Paradoxes of Gender [Paperback]

Professor Judith Lorber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 27, 1995

In this pathbreaking book, a well-known feminist and sociologist - who is also the Founding Editor of Gender & Society - challenges our most basic assumptions about gender. Judith Lorber views gender as wholly a product of socialization subject to human agency, organization, and interpretation. In her new paradigm, gender is an institution comparable to the economy, the family, and religion in its significance and consequences. Drawing on many schools of feminist scholarship and on research from anthropology, history, sociology, social psychology, sociolinguistics, and cultural studies, Lorber explores different paradoxes of gender: why we speak of only two "opposite sexes" when there is such a variety of sexual behaviors and relationships; why transvestites, transsexuals, and hermaphrodites do not affect the conceptualization of two genders and two sexes in Western societies; why most of our cultural images of women are the way men see them and not the way women see themselves; why all women in modern society are expected to have children and be the primary caretaker; why domestic work is almost always the sole responsibility of wives, even when they earn more than half the family income; why there are so few women in positions of authority, when women can be found in substantial numbers in many occupations and professions; and why women have not benefitted from major social revolutions. Lorber argues that the whole point of the gender system today is to maintain structured gender inequality - to produce a subordinate class (women) that can be exploited as workers, sexual partners, childbearers, and emotional nurturers. Calling into question the inevitability and necessity of gender,she envisions a society structured for equality, where no gender, racial ethnic, or social class group is allowed to monopolize economic, educational, and cultural resources or the positions of power.

Product Details

• Paperback: 435 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (September 27, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300064977
• ISBN-13: 978-0300064971
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #884,050 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, then disappointing., June 17, 2008

By 

Steven Saus (Dayton, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paradoxes of Gender (Paperback)

The first third of Paradoxes of Gender is a brilliant deconstruction of Western society's concept of gender. With the relentlessness and subtlety of a sledgehammer, Judith Lorber points out the illogic in the ways that we "do" gender. Her explanations are lucid, clear, and unarguable (though you may wish to). She also provides compelling rationales for some of the most puzzling aspects of gender and sex relations.

Unfortunately, after she finishes with that, I feel that she's rather uncritical in finding evidence for the history of gender, and starts to ascribe motive to the ways that society subjugates women. This is painful for me, because I largely agree with her assessment of the situation, but think her evidence is poor, and that it's unneccessary for males to be *intentionally* subjugating women for that to be the end result. (Never ascribe to malice that which can be explained by stupidity.) Still, I highly recommend the first three (and perhaps four) chapter as practically *required* reading for understanding the arbitrary nature of gender in our society.

8 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lacklustre, December 17, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Paradoxes of Gender (Paperback)

In a book aiming to thresh out the dynamics of gender, Lorber's text seems to demonstrate that she doesn't have exactly the firm grip of the subject that the title suggests she has. While the other chapters which deal with more feminist issues with relation to gender are a bit more sound and solid, and the preceding chapters dealing with the 'nuts and bolts' of gender are somewhat vaguely fresh and readable (although not really saying much new), it is worrisome to see that while Lorber tries her hardest to remain objective, her dated and misunderstood views on transgender (she does not use this already popular term) issues betray her objectivity. All in all, her little inconsistencies and sometimes erroneous reasoning to gender, especially with regard to gender identity, do really show that she might have missed the boat with this one.