Questioning Gender: A Sociological Exploration

A one-of-a-kind text designed to launch readers into a thoughtful encounter with gender issues

Rather than providing definitive answers about gender, the new edition of this unique book, Questioning Gender: A Sociological Exploration, exposes readers to new material that will lead them to question their assumptions. Robyn Ryle uses both historical and cross-cultural approaches―as well as a focus on intersectionality and transgender issues―to help students understand the socially constructed nature of gender. Debunking ideas of what is normal and abnormal, this provocative book explores the core theories and topics of the course, including the gender of sexuality, the gender of friendship and dating, the gender of media and popular culture, and the gender of politics and power. 

Robyn Ryle is an associate professor of sociology at Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana, where she has been teaching sociology of gender and other courses for 7 years. She went to Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, for her undergraduate degrees in sociology and English with a concentration in women’s studies. She received her PhD in sociology from Indiana University–Bloomington and is originally from northern Kentucky. She is a member of the American Sociological Association and has served on the editorial board of the journal Teaching Sociology. She enjoys digging in her garden, cooking what comes out of her garden, and generally enjoying small town life. She currently lives in a 170-year-old house in scenic Madison, Indiana, with her husband, Jeff, stepdaughter Grace, and two rather peculiar cats. You can find her on Twitter (@robynryle), on the Facebook page for Questioning Gender (https://www.facebook.com/questioninggender?ref=hl), or at her blog: you-think-too-much.com.