The Sociology of Gender: An Introduction to Theory and Research

by Amy S. Wharton

Gender is one of the most important topics in the field of sociology, and as a system of social practices it inspires a multitude of theoretical approaches. The Sociology of Gender offers an introductory overview of gender theory and research, offering a unique and compelling approach.

Genres: Sociology, Nonfiction, Academia

280 pages, Paperback

First published August 6, 2004

Reviews

[Sarah Bostic]

It isn’t the worst book I’ve read on the topic, but the three main frameworks weren’t always illustrated as clearly as I feel they could’ve been and this was mainly from the lack of adequate examples. It does fairly well explaining the theoretical ideas, but doesn’t always thoroughly contextualize them. My students really struggled with this book due to its lack of examples. The concepts are often left so abstract and almost surface level without really expanding past brief, definition like, explanations. Unless you have a lot of fantastic outside material to bring in alongside this book, I don’t recommend it, at least from a teaching perspective.

[Elizabeth]

[4.5]

A wonderful articulation of the topic. Both fascinating and entertaining. I wished it was a bit longer, but really it's just inspired me to seek out more books on this topic.

[محمد أبو العطا]

حين تتحكم الشهوة في الإنسان؛ فإنها تصل به إلى أحطّ درجات البهيمية والانحراف، ثم يتحول إلى التنظير والتقعيد لحيوانيته وانحرافه بدلًا من الرجوع إلى العقل والفطرة وبدلًا من محاولة تصحيح مساره!

[Anglie ☆ﾟ]

i have no idea how to feel about this book, i hate academic shit

[Nina]

This was the assigned reading of a gender and intimacy class I did in university. We barely used it in class and I was sorely disappointed in the content and that this was the framework for the class.

The class was based around gender and sexuality, and this book offered a poor insight into both. Being incredibly cisnormative and heteronormative it made communicating ideas outside of this very difficult, especially when the majority of the class identified as cisgender and heterosexual.

The ideas expressed in this book were also not explained well and I often found myself needing to look elsewhere for better explanations of the very basic building blocks they were offering. If you are told to read this for your university class, skip it and find something better.

[Jessica]

I might as well include all of my textbooks from this class. Wharton's book is theoretical terms and understanding, which are then applied to everything else I've read (and events happening in my life).

[Meagan]

I especially enjoyed the chapter on Gender, Childhood, and Family Life.

[Soren Kerk]

another in the (futile) attempt to discover trenchant, non-political, Sociology.