Gender in Communication: A Critical Introduction

Gender in Communication: A Critical Introduction embraces the full range of diverse gender identities and expressions to explore how gender influences communication, as well as how communication shapes our concepts of gender for the individual and for society. This comprehensive gender communication book is the first to extensively address the roles of religion, the gendered body, single-sex education, an institutional analysis of gender construction, social construction theory, and more. Throughout the book, you are equipped with critical analysis tools you can use to form your own conclusions about the ever-changing processes of gender in communication.

New to the Third Edition:

• Current examples in the chapter openers illustrate how a critical gendered lens is necessary and useful by discussing recent events, such as Jon Stewart’s critique of the outcry over a J. Crew ad, reactions to Serena Williams’s body, photos of a young boy who likes to wear dresses, and the use of Photoshop to create thigh gaps.

• Updated chapters on voices, work, education, and family reflect major shifts in the state of knowledge.

• Expanded sections on trans and gender non-conforming identities reflect changes in language. All other chapters have been updated with new examples, new concepts, and new research.

• More than 500 new sources have been integrated throughout, and new sections on debates over bathroom bills, intensive mothering, humor, swearing, and Title IX have been added.

• “His” and “her” pronouns have been replaced with “they” in most cases, even if the reference is singular, in an effort to be more inclusive.

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.