Summary
Contents
This new anthology from SAGE brings together over 90 recent readings on gender, sexuality, and intimate relationships from Contexts, the award-winning magazine published by the American Sociological Association. Each contributor is a contemporary sociologist writing in the clear, concise, and jargon-free style that has made Contexts the “public face” of sociology. Jodi O’Brien and Arlene Stein, former Contexts Editors, have chosen pieces that are timely, thought-provoking, and especially suitable for classroom use; written introductions that frame each of the books three main sections; and provided questions for discussion.
Reproduction
Reproduction
overview
Reproduction can appear to be a personal choice, but in reality, it is tightly controlled by social institutions and factors beyond the disposition of the individual. Whether through law, social expectations, economic or situational access, or other social factors, many women do not have full autonomy in their reproductive choices.
In “India’s Reproductive Assembly Line,” Sharmila Rudrappa complicates the prevalent understanding of reproductive labor as inherently exploitative. Rudrappa describes the realities of women in India who act as surrogates for mostly Western families and the nuanced ways they navigate their choice within a social context.
Stefanie Mollborn describes the surprising and stereotype-defying trends of teenage motherhood in the United States in, “Children Having Children.” Mollborn paints a picture of teenage motherhood in the U.S. in which ...