Introduction to Gender Studies: Analysis of Social Mechanisms of Gender Inequality

Author: Tong Xin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: This book is an interdisciplinary undergraduate textbook that analyzes the social mechanisms affecting gender inequality from a gender perspective. The book is divided into four parts. Part 1 examines cultural factors such as social psychology, sociocultural aspects, and historical processes that construct the gendered stereotypes of men being strong and women being weak. Part 2 analyzes how society establishes unequal gender relations through the control of the bodies of both genders. In intimate relationships, patriarchy is implemented in more subtle ways. Through this mechanism, on the one hand, the experience of male dominance can be continuously enriched; on the other hand, it conceals the experience of female subjugation, making unequal gender relations a "invisible black hole." Part 3 examines how the gender division of labor serves as a crucial mechanism for producing and reproducing gender inequality, as well as the impact of economic factors on the social development of both genders. Part 4 introduces the theories and methods of gender studies.