lynching Movement
The Rise of Organized Labor
The Birth Control Movement
The 1950's: Emerging Movements, Pivotal Moments
U.S. Feminist Organizing from 1960
Equality Feminism
Difference Feminism
Multiracial Feminism
Feminist Advocacy 1960-1990
Education
Work
Body image and beauty standards
Capitalism and imperialism
Violence against women
Pornography
Reproductive health
Issue Focus: Reproductive Choice
The 1980's, Conservatism and Backlash in the U.S.
The Third Wave
Transfeminism
Hip-Hop Feminism
Riot Grrrls, Zines and DIY Feminism
Gaga Feminism
Common Themes in Third Wave Feminism
Third Wave Feminists Take a Feminism is for Everyone Approach
Third Wave Feminists are Intentionally Multicultural and Coalitional
Third Wave Feminists are Antiessentialist
Third Wave Feminists are Genderbending
Third Wave Feminists Engage Popular Culture
Third Wave Feminists are often Prosex
Second Wave is to Third Wave as Mother Is to Daughter?

Chapter 12: Feminisms: Theories and Practices
Advantages of Feminist Theoretical Analysis
Understanding Forms of Feminism
Read and Re-Read the Forms of Feminism
Understand There Are No Neat Divisions
Recognize This Is a Brief Introduction
Not Agreeing with Everything is OK
Understand Anti-Feminism
Liberal Feminist Theory
History of Liberal Feminism
Radical Feminist Theory
History of Radical Feminism
Marxist and Socialist Feminist Theory
History of Marxist and Socialist Feminism
U.S. Intersectional Feminist Theory
History of U.S. Intersectional Feminism
Transnational Feminist Theory
History of Transnational Feminism
Postmodern Feminist/Queer Theory
History of Postmodernism and Queer Theory

Appendices
Appendix A: Basic Terms
Appendix B: Names for People and Places
Appendix C: Feminisms in Brief

Glossary
References

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Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies An Interdisciplinary Approach

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