Is feminism dead, or has it gone mainstream? Are we into a third wave or still in the second wave? What did feminism accomplish in the past 40 years? What still needs to be done about persistent gender inequality? Do we need a new feminism?
In Gender Inequality: Feminist Theories and Politics, Judith Lorber examines the various theories that have been developed to address the sources of gender inequality. She uncovers how these various theories have diverged and converged to form a political movement in the second wave of feminism.
In this lively text, Lorber acknowledges feminism's significant contributions to redressing gender inequality, celebrates its enormous accomplishments over the last forty years, documents its ongoing political activism, and--with an awareness of postmodern and third-wave trends--points toward its future.
Organized into three typologies, Gender Inequality provides an analysis of thirteen types of feminism and includes two provocative excerpts from primary sources to further enhance each chapter. Lorber also includes checklists for sources of gender inequality, politics, and contributions to social change for each feminist perspective.
Throughout, the text documents the sources and the politics of gender inequality, as seen by a variety of feminisms: gender reform feminisms (liberal, Marxist, socialist, post-colonial), who want to purge the gendered social order of practices that discriminate against women; gender resistance feminisms (radical, lesbian, psychoanalytic, standpoint), who want women's voices and perspectives to reshape the gendered social order; and gender rebellion feminisms (multicultural/multiracial, feminist studies of men, social construction, postmodern, third wave), who want to destroy the gendered social order by multiplying genders or doing away with them entirely.
The text's rich pedagogical features include a glossary, an index, updated and expanded text and readings lists, and updated Internet sources.
New to this edition:
* Fifteen new readings
* Separate chapters on Marxist feminism and socialist feminism
* A chapter on third-wave feminism
* "Do We Need a New Feminism?"--a chapter focusing on current trends in feminist theory, research, and politics