Gendered Intersections

An Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies, 2nd Edition

Lesley Biggs, Pamela Downe, Susan Gingell

Following the structure of the successful first edition of Gendered Intersections, this second edition examines the intersections across and between gender, race, culture, class, ability, sexuality, age and geographical location from the diverse perspectives of academics, artists and activists. Using a variety of mediums — academic research, poetry, statistics, visual essays, fiction, emails and music — this collection offers a unique exploration of gender through issues such as Aboriginal self-governance, poverty, work, spirituality, globalization and community activism. This new edition brings a greater focus on politics, and gender and the law. It also includes access to a Gendered Intersections website, which contains several performances by poets and a Gendered Intersections Quiz, which highlights the historical and contemporary contributions of women and non-hegemonic men on Canadian Society.

Praise for the first edition

“Gendered Intersections’ diverse selections provide an excellent and encompassing overview in the field of Women’s and Gender Studies in Canada today. The thought-provoking readings encourage students to use a gendered perspective to engage in a critical analysis of current issues and topics. I find this an excellent text to get students thinking about the gendered world in which live.”

— Wendee Kubik, Women’s Studies, University of Regina

 

“The first edition of Gendered Intersections introduces Canadian readers to a global economy, and circuits of migration and culture through diverse feminist perspectives. The editors skillfully convey how human experiences that foreground sexuality, colonialism, race, disability and age are legitimate starting points for critical understandings of gender, an approach that is so necessary in undergraduate and college classrooms today. Both I and my students appreciate the accessible and critical manner in which the editors tackle everyday experiences of gender.

— Jennifer Johnson, Women’s Studies, Laurentian University

 

“This book is based in … premises that guide teaching introductory gender and women’s studies courses and I expect it to be a very useful textbook. I … am confident that it sufficiently addresses directions, debates and discussions in gender and women’s studies … in particular … transnational perspectives, colonialism and indigenous issues and debates about gender and sexuality that are crucial … in classrooms across Canadian universities.”  — Katherine Side, Women’s Studies, Memorial University

Contents

Section 1 Setting the Stage: What Does It Mean to Be a Woman and a Man? • Section 2 Forging Femininities and Masculinities Through Media and Material Cultures • Section 3 Sexualizing Women and Men • Section 4 Body and Soul • Section 5 Community, Families and Parenting • Section 6 Gendered Economies and Waged Workers • Section 7 The Law, Governance, Politics and Public Policy • Section 8 Changing the World: Activism for Equity • References

About the Authors

C. Lesley Biggs is an Associate Professor in the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Saskatchewan.

Pamela Downe is an Associate Professor of Women’s & Gender Studies at the University of Saskatchewan. She has had a long-standing interest in health-related issues, especially those related to gender and infectious disease. Her first book, entitled Modelos Competativos de Enfermedades is based on her work in Southern Mexico and Northern Guatemala where she examined different explanatory and treatment models of cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis. Her second book, Violence and Contagion in Costa Rica: Discursive and Gendered Intersections, examines how women in economically marginalized communities construct and apply concepts of contagion, infection and invasion. Much of the research for this second book focuses on HIV/AIDS, violence and prostitution. She has also publishd on the use of humour as an adaptive social strategy as well as prostitute sexuality. More recently, her research interests have included analyses of the globalizing sex industry and the health repercussions of violence.

Professor Downe was awarded the University of Saskatchewan Student Union (USSU) Teaching Excellence Award in 1997.
 

Susan Gingell is a professor in the Department of English at the University of Saskatchewan.