Overview

How many sexes are there? What is the relationship between sex and gender? Is gender a product of nature, or nurture, or both? In Beyond the Binary, Shannon Dea addresses these questions while introducing readers to evidence and theoretical perspectives from a range of cultures and disciplines, and from sources spanning three millennia. Dea’s central emphasis is the relationship between gender, understood as a psycho-socio-cultural category, and sex, understood as a type of physiologicalclassifi cation. One of the abiding lessons conveyed within is that questions about sex and gender are not new products of modern Western culture; they have been discussed for centuries and across many traditions by some of the greatest thinkers of history. Excerpts and examples from historical and contemporary sources are included throughout, as are a number of illustrations demonstrating varied depictions of human anatomy from different cultures and contexts. Dea’s pluralistic and historically-informed approach offers readers a timely background to current debates about sex and gender in the media, health sciences, and public policy.

Full Product Details

9781554812837

Table of Contents

Reviews

Shannon Dea has written an amazing book. When you see the table of contents you might think, 'she can't possibly do all of this.' But she does it very well. She discusses a wide variety of historical authors and contemporary topics about sex and gender in a lucid, informal style that students and faculty alike will enjoy. -- Ann Garry, California State University, Los Angeles This is a wonderfully gripping, fascinating, and illuminating book. It's intended as a textbook, and its super-clear prose and helpful discussion questions will make it an excellent one. But it's also so much more: Dea is a scholar of extraordinary reach, and I have difficulty imagining there being any experts in the field who will fail to learn from this book, with its blend of historical, literary, scientific, and philosophical sources. It's also incredibly fun to read, packed with fascinating vignettes and facts, and written in an extremely engaging manner. There are not many philosophical works I would classify as page-turners, but this is one. -- Jennifer Saul, University of Sheffield Beyond the Binary is a lively introduction to historical and contemporary controversies over what sex is, what gender is, and how they are related. -- Charlotte Witt, University of New Hampshire

Author Information

Shannon Dea is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director of Women’s Studies at the University of Waterloo, Canada.

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