An ideal "essentials" text for introductory courses, The Sociology of Gender, Fourth Edition, provides a concise - yet also in-depth - overview of basic sociological concepts and perspectives on gender. Focusing primarily on the contemporary U.S., Laura Kramer and new coauthor Ann Beutelintegrate history, theory, and research in order to examine the current gender system and the ways in which macro-, middle-, and micro-level societal forces have changed that system over time. In addition, this book's explicitly sociological approach provides an alternative to - and critiques of -prevailing biological and psychological approaches to gender and sexual orientation.