"Gender" as practice, performance, and representation has differed for women and men according to race, class, and other divisions throughout time. This interdisciplinary course places critical focus on "gender," or the cultural invention and representation of femininity and masculinity. Lectures and discussions examine areas such as: appearance, health, relationships, birth control, and pornography; access to political institutions and power; gender in the workplace; sexuality and sexual orientation; gender representation in popular culture; the impact of women's perspectives on research, knowledge, history, and other cultural institutions; feminisms and cultural politics.