Harriet Bradley 
Gender 

Gender issues continue to be a prominent concern of academics and
policy-makers, and increasingly arise in various forms to be
debated in the public sphere and popular media. But what exactly do
we mean by gender? How can we best understand gender differences?
How are current gender relations changing? What new paths are
‘femininity’ and ‘masculinity’ taking? What
would it be like to live in a society in which differences of
gender were transcended?



In this new edition of her popular and highly lauded book, Harriet
Bradley provides an introduction to the concept of gender and the
different theoretical approaches which have developed within gender
studies. Utilizing life narratives, she investigates processes of
gendering in three important spheres of contemporary social life:
production, reproduction and consumption. The book highlights the
centrality of gender in everyday life and shows how thinking about
gender is influenced by changing political contexts. As well as
updating the discussion with the latest scholarship, political
concerns and economic data, the new edition pays closer attention
to intersectionality and hybrid identities, as well as exploring
the complexities of contemporary relations of masculinity and
femininity in the light of new feminist activities.



This lively and accessible book will be of interest to students
across the social sciences, as well as anyone interested in
contemporary relations between women and men.

Table of Content

Preface to Second Edition vii

Introduction: The Concept of Gender 1

IN AND OUT OF THE FRAME: A PERSONAL HISTORY OF GENDER 9

1. What’s in a Name? Meanings and Usages of Gender 15

GENDERING AND CLASS: GROWING UP GIRL, GROWING UP BOY 29

2. Gender and Modernity 37

‘WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?’ BEING A MAN IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
54

3. Gender and Postmodernity 64

‘SISTERS UNDER THEIR SKINS’? IDENTITIES IN A GLOBAL AGE 87

4. Gendered Worlds: Production 98

HAVING IT ALL: FAMILY AND EMPLOYMENT IN WOMEN’S LIVES 118

5. Gendered Worlds: Reproduction 129

MEN, MARRIAGE AND EMOTIONS: ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN THE SEXES
150

6. Gendered Worlds: Consumption 159

IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY: GENDERED UTOPIAS 183

Conclusion: What the Future Holds – Gender, Theory and
Politics 195

Questions for Discussion 221

Glossary 223

References 227

Index 242

About the author

Harriet Bradley is emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Bristol.