Gender and the Construction of Hegemonic and Oppositional Femininities
By (author) Justin Charlebois
Publication date:
13 December 2010Length of book:
162 pagesPublisher
Lexington BooksISBN-13: 9780739144886
Gender and the Construction of Hegemonic and Oppositional Femininities investigates how hegemonic and nonhegemonic forms of femininity are constructed in the social institutions of school, the workplace, and the media. Hegemonic femininities are those that form a complementary and subordinate relationship with hegemonic masculinity and in doing so legitimize a hierarchical relationship between men and women, and masculinity and femininity. Nonhegemonic femininities include culturally-idealized dominant femininities, which do not legitimize a hierarchical relationship between masculinity and femininity, and gender-deviant subordinate femininities. Through an analysis of existing empirical research and fictional media, the book illustrates the relationship between these various femininities and their relationship with masculinity.
In his book, Gender and the Construction of Hegemonic and Oppositional Femininities, Justin Charlebois provides a cogent summary and integration of some of the recent, central theories of hegemonic masculinity and femininity. Charlebois also offers interesting and compelling applications of the concepts to contemporary issues. This book would be perfect for students and scholars new to the subject and quite interesting to those already familiar with gender theory and research.