Library Guides: Gender Studies: Background Information

Overview of Gender Studies

Gender Studies is an interdisciplinary program that analyzes the significance of gender—and the cognate subjects of sex, sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, religion, and nationality—in all areas of human life, especially in the social formation of human identities, practices, and institutions.

Gender Studies Program, University of Notre Dame

Related disciplines include: American Studies, Anthropology, Film, Television, and Theater, History (US and Canada), History (Western European), English Language and Literature, Political Science, Sociology, among others.

News and Popular Press

Alt-PressWatch This link opens in a new window
Full text database of the newspapers, magazines and journals from alternative and independent presses.
Gale OneFile. Contemporary women's issues. This link opens in a new window
Full-text access to more than 1500 sources (including some 150 periodicals, newsletters, and research reports from non-profit groups and government and international agencies) on a broad range of women's issues worldwide.
CQ researcher This link opens in a new window
Covers the most current and controversial issues of the day with summaries, pros and cons, bibliographies and more, with a United States focus. Includes news covered in print issues of: Editorial research reports (1924-1986), Congressional quarterly's editorial research reports (1987-1991) and CQ researcher (1991-).
Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new window
Full text articles from newspapers and periodicals published by the ethnic, minority and native press in the U.S.
GenderWatch This link opens in a new window
A repository of perspectives on the evolution of the women's movement, men's studies, the transgendered community, and changes in gender roles, dating back to the 1970s.
Nexis Uni (formerly LexisNexis Academic) This link opens in a new window
Nexis Uni delivers unmatched depth and quality when it comes to content. With more than 15,000 news, legal and business sources, Nexis Uni helps students find credible sources including: Print and online journals, television and radio broadcasts, newswires and blogs; Local, regional, national and international newspapers with deep archives; Extensive legal sources for federal and state cases and statutes, including U.S. Supreme Court decisions since 1790; Unparalleled business information on more than 80 million U.S. and international companies and more than 75 million executives.

UN Women Watch
Curated news and events on gender equality from across the United Nations.
Women's E-News
A nonprofit news service covering issues of particular concern to women and providing women’s perspectives on public policy.

World news connection This link opens in a new window
Provides English translations of news sources prepared by the U.S. government from around the world. Successor to the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS).

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

General

Encyclopedia of Gender and Society This link opens in a new window
Publication date: 2008

Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender by Fedwa Malti-Douglas (Editor)
Publication Date: 2007

Women and Gender

Black women in America, 2nd ed. This link opens in a new window
Publication date: 2005
Oxford encyclopedia of women in world history This link opens in a new window
Publication date: 2008

Encyclopedia of Women and Gender by Judith Worell (Editor)
Call Number: Lower Level (Ranges 1 - 38) - HQ 1115 .E43 2001 [In-Library Use Only]

Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America
Comprehensive, descriptive and analytical reference on women and religion in North America.
Women's Studies Encyclopedia
Publication date: 1999

Masculinity

American Masculinities by Bret E. Carroll (Editor)
Call Number: Lower Level - HQ 1090.3 .A453 2003 [In-Library Use Only]
International Encyclopedia of Men and Masculinities by Michael Flood (Editor); Judith Kegan Gardiner (Editor); Bob Pease (Editor); Keith Pringle (Editor)
Call Number: Lower Level - HQ 1090 .I58 2007 [In-Library Use Only]

LGBTQ

Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History in America
Publication date: 2004

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Events, 1848-2006 by Lillian Faderman
Call Number: Lower Level (Ranges 1 - 38) - HQ 73 .G74 2007
Historical Dictionary of Homosexuality by Brent Pickett
Call Number: Lower Level - HQ 75.13 .P53 2009

Biography

For more biography sources, please see our Journalism guide.

American national biography This link opens in a new window
A standard biographical resource for more than 17,000 notable people in American history.
Ancestry library edition This link opens in a new window
Searchable genealogical information on billions of names across thousands of census and related collections.
Biography and genealogy master index This link opens in a new window
Indexes hundreds of biographical sources covering individuals, living and dead, from every field of activity worldwide.
Biography Reference Center This link opens in a new window
Offers a collection of full-text biographies, including the complete run of Biography Today and Biography.
Black women in America, 2nd ed. This link opens in a new window
It covers the achievements and contributions of African American women throughout history.

Italian Women Writers
The Italian Women Writers database provides bio-bibliographical information and a growing selection of full-text titles from authors born before 1945.
Notable American Women
Search the complete set through the Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000 database.

Orlando: Women's writing in the British Isles from the Beginnings to the Present This link opens in a new window
It includes biographical and writing career entries on British women writers, selected non-British or international women writers, and selected British and international men.

Oxford dictionary of national biography This link opens in a new window
The classic, authoritative biographical source for British history. Usage info: Licensed for 3 simultaneous users.

World's Who's Who
It offers current biographical information on about 70,000 of the most influential men and women in all fields.

Data and Statistics

The Center for Reproductive Rights
The Center uses the power of law to advance reproductive rights as fundamental human rights around the world.
Eurostat: Gender Statistics
Eurostat is the statistical office of the European Union. This site presents gender statistics about the European Union.
Human Rights Campaign Resources
This civil rights organization collects and tracks data on discrimination against LGBTQ Americans, including state scorecards, which track gender-related legislation by state.
International Center for Research on Women
A research institute focused on tackling challenges facing women and girls worldwide.
The International Labour Association: Gender Statistics
An agency of the United Nations, the ILA collects information about women and men's work situations, how they are rewarded for their work, and the contexts in which differences in compensation exist.
The United Nations: The Global Gender Statistics Programme
This website publishes the World's Women reports, which present the latest statistics and analyses of the status of women and men and it reviews progress towards gender equality over the past 20 years. It also serves as a platform for the dissemination of developments in the field of gender statistics and promotes the inclusion of gender statistics into all fields of statistical activities.
The United Nations Statistics Division: Minimum Set of Gender Indicators
A collection of 52 quantitative indicators and 11 qualitative indicators addressing relevant issues related to gender equality and/or women's empowerment.
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific: Gender Statistics
US Department of Labor's Women's Bureau: Women in the Labor Force
Current and historical statistics on a broad range of topics and sub-populations of women in the labor force.
The World Bank: Gender Data Portal
A source for the latest sex-disaggregated data and gender statistics covering demography, education, health, access to economic opportunities, public life and decision-making, and agency.
Pew Research Center
The center conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research to inform the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world.
The Institute for Women's Policy Research
They conduct research to shape social policy and improve women's lives and opportunities. They publish a report on the status of women in US states, among others.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development: Gender, Institutions, and Development Database, 2009
Covers a total of 160 countries and comprises an array of 60 indicators on gender discrimination.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development: Social Institutions and Gender Index
A cross-country measure of discrimination against women in social institutions (formal and informal laws, social norms, and practices) across 160 countries.

Online Resources for Gender Studies

The American Association of University Women
The American Association of University Women promotes equity and education for women and girls.
The Feminist Majority Foundation
The Feminist Majority Foundation focuses on advancing the legal, social and political equality of women with men, countering the backlash to women's advancement, and recruiting and training young feminists to encourage future leadership for the feminist movement in the United States.
Feminist Periodicals
This source reprints the tables of contents pages of over 150 magazines and journals, from academic journals such as Signs and Feminist Studies to special interest periodicals on women of color, art, law, health care, lesbian issues, and women around the world. Since many international and grassroots titles are not indexed in standard sources, FEMINIST PERIODICALS is the best key to their contents — an invaluable aid for researchers scanning the current literature.
The National Women's Studies Association
The National Women's Studies Association was established in 1977 to supporting the production and dissemination of knowledge about women and gender through teaching, learning, research and service around the world.
Women's Studies/Women's Issues Website
An annotated list of websites about women's studies and women's issues, with an emphasis on sites useful for academic women's studies programs.
More Gender and Women's Studies Websites
This is a selected list from the University of Illinois Library. Some sites are old, but many are current and maintained.