Overview of gender and gender inequality   The authors assist students in connecting a central element of their own lives -- their personal gender experiences -- with the social and political world in which they live. This popular book looks at the ways in which gender is socially constructed, how sexism and gender inequality affect men and women, and how other variables compound the problem of gender inequality.   Learning Goals Upon completing this book, readers will be able to: Connect a central element of their personal lives -- their gendered experiences -- with the social and political world in which they live Look beyond the boundaries of their own lives so they can understand the complexity and diversity of gendered experiences in terms of race and ethnicity, cultural context, social class, sexual orientation, age, and physical ability/disability Understand how the constraints imposed on women and men by specific social constructions of gender may be tightened when combined with a devalued racial/ethnic status, sexual orientation, age, economic status, or physical trait or challenge Understand the diversity that makes up contemporary feminism, turning the analytic lens so that they see an issue from various feminist perspectives