Abstract
Feminist theory and research have shown us that gender is a linchpin of social orders, but they have not seriously envisaged a social order without gender. Examination of the various bases of gender demonstrates that gender is essentially a social construction, and the relations between women and men are essentially social relations. What is socially constructed can be reconstructed, and social relations can be rearranged. A social order is possible without gender as an organizing principle. This paper takes forward tendencies and policies in postindustrial societies to show how, if carried through, they could be used to construct a nongendered social order.
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Written with research support from PSC-CUNY Grant #14010. An earlier version was presented at the Eastern Sociological meetings, Boston, Massachusetts, March 1984. I am indebted to Nona Glazer for her comments.
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Lorber, J. Dismantling noah's ark. Sex Roles 14, 567–580 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287688
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287688