Creating Gender: The Sexual Politics of Welfare Policy

Seldom do we notice, let alone explicitly acknowledge, that public policies set distinct parameters for gender. But as Creating Gender compellingly demonstrates, in reality governments do use policy'to legitimize and support some gender-based behaviors, while undermining others.Looking in depth at the case of welfare reform, but considering a wide range of policy arenas, the authors examine how government policymaking in essence defines the ?proper? nature of males and females. At the heart of their analysis is an effort to resolve questions about how policies determine what women and men must do to be granted standing as good citizens'and what benefits they can subsequently accrue. The result is a clear yet sophisticated exploration of the troublesome, sometimes insidious, ways in which gender ideology works in tandem with conventional political ideologies in the United States today.Cathy Marie Johnson is professor of political science and W. Ford Schumann Faculty Fellow in Democratic Studies at Williams College. Her publications include The Dynamics of Conflict Between Bureaucrats and Legislators. Georgia Duerst-Lahti is professor of political science at Beloit College. She is author of Gender Power, Leadership, and Government. Noelle H. Norton is professor of political science at the University of San Diego. She has written extensively on women in US politics.Contents: Introduction: Making Policy, Making Gender. On Creating Gender. Toward a Suitably Complex Framework for Analysis. Unfolding Gender Paradigms: A History of Sexual Politics in Welfare Policy. Making Masculine Mothers: Vanquishing Feminality. Policy Casts Fathers: Deadbeats and Scofflaws, Good Guys, and Promise Keepers. Gender Ideology Reflected in Practice: The Case of Wisconsin's Legislature. Measuring ?Gender's Influence? in Congressional Policymaking. Recognizing the Sexual Politics of Public Policy.Georgia Duerst-Lahti is the author of 'Creating Gender: The Sexual Politics of Welfare Policy', published 2006 under ISBN 9781588264886 and ISBN 1588264882.