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.
Overview of women’s role and place in western Europe, from the beginning of the eighteenth century until the twentieth century. Chapters focus on women's work, sexuality, the family, education and training, religion, political participation, war and peace, popular culture and leisure, and women as producers and consumers of art. The interaction between women, ideology and female agency, the way women engaged with patriarchal and gendered structures and systems, and the way women carved out their identities and spaces within these informs each of the studies.