Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender: All Volumes

Author(s): Fedwa Malti-Douglas
Date     : October 5, 2007


Today, print and online resources that blur or offer a new perspective on sex and gender abound. Recent debates and scholarship focused on sex and gender illustrate, first, that gendered discourse in both the public and private domains is most assuredly alive and well in the first decade of the twenty-first century, and, second, that the concepts of sex and gender are inherently interdisciplinary, drawing on anthropology, biology, cultural studies, history, linguistics, literature, political science, psychology, and sociology. Undergraduates in these fields, as well as advanced high-school students and educated general readers, need look no further than this landmark work to explore, examine, and evaluate the various concepts of sex and gender that impact nearly every area of human interaction and activity.
Scope and contents, along with the parameters of the encyclopedia, are covered in a carefully written introduction. The variety of entries and the breadth of subjects treated in this encyclopedia are two of the many notable features of the work. Readers will find highly readable and well-written articles on body parts, the biology of sex, ancient cultures, mass media, diseases, film, gender roles, literature, religion, reproduction, sex practices, and sexual preferences. This list represents but a few of the 33 broad themes presented in the “Thematic Outline” and covered within these pages. Coverage within each theme is consistently broad. Under “Commerce and Crime,” for example, are entries on Call girls, Courtesans, Date rape drugs, Rent boys, Sex crimes, Sex toys, Sex tourism, and Trannie whore, to name just a few. Under “Politics” there are entries for, among others, Colonialism, Domestic violence, Ecofeminism, Espionage, Fascism, Lewinsky affair, and Marie Antoinette. The alphabetic arrangement of the encyclopedia—along with a cumulative, nearly 100-page index; a thematic outline; and cross-references—facilitates access to more than 730 entries written by contributors from 19 countries and reviewed by an editorial board of their peers. Each signed entry contains a bibliography, and some 250 photos and illustrations enhance and enrich the text. Bringing together a remarkable array of material, this set, which appears to be without competition, will no doubt succeed in providing information but also in creating dialogue around issues of sex and gender. It is recommended without reserve for large public and academic libraries.


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