Women and Men: Cultural Constructs of Gender

Presenting a cross-cultural study of gender roles and relationships, this study also discusses the impact of historical change on gender roles and relations. The work discusses gender roles in types of societies ranging from bands to industrial states; uses a range of cross-cultural examples to compare and contras gender roles in a variety of societies; analyzes the historical development of industrialization in the US and its use of and impact on gender inequalities in pre-existing societies; and examines several worldwide issues in the interrelationships among gender, health and survival. Focusing on the function of religious beliefs and practices in justifying and reinforcing gender roles and relations, the text examines data of interrelationships between gender, language use, and language form in a variety of cultures throughout the world.