Paula-Irene Villa (Dr. rer. soc.) ist Professorin für Allgemeine Soziologie und Gender Studies an der LMU München. Ihre Schwerpunkte sind Biopolitik, Körper/Embodiment, Cultural Studies, Care, Populärkulturen, Sozialtheorie und Gender in der Politik.

Gender is a complex object of research full of contradictions: it is as much a bodily materiality as a social relationship, as much a source of identity as an economic structure, as much subjective and intimate as political and public. For sociology, the examination of the gender dimension of social life has been a productive challenge for decades. This introductory volume provides a clear overview of the current state of the art in gender studies and encourages reflection: on theoretical concepts, empirical methods and on current social issues such as the women's quota or pornography. The textbook is excellently suited to accompany studies and teaching in sociology and gender studies.