ABSTRACT
This book draws together the latest evidence on women in Britain, and reviews recent sociological interpretations and debates, in order to reemphasise the fundamental importance of gender as a social division. It shows that despite a degree of change, at the close of the twentieth century, women continue to be disadvantaged relative to men. In this introductory chapter, I set out the reasons for focusing on women in contemporary Britain, identifying key aspects of current debates about late twentiethcentury gender relations. These include debates about post-feminism, postmodernism, and plurality and difference (arising from class, ethnicity, racism, age and sexuality, for example). In developing this argument, I also summarise sociological and feminist theoretical perspectives on gender and gender relations, with an especial focus on the work of Walby (1990, 1997) and Connell (1987, 1995).
