ABSTRACT
Gender is reemerging at the center of politics in higher education and society at large. The Women’s March on Washington, the #MeToo movement, and toxic masculinity are parts of an active and growing discourse about gender among contemporary college students. This chapter introduces two theoretical frameworks, feminist poststructuralism and social constructionism, through which gender may be examined and highlights differences in their approaches to the nature of power and identity. The authors utilize literature on the issues affecting cisgender women and men to discuss the proscribed ways in which society imposes gender within education, particularly higher education. The chapter concludes with considerations for practice within three focal areas: student gender identity development, policy change and interventions, and curricular and classroom-based support.
