In recent years researchers have begun to reflect on gender identity and how this impacts on the creation of successful qualitative research. In this volume contributors explore these issues by reflecting on their own studies and research careers and address how important or unimportant gender has been in building research relationships.

"International sex researcher, neuroscientist, and frequent contributor to The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Debra Soh [discusses what she sees as] gender myths in this ... examination of the many facets of gender identity"--

This edited volume establishes a state-of-the-art perspective on theory and research on gender, power, and communication in human relationships. Both theoretical essays and review chapters address issues relevant to female and male differences in power, dominance, communication, equality, and expectations/beliefs. All chapter contributors share two commonalities. First, each provides a 1990s assessment of power and equality in female and male relationships. Second, each reviews respective programs of research and focuses attention on the relevance of this research to understanding the relationships of women and men. Unique because it incorporates a multidisciplinary approach to the study of gender and the communication of power in human relationships, this book includes the original work of intellectuals with national and international reputations in the social sciences. The volume provides both scholastic breadth and centralized treatment of issues that form the very foundation of social and personal relationships. It will appeal to scholars working in the disciplines of communication and psychology as well as other areas of social science research.

Gender and discourse interface in many more epistemological sites than can be represented in one collection. Gender Identity and Discourse Analysis therefore focuses on a principled diversity of key sites within four broad areas: the media, sexuality, education and parenthood. The different chapters together illustrate how taking a discourse perspective facilitates understanding of the complex and subtle ways in which gender is represented, constructed and contested through language. The book engages critically with long-running and on-going debates, but also reflects and develops current understandings of gender, identity and discourse, particularly the shift from 'gender differences' to the discoursal shaping of gender. Gender Identity and Discourse Analysis thus offers not only insights and methodologies of new empirical studies but also careful theorisations, in particular of discourse, text, identity and gender. The collection is a valuable resource for researchers, postgraduates and advanced undergraduates working in the area of gender and discourse.

Until now, sexuality has been treated as a specialist topic or area of specialist social work practice. This book cuts across all areas of the discipline. It examines the relationship between sexuality, sexual identities and intimacies and the life course, and showcases a range of issues pertinent to social work through these lenses. It opens up new possibilities for better understanding sexuality in social work, and contains empirical work and theorising about sexuality, intimacy and gender not currently found in a traditional course on life course theory and practice. The chapters position new areas of scholarship in sexuality including trans perspectives, masculinities, bisexuality and the voices of other gender and sexual minority populations within a life course trajectory. Empirical research picks up on the broader public health and well-being agenda with a strong focus on challenging normative theories to promote human rights and justice for marginalised individuals and groups. Sexuality, Sexual and Gender Identities and Intimacy Research in Social Work and Social Care will significantly enhance any core texts on life course theory and practice, anti-oppression and anti-discriminatory theories for professionals. It should be considered essential reading for academics, practitioners and undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Donald R. McCreary and Joan C. Chrisler The Development of Gender Studies in Psychology Studies of sex differences are as old as the ?eld of psychology, and they have been conducted in every sub?eld of the discipline. There are probably many reasons for the popularity of these studies, but three reasons seem to be most prominent. First, social psychological studies of person perception show that sex is especially salient in social groups. It is the ?rst thing people notice about others, and it is one of the things we remember best (Fiske, Haslam, & Fiske, 1991; Stangor, Lynch, Duan, & Glass, 1992). For example, people may not remember who uttered a witty remark, but they are likely to remember whether the quip came from a woman or a man. Second, many people hold ?rm beliefs that aspects of physiology suit men and women for particular social roles. Men’s greater upper body strength makes them better candidates for manual labor, and their greater height gives the impression that they would make good leaders (i. e. , people we look up to). Women’s reproductive capacity and the caretaking tasks (e. g. , breastfeeding, baby minding) that accompany it make them seem suitable for other roles that require gentleness and nurturance. Third, the logic that underlies hypothesis testing in the sciences is focused on difference. Researchers design their studies with the hope that they can reject the null hypothesis that experimental groups do not differ.

As the variety and number of nontraditional families grow, so does the need for new models of family and parenthood. Diversity in Family Life discusses the relationship between shifting gender identities and the processes of family formation, examining non-traditional family structures, including asexual couples, child-free couples, living-apart-together couples, single parents, and homosexual and transsexual parents. Calling for bold reformulations, it argues that it is possible to live, love, and form a family in an astounding variety of ways.