The writings show how gender relations have been constructed on the African continent and reflect the changes in approach and inquiry that have been brought about as the authors consider gender identities and difference in their work. Specific themes covered here include the contestation and representation of gender, femininity and masculinity: livelihoods and life ways: gender and religion, gender and culture: gender and governance.
During the last half of the nineteenth century, a number of social and economic factors converged that resulted in the rural village of Deerfield, Massachusetts becoming almost entirely female. This drastic shift in population presents a unique lens through which to study gender roles and social relations in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. This can provide new insight to the study of gender relations throughout other historical periods as well. .Through an examination of both historical and archaeological evidence, the author presents a clear picture of the gendered social relations in Deerfield over the span of seventy years. While gender relations in urban settings have been studied extensively, this work provides the same level of examination to gender relations in a rural setting. Likewise, where previous studies have often focused only on relations between married men and women, the case of Deerfield provides insight into the experiences of single women, particularly widows and “spinsters”.