How can we understand gender in the contemporary world? What psychological differences now exist between women and men? How are masculinities and femininities made? And how is gender entwined in global politics and debates over trans issues?
Raewyn Connell and Tristan Bridges – leading scholars of gender and inequality – answer these questions and more. Their updated revision provides a sophisticated yet accessible introduction to modern gender studies, covering empirical research from all around the world, in addition to theory and politics. As well as introducing the field, Gender: In World Perspective provides a powerful contemporary framework for gender analysis with a strong and distinctive global awareness. Highlighting the multidimensional character of gender relations, Connell and Bridges show how to link personal life with large-scale organizational structures, and how gender politics changes its form in changing situations.
The fifth edition of this influential book brings the statistical picture of gender inequalities up to date, offering new, close-focus case studies of gender research. Like previous editions, it examines gender politics and global power relations, but with added discussion around contemporary issues of intersectionality, populism, and ""anti-gender"" politics, gender-based violence, trans struggles, and environmental change. It also speaks at the intimate level, about embodied gender and personal relationships.
Gender: In World Perspective moves from personal experience to global problems, offering a unique perspective on gender issues today.
By:
Raewyn Connell (University of Sydney Australia),
Tristan Bridges
Imprint: Polity Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: 5th edition
Dimensions:
Height: 228mm,
Width: 153mm,
Spine: 20mm
Weight: 312g
ISBN: 9781509568857
ISBN 10: 1509568859
Series: Short Introductions
Pages: 216
Publication Date: 17 September 2026
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming
Preface 1. The question of gender Noticing gender amidst global backlash Understanding gender Defining gender Conclusion 2. Gender research: five examples Case 1: Gender in high school - United States Case 2. Empire, feminism, and race - Colombia Case 3. Violence, young men, and masculinity - Australia Case 4. Living on the Edge: Hijra in South India Case 5. Refugee women and culture - Turkey and Syria Conclusion 3. Sex differences and gendered bodies Sexual reproduction and difference Explaining the difference: nature? culture? both? Sex similarities research Social embodiment and the reproductive arena 4. Theory and theorists: a short global history Introduction: Raden Ajeng Kartini Imperial Europe and its colonies From Sigmund to Simone From National Liberation to Women's Liberation Re-alignments: queer, intersectional, environmental Global politics and postcolonial knowledge Conclusion 5. Gender relations Gender as a social structure Intersectionality Four dimensions of gender relations 1. Power relations 2. Economic relations 3. Emotional relations 4. Symbolic relations Crisis tendencies and change 6. Personal life How gender is made: socialization theory and depth psychology Gender identity Social embodiment and change in gender relations Gender projects and active learning Gender transitions and trans groups Conclusion 7. Work, economy and globalization Gendered labour Gendered corporations and markets The 'gender equality paradox' Feminist theory on the gendered economy Globalization and gender Conclusion 8. Gender politics Movements in gender politics Gendered states and governance Gender politics on a world scale Digital politics: backlash and counter-publics Toward gender democracy Afterword References Index
Raewyn Connell is Professor Emerita at the University of Sydney. Tristan Bridges is Professor of Sociology and Faculty Affiliate of Feminist Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Reviews for Gender: In World Perspective
""My thanks to Raewyn Connell and Tristan Bridges for this timely reference book on gender, which revisits theoretical debates and research contributions from different latitudes in the context of a global backlash and the struggle for equality and non-discrimination as a civilizational horizon."" Teresa Valdés, Gender and Equity Observatory ""Connell and Bridges show how gender has shaped power relations in the postcolonial world. Combining global and local perspectives, they bring in the rich harvest of gender research worldwide. This book is essential reading and a miracle."" Ilse Lenz, Ruhr University Bochum
