When sex became gender / Shira Tarrant.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Tarrant, Shira, 1963-

Series:

Perspectives on gender (New York, N.Y.)

Perspectives on gender

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Feminist theory--History.

Feminist theory.

Feminism--History--20th century.

Feminism.

History.

Sex role--Philosophy.

Sex role.

Physical Description:

viii, 285 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : Routledge, 2006.

Summary:

How did the term "sex" develop into "gender"? And is it really true that a vibrant feminist movement disappeared entirely after suffrage gains were won, only to suddenly resurface in the late 1960s? Conventional wisdom tells us that feminism died in the mid-1940s when women left their wartime factory jobs to return home. But this version of the story is not entirely true. When Sex Became Gender brings to light dominant ideas about sex roles and the feminist critiques these generated in the years between World War II and the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s. While discussing the famous feminist scholars-Simone de Beauvoir, Margaret Mead-the book also hinges on the work of scholars who are lesser known to American audiences-Mirra Komarovsky, Viola Klein, and Ruth Herschberger. In contrast with current books that reinforce the divisions, disagreements, and disappearances between feminist generations, this book highlights the continuities between postwar interest in sex roles and contemporary arguments about gender. By establishing the historical and theoretical connections between feminist eras, Tarrant shows how protofeminist ideas of the past served as the foundation for today's focus on the social construction of gender.

Contents:

Introduction : tending the embers

Confronting the bonds of ideology : feminist theory in the Cold War years

The setting : postwar politics in Britain, France, and the United States

On the path to gender : Margaret Mead, socialization, and sex role ideology

Mirra Komarovsky : functional analysis and the poignant signs of discontent

Viola Klein : sociology of knowledge and the so-called feminine character

Simone de Beauvoir and The second sex

No woman is an island : Ruth Herschberger and postwar pollination

When sex became gender.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 253-267) and index.

ISBN:

0415953464

0415953472

OCLC:

62281555

Publisher Number:

9780415953467

9780415953474