Gender Panic, Gender Policy

Using diverse theories and methods the 13 chapters of original research in this collection explore gender panic and policy in the United States as well as in Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Japan, Russia, Sweden, and subnational populations. Authors consider a range of issues including the place of women in the military and of transwomen in women’s colleges, the meaning of learning to play the traditional female role in order to develop a contemporary heteronormative romantic relationship, the difficulties of fairly accommodating non-binary people in traditionally gendered settings and the problem of implementing a gender-neutral rape law in a prison system that is structurally gendered. Gendered policies pertaining, particularly, to women and their fertility as a result of panics over low birthrates are explored as are issues pertaining to the validation of and problems with binary gender categories in elite sports. The impact of UN gender equality initiatives including LGBT equality on nation-states is also examined. The volume is divided into three parts: Tradition, Women, and the Place of Reproduction; Questioning the Gender Binary; and Policing Gender: Rules, Regulations. and Laws. An introduction identifies dominant themes and provides a summary of each chapter.