With essays from some of the most influential contemporary feminist writers, such as Jessica Valenti, bell hooks, Afua Cooper, Gloria Steinem, and Kim Anderson, and covering topics as diverse as women with disabilities, transgender rights, abortion, ageism, and Tyra Banks, this collection goes beyond the Canadian context to form an ideal introductory-level textbook for the contemporary gender studies classroom.

Reflecting the intersectional nature of feminist thought today, these essays incorporate voices from across multiple marginalities, discussing gender, race, class, Aboriginality, ability, age, sexuality, and weight. A unique combination of scholarly articles, news clips, fact sheets, blog posts, poetry, short fiction, and personal narratives keep the collection engaging and varied. Editors Margaret Hobbs and Carla Rice have compiled a comprehensive introduction to the past, present, and future of gender and women's studies in Canada.Features:

• includes feminist theory and scholarship stemming from multiple disciplines such as sociology, psychology, Indigenous studies, cultural studies, health studies, Canadian studies, political economy, and anthropology
• provides a strong foundation in the history of the field, while also offering fresh perspectives that point toward the future direction of this meaningful area of inquiry
• contains rich pedagogy, including critical thinking questions, statistics, and activist insights

Margaret Hobbs is an Associate Professor Emeritus and former Chair of Gender and Women's Studies at Trent University.

Margaret Hobbs' profile page

Carla Rice is the Canada Research Chair in Care, Gender, and Relationships in the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences at the University of Guelph. She has more than 20 years of experience as a clinician, researcher, and media consultant on body image and beauty culture.

Carla Rice's profile page

"This comprehensive collection provides an entry-point for students new to Women's and Gender Studies. The carefully selected readings clearly illustrate why the theories, perspectives, and insights offered in Women's and Gender Studies are, more than ever, critical to understanding the world in which we live and the challenges we face, and for re-visioning a better, more just, national and international community."
— Lori Chambers, Women’s Studies, Lakehead University

"While nation-specific in title, this collection is not confined by conventional political constructs, as the authors consider how power is exercised, and embodied, by the individual and the collective within nation-states or dictated by forces of capitalism. Hobbs and Rice forge a systematic pathway through the essentials - body, sexuality, reproduction, representation, labour, citizenship, masculinity, violence, poverty, health - needed at entry levels of Women's and Gender Studies.
— Carol Williams, Associate Professor and Chair, Women and Gender Studies, University of Lethbridge