The Meaning of Difference: American Constructions of Race and Ethnicity, Sex and Gender, Social Class, Sexuality, and Disability

How do categories of people come to be seen as “different”? How does being “different” affect people’s lives? What does difference mean at the level of the individual, social institutions, or society? What difference does “difference” make? The Meaning of Difference offers a conceptual structure and up-to-date readings on the differences distinctive to American life—differences of race and ethnicity, sex and gender, social class, sexuality, and disability.