Gender, Susan Kingsley Kent
Gender, Susan Kingsley Kent
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Gender
A World History

Author: Susan Kingsley Kent

Narrator: Elizabeth Wiley

Unabridged: 6 hr 58 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/11/2021


Synopsis

Gender exists in almost every society as a way of organizing its people. Gender is used to assign certain responsibilities, obligations, and privileges to some, and to deny them to others. In Gender: A World History, Susan Kingsley Kent tells the story of this seemingly simple but in fact quite complex concept. With historical perspective she critically examines our everyday understandings of women and men, masculinity and femininity, and sexual difference in general. Central to this account is the conviction that gender is neither natural nor innocent. What passes for masculinity and femininity in one society might not do so in another. Even the passing of time can change what gender looks like in a particular culture. Thinking about the history of gender can also shed light on other types of relations, such as those between a government and its people, between different social classes, and between a colony and its colonizer.

Ranging from prehistory to the present, this book presents a chronological picture of gender across the globe. From Hatshepsut and the rise of patriarchy in the ancient world, to the Bushido code of the samurai in wartime, to Susan B. Anthony and the women's rights movement in the United States, to the gay and trans rights movements of today, the force of gender in world history cannot be denied.

About Susan Kingsley Kent

Susan Kingsley Kent is an Arts & Sciences Professor of Distinction in the Department of History at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She is the author of The Global 1930s with Marc Matera, A New History of Britain: Four Nations and an Empire, and Queen Victoria: Gender and Empire, among other books.


Reviews

Goodreads review by juulia on January 14, 2023

"Gender: A Very Brief World History" might be a more accurate title. Obviously gender history is an enormous topic to tackle, but this volume barely scratches the surface. The focus is very heavily on societies with a binary understanding of gender, and where Kent does discuss non-binary genders, it......more

Goodreads review by Ania on August 07, 2021

Really interesting with a good scope of societies and cultures included.......more

Goodreads review by Syd on July 30, 2022

Woof. I am glad this was only a 7 hour audiobook listen. It was informative and interesting, oscillating between being captivating and maybe a bit too lecture-y. But there was just.. .a lot of rape in it. And of course right, that makes sense. But still. A lot. Too much to actually be enjoyable as a......more

Goodreads review by dar on December 28, 2022

Loved it. Finally a book that provided me with concise, easy to read history and information regarding the concept of gender, all in chronological order. Insanely interesting, a wonderful introduction to the topic of gender in the context of history. As a person who was looking for a kind of work th......more

Goodreads review by Meghan on January 06, 2022

Gender is not merely a dual entity but a multifaceted one. . . no less deserving of rights and dignity. ~ Susan Kingsley Kent......more