This introductory text challenges the reader to examine the ways in which we learn about women as well as the social and historical conditions that have shaped women's lives. Students are introduced to the research and theories that are of current interest, and the book also addresses a wide range of controversial topics with day-to-day ramifications for women, such as racism, class conflict, fear of homosexuality, and ethnic and age discrimination. It examines women in three contexts: as individuals, as family members, and as a force in the greater social framework. Readership: women's studies, students,teachers, and researchers; sociologists.