Gender in Communication

Catherine Helen Palczewski, PhD, is a professor in the Communication & Media Department, past director of debate, and affiliate faculty in women’s and gender studies at the University of Northern Iowa; teaches courses in the rhetoric of social protest, argumentation, gender, and political communication; is a past coeditor of Argumentation and Advocacy and director of the 2013 AFA/NCA Biennial Conference on Argumentation held in Alta, Utah; and has received the following awards: the Francine Merritt Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Lives of Women in Communication, the Iowa Regents Award for Faculty Excellence, the University of Northern Iowa College of Humanities and Fine Arts Faculty Excellence Award, the George Ziegelmueller Outstanding Debate Educator Award, the American Forensic Association’s Distinguished Service Award, and two Rohrer Awards for Outstanding Publication in Argumentation. Victoria Pruin DeFrancisco, PhD, is an emeritus professor in the Communication & Media Department and affiliate faculty in women’s and gender studies at the University of Northern Iowa; studied and taught courses in gender, intercultural, and interpersonal communication; served as director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program; coordinated the National Coalition Building Institute, a university-wide diversity inclusion program; and has received the following awards: Iowa Regents Award for Faculty Excellence, the UNI Outstanding Graduate Faculty Teaching Award, and the Iowa American Association of University Women Distinguished Faculty Award. Victoria is married and has stepchildren and grandchildren who call her Nana and remind her every day why she wrote this book. Danielle Dick McGeough, PhD, is an associate professor in the Communication & Media Department and affiliate faculty in women’s and gender studies at the University of Northern Iowa; teaches and researches how performance is and can be used for collaborative problem solving, community building, and social justice work; and has received the University Book and Supply Award for Outstanding Teaching. In 2021, she received the Engaged Campus Award: Emerging Innovation and the Civic Engagement Leadership Award from Iowa & Minnesota Campus Compact for her work with the program Cultivating Justice: A Quest Toward Racial Justice. Her father taught her compassion, and her mom taught her to believe in people’s ability to change.

Preface
Events Informing the Third Edition
Why Studying Gender in Communication Is Important
Core Principles
Organization of the Book
New to This Edition
Individual Acknowledgments
Social Acknowledgments
PART I: FOUNDATIONS
Chapter 1 Developing a Critical Gender/Sex Lens
Intersectionality
Communication
Systemic Gendered Violence
Conclusion
Chapter 2 Theories of Gender/Sex
Biological Theories
Psychological Theories
Critical/Cultural Theories
Applying Gender Theory: Some Useful Criteria
Conclusion
Chapter 3 Gendered/Sexed Voices
Conversation Work
Identity Work
Relationship Work
Conclusion
Chapter 4 Gendered/Sexed Bodies
Body Politics
Disciplining Gendered Bodies
Refusing the Command Performance
Conclusion
Chapter 5 Gendered/Sexed Language
The Power of Language
Language Can Be Used to Oppress and Subordinate
Language as Resistance
Conclusion
PART II: INSTITUTIONS
Chapter 6 An Introduction to Gender in Social Institutions
Prejudice Versus Institutionalized Discrimination
Institutional Control
Institutionalized Gendered/Sexed Violence
Preview
Chapter 7 Families
Defining Family and Gender/Sex Roles
The Nuclear Family
The State of Families
Doing and Undoing Motherhood
Communicating in Families
(Un)Doing Family
Conclusion
Chapter 8 Education
The Politics of Knowledge
Gendered Expectations and Interpersonal Communication
Emancipatory Education
Conclusion
Chapter 9 Work
Pay Equity and Job Segregation
Sex Discrimination in the Workplace
Work as Liberation and Locations of Empowerment
Conclusion
Chapter 10 Religion
Why Study Religion, Gender, and Communication?
Religion and Gender/Sex Roles
Religion and Sexuality
Religion as Liberation and Locations of Empowerment
Conclusion
Chapter 11 Media
Defining Media and How They Function
The Gaze(s)
Who Is Represented in Media
How People Are Represented
Conclusion
Chapter 12 One Last Look Through a Critical Gendered Lens
References
Index
About the Authors