The Commitment: love, sex, marriage, and my family by
The true story of a marriage (not really), a lovable and relentless mother, a six-year old who says his parents cannot get married (but wants to go to the reception), a partner who doesn?t want to act like a straight person, and the author, who has written a hilarious and poignant memoir about making ?The Commitment.? There is no hotter issue than gay marriage in the culture-war debate, and Dan Savage, one of America's most outspoken and beloved columnists, takes it on and makes it personal in this rollicking memoir of coming to terms with the very public act of marriage. What he discovers will make readers?gay or straight, right or left, single or married?howl with laughter as well as rethink their notions of marriage and all that it entails. Praise for Dan Savage's "Skipping Towards Gomorrah" ?Takes readers on a journey that's as insightful as it is hilarious.? ?"Entertainment Weekly" ?Laugh-out-loud funny.? ?"The Seattle Times" -Savage's ?Savage Love? column runs in more than seventy newspapers in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. -Like the best political comedians, Dan Savage is a frank and honest storyteller whose comedy is funny but always insightful and necessary. -Dan has appeared on "The Al Franken Show" on Air America, "Paula Zahn Now" on CNN, "20/20," MSNBC, and VH1.
Domestic Crimes, Family Violence and Child Abuse: a study of contemporary American society by
Evidence suggests that some forms of domestic crimes are growing at an alarming rate. An epidemic of violence and maltreatment within the home and between intimates exists, often as part of an interrelated cycle: abuse victim becomes violent abuser. This book will be of interest to educators, students and professionals in the fields of child health and welfare, criminal justice, women's studies, gerontology, sociology and related areas. Part I is an introduction on domestic criminality that includes an historical review, demographic studies, and a discussion of medical treatments for victims. Issues such as domestic fatalities, battered women and men, conjugal rape, and abuse of elders are covered in Part II. An examination of child maltreatment by neglect and sexual abuse is discussed in Part III and symptoms of domestic criminality are covered in Part IV. Part V addresses theories, causes, and explanations of domestic violence, attempting to bridge gaps between existing studies. The characteristics of incarcerated domestic criminals are reviewed in Part VI; a discussion of efforts to help victims and decrease the level of domestic violence is provided in Part VII. Notes, suggested additional readings, and a bibliography are included.
Family by
Adrian Wilson provides a comprehensive introduction to the study of the family. The book opens with a chapter on family structure, looking at the family historically and in cross-cultural perspective. Following this is a review first of theoretical approaches to the family, including functionalist, feminist, Marxist and radical criticism, and second, how the family is studied sociologically. Chapters 4 and 5 look at the changing British family and British families today, and the concluding chapters examine family problems, for example, divorce, violence, one -parent families, and the family and the state.
Family Values and the New Society: Dilemmas of the 21st Century by
Smith (law, Catholic U. of America, D.C.) explores a number of situations in which old and new moral and ethical values and political and social forces are combining either to challenge or enhance--depending on one's view--the traditional notion of family. He discusses challenging or restructuring t
Getting by on the Minimum: the Lives of Working-Class Women by
First published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Nickel and Dimed: on (not) getting by in America by
Our sharpest and most original social critic goes "undercover" as an unskilled worker to reveal the dark side of American prosperity. Millions of Americans work full time, year round, for poverty-level wages. In 1998, Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them. She was inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which promised that a job -- any job -- can be the ticket to a better life. But how does anyone survive, let alone prosper, on $6 an hour? To find out, Ehrenreich left her home, took the cheapest lodgings she could find, and accepted whatever jobs she was offered. Moving from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, she worked as a waitress, a hotel maid, a cleaning woman, a nursing-home aide, and a Wal-Mart sales clerk. She lived in trailer parks and crumbling residential motels. Very quickly, she discovered that no job is truly "unskilled," that even the lowliest occupations require exhausting mental and muscular effort. She also learned that one job is not enough; you need at least two if you int to live indoors. Nickel and Dimed reveals low-rent America in all its tenacity, anxiety, and surprising generosity -- a land of Big Boxes, fast food, and a thousand desperate stratagems for survival. Read it for the smoldering clarity of Ehrenreich's perspective and for a rare view of how "prosperity" looks from the bottom. You will never see anything -- from a motel bathroom to a restaurant meal -- in quite the same way again.
The Sociology of Families by
Written by an international team of experts, this comprehensivevolume investigates modern-day family relationships, partnering,and parenting set against a backdrop of rapid social, economic,cultural, and technological change. Covers a broad range of topics, including social inequality,parenting practices, children's work, changing patterns ofcitizenship, multi-cultural families, and changes in welfare stateprotection for families Includes many European, North American and Asian exampleswritten by a team of experts from across five continents Features coverage of previously neglected groups, includingimmigrant and transnational families as well as families of gaysand lesbians Demonstrates how studying social change in families isfundamental for understanding the transformations in individual andsocial life across the globe Extensively reworked from the original Companion published overa decade ago: three-quarters of the material is completely new, andthe remainder has been comprehensively updated
Studying the Social Worlds of Children: sociological readings by
First published in 1991. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Culture, Society and Sexuality by
This new and revised edition of Culture, Society and Sexualitybrings together and makes accessible a broad and international selection of readings to provide insights into the social, cultural, political and economic dimensions of sexuality and relationships, and emerging discourses around sexual and reproductive rights. Clearly structured and presented, the book makes an extremely useful reference for students and researchers. Section one focuses on the social and cultural construction of sexuality as an emerging field of inquiry over the course of recent decades, and examines some of the most important theoretical insights and areas of investigation that have emerged as this field has developed. Section two links research on the construction of sexuality to a growing body of work on gender and sexuality in relation to a wide range of practical issues and contemporary social policy debates. It is an essential reader not only for students and researchers in these areas, but also for activists, health workers and service providers, who daily confront practical and policy issues related to sexuality, sexual health and sexual rights.
The Dynamics of Sex and Gender: a sociological perspective by 
Encyclopedia of Lesbian and Gay Histories and Cultures by
Beginning in 1869, when the study of homosexuality can be said to have begun with the establishment of sexology, this Encyclopediaoffers accounts of the most important international developments in an area that now occupies a critical place in many fields of academic endeavours. While gays and lesbians have shared many aspects of life, their histories and cultures developed in profoundly different ways. To reflect this crucial fact, the Encyclopediahas been prepared in two separate volumes assuring that both histories receive full, unbiased attention and that a broad range of human experience is covered. Written by some of the most famous names in the field, as well as new researchers this is intended as a reference for students and scholars in all areas of study, as well as the general public.
Feminist Sociology by
`Sara Delamont eloquently explores the impact of feminism on sociology and powerfully argues that it has been marginalised. A "must read" for all sociologists searching for a complete account of the development of the discipline' - Emma Wincup, School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent at Canterbury `This is a model of what a textbook should be, for Delamont states what she intends to do, does it with clarity, summarises succinctly and provides interesting and pertinent references' - Sociological Research Online This book explores the achievements of British feminist sociology in theory, methods and empirical research. It outlines the barriers to the development of feminism and explores contemporary challenges. It provides an unrivalled guide to the origins of feminism in the discipline of sociology, analyses the uneasy relationships between feminists and the founding fathers and elucidates the opportunities and challenges presented by post-modernism. The book was written in the spirit of trying to be even-handed in its discussion of the various schools of feminism. It draws on a variety of empirical areas, from science to stratification and from healths and illness to the professions to illustrate the depth and vitality of feminist perspectives.
Gendering Bodies by
Gendering Bodies explains how the social world shapes our physical bodies and how our bodies shape the social world. In this remarkable investigation into contemporary ideas of gender, sociologists Crawley, Foley, and Shehan argue that bodies are constantly being gendered, or encouraged to participate in (heterosexual) gender conformity. This engendering influences nutrition practices, work and employment choices, dieting, working out, cosmetic surgery, sexual practices, and training-or lack thereof-in sports or fitness. This is an accessible, yet comprehensive, sociological inquiry into a theory of the gendered body.
Gender Issues in Contemporary Society by
During the past two decades, the study of how gender influences social life has moved from the outskirts to the center of current psychology research. Conflict surrounding this issue not only impacts the less-public environments of home and work, but stands in the forefront of national attention as seen in the Thomas confirmation hearings and the William Kennedy rape trial. Empirically based and practical, Gender Issues in Contemporary Society uses the expertise of eminent researchers to examine such conflict. Some of the specific issues covered are gender differences in emotion, desire for control, attitudes toward leadership, and expressive behavior. Such notables as Carol Nagy Jacklin, Barbara Gutek, Faye Crosby, Janet T. Spence, Joseph Pleck, and Susan Fiske contribute chapters that are accessible and engaging. Practitioners, scholars, researchers, policymakers, students, and general readers interested in the most current applications available in this field will find Gender Issues in Contemporary Society a most valuable resource.
Guyland: the perilous world where boys become men by
Why do so many guys seem stuck between adolescence and adulthood? Why do so many of them fail to launch? Just what is going on with America's young men? The passage from adolescence to adulthood was once clear, coherent, and relatively secure: in their late teenage years and early twenties, guys "put away childish things" and entered their futures as responsible adults. Today growing up has become more complex and confusing as young men drift casually through college and beyond--hanging out, partying, playing with tech toys, watching sports. But beneath the appearance of a simple extended boyhood, a more dangerous social world has developed, far away from the traditional signposts and cultural signals that once helped boys navigate their way to manhood. The average young American man today is moving through a new stage of development, a buddy culture unfazed by the demands of parents, girlfriends, jobs, kids, and other nuisances of adult life. Sociologist and gender studies authority Michael Kimmel has identified this territory as "Guyland," a place that is both a stage of life and a new social arena. Guyland is the locker room writ large: the world where young men both test and prove themselves as men and develop the defining attitudes and self-images they will carry into adulthood. Kimmel has interviewed hundreds of young men ages sixteen to twenty-six in high schools and college fraternity houses, military academies and sports bars, to better understand Guyland's rules and restrictions, its layers of peer pressure and gender policing, its features and artifacts--from the ordinary (video games, sports, and music) to the extreme (violent fraternity initiations, sexual predation). In mapping the social world where tomorrow's men are made, Kimmel offers a view into the minds and times of America's sons, brothers, and boyfriends, and works toward redefining what it means to be a man today--and tomorrow. Only by understanding this world and this life stage can we enable young men to chart their own paths, to stay true to themselves, and to travel safely through Guyland, emerging as responsible and fully formed men of integrity and honor.
The Lesbian and Gay Movements: assimilation or liberation? by
Throughout their relatively short history, lesbian and gay movements in the United States have endured searing conflicts over whether to embrace assimilationist or liberationist strategies. The Lesbian and Gay Movements explores this dilemma in both contemporary and historical contexts. Rimmerman tackles the challenging issue of what constitutes movement "effectiveness" and how "effective" the assimilationist and liberationist strategies have been in three contentious policy arenas: the military ban, same-sex marriage, and AIDS. Since the first edition in 2007, the landscape of lesbian and gay movements and rights has seen enormous changes. The thoroughly revised second edition includes updated discussion of LGBT movements' undertakings in, as well the Obama administration’s response to, HIV/AIDS policy, the fight to legalize same-sex marriage and overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, and the repeal of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell."
Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality by
Why do some people prefer heterosexual love while others fancy the same sex? Is sexual identity biologically determined or a product of convention? In this brilliant and provocative book, the acclaimed author of Myths of Gender argues that even the most fundamental knowledge about sex is shaped by the culture in which scientific knowledge is produced.Drawing on astonishing real-life cases and a probing analysis of centuries of scientific research, Fausto-Sterling demonstrates how scientists have historically politicized the body. In lively and impassioned prose, she breaks down three key dualisms - sex/gender, nature/nurture, and real/constructed - and asserts that individuals born as mixtures of male and female exist as one of five natural human variants and, as such, should not be forced to compromise their differences to fit a flawed societal definition of normality.
Tough guise : violence, media, and the crisis in masculinity by 
Women, Power, and Ethnicity: working toward reciprocal empowerment by
Powerful women aren't just men walking around in dresses! As women continue to assume positions of social leadership in increasing numbers, the dynamics of the social construction of power need to be examined. Have women adopted traditionally male patterns of behavior in an effort to gain and maintain power in business, industry, politics, academics, etc.' And if not, what kind of power are women practicing? The authors of Women, Power, and Ethnicity: Working Toward Reciprocal Empowerment endeavored to find out by conducting a research study on how women from various racial and ethnic backgrounds compare and contrast the attributes associated with existing power paradigms (traditional, empowerment, personal authority) with an alternate model of power--reciprocal empowerment. Reciprocal empowerment is a discursive and behavioral style of interaction grounded in reciprocity initiated by people who feel a sense of personal authority. Reciprocal empowerment enables people with mutual self-interests to rise above obstacles based on social and political structures and to use personal authority to discuss and act on issues openly and honestly in order to effect change. Using a qualitative methodology, Women, Power, and Ethnicity includes the results of surveys and interviews with women from seven different ethnic groups in the United States to determine if the concept or reciprocal empowerment resonates with them. The answer: Yes! Women, Power, and Ethnicity is organized by surveys and interview findings on women from seven cultural groups living in the United States (African, Asian, Caribbean, European, Latin, Middle Eastern, Native American). Each chapter includes: analyses of ethnographic findings, surveys, and interviews concise historical information effects of immigration, where applicable tables and diagrams direct quotes and much more! Women, Power, and Ethnicity examines women's attitudes toward power in several social forums--home, job, religion, politics, and society in general. The book is an essential resource for teachers and students of communication studies, women studies, gender studies, ethnic studies, and social sciences.