KEY BENEFIT: Synthesizing the disciplines of sociology and women's studies, this book presents major theoretical frameworks on sex and gender stratification, taking a feminist sociological approach to the study of women in society to analyze women's positions within the institutions of work, education and the law. Integrates social class, race/ethnicity and gender as dimensions of equality across social issues. Explains basic sociological approaches, including functionalism, conflict theory and symbolic interactionism, and provides an overview of feminist theories. Analyzes trends in census data over the past two decades, and includes new sections on trends in women owned businesses and hate crimes. Discusses the global view of women in the labor force over the last three decades, and concludes with a section on Women and Aging that illustrates the compounded effects of the interconnections between class, race and gender issues on women as they progress through the course of life. For sociologists, social scientists, and those interested in women's studies.

Young Women and the Body sets out to examine why the current generation of young women seem to be deeply unhappy with their own bodies. Dieting and disguising are commonplace, and inflicting serious harm by no means rare in fourteen to eighteen year olds. Despite prophesies to the contrary boys and adults are suffering far less. Drawing on feminist social constructionist perspectives the book seeks to examine this epidemic of body-hatred.

An essential volume for anyone interested in the history of sociology, the development of sociological theory, or the history of women in the profession, this well-researched, compellingly argued book makes the case for the active and significant presence of women in the creation of sociology and social theory in its founding and classic periods. Further, Lengermann and Niebrugge explain how the women came to be erased from the history of sociology and identify the political and intellectual currents that now make their recovery both possible and important. The volume focuses on 15 women in eight chapters. Each chapter begins with a biographical sketch situating each thinkers ideas in a historical, social, and cultural context. Next, the authors analyze the womans theory, summarizing its underlying assumptions, explicating its major themes, and introducing key vocabulary. The chapter concludes with excerpts from the original texts of the women founders. All the theories discussed in this text share a moral commitment to the idea that sociology should and could work for the alleviation of socially produced human pain. The ethical duty of the sociologist is to seek sound scientific knowledge, to refuse to make the knowledge an end in itself, to speak for the disempowered, to advocate social reform, and to never forget that the appropriate relationship between researcher and subject is one of mutuality.

"[This book's] 52 bio-critical profiles of 53 women recount their lives, delineate the major themes of their works, assess their critical reputations, and list selected writings both by and about them. . . . Ably executed, this is a natural addition to academic sociology collections." Wilson Library Bulletin

The Second Edition of this best selling book provides a comprehensive examination of the role that gender plays in work environments. This book differs from others by comparing women′s and men′s work status, addressing contemporary issues within a historical perspective, incorporating comparative material from other countries, recognizing differences in the experiences of women and men from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Relying on both qualitative and quantitative data, the authors seek to link social scientific ideas about workers′ lives, sex inequality, and gender to the real-world workplace. This new edition contains updated statistics, timely cartoons, and presents new scholarship in the field. It also provides a renewed focus on reasons for variability in inequality across workplaces. In sum, the second edition of Women and Men at Work presents a contemporary perspective to the field, with relevant comparative and historical insights that will draw readers in and connect them to the wider concern of making sense of our dramatically changing world.

One of the foremost Native writers in North America, Lee Maracle links her First Nations heritage with feminism in this visionary book. "Maracle has created a book of true wisdom, intense pride, sisterhood and love." -Milestones Review

A collection of essays by feminist scholars on feminist sociology, reflecting the cultural and historical context in which feminist scholarship has taken place.