ABSTRACT
Despite long-standing criticism for its malestream orientation and bias, sociology remains a relatively male-dominated discipline. This has fundamental implications for its theories, methods, research and teaching. While the majority of students studying the subject – as well as an increasing number of lecturers and researchers – are women, women are found in senior posts less often than men. Female students tend to be taught ‘malestream’ sociology and so are inducted into knowledge that plays a key role in justifying the relatively disadvantaged structural position of (the majority of ) women, and in perpetuating the cultural inferiority of femininity. Similarly, what is perceived as ‘mainstream’ sociological research and theory tends to be that which male sociologists produce.
