Symbolic interaction explains the world of social behavior and the development of the “self” as a function of social learning. As such, it plays an instrumental role in describing the processes that create women’s everyday lives and also, their gender-specific behaviors. Originally published in 1987, the readings collected for this volume were designed to link the sociological study of women to the well-developed and well-known tradition of symbolic interactionists’ research and theory.

The volume brings together an outstanding collection of readings on women from a symbolic interactionist perspective. The majority of these carefully selected and classroom-tested readings were published in the 1980s. One early study is included to provide a historical perspective on contemporary works. Topics addressed include childhood socialization, marriage and the home, the marketplace and social class, and adult socialization.

Students and professors alike will welcome this collection designed specifically for use in a wide range of sociology and women’s studies courses.

This book is a re-issue originally published in 1987. The language used and views portrayed are a reflection of its era and no offence is meant by the Publishers to any reader by this re-publication.

Mary Jo Deegan (1946–2024) was professor emerita in sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and executive director of the the Jane Addams Research Center in St. Joseph, Michigan. Deegan earned the B.S. in chemistry and mathematics at Western Michigan University (1969) and the Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Chicago (1975). She is widely known for archival studies of Jane Addams and the Chicago schools of sociology and for recovering the stories of dozens of early women sociologists. She was also an authority on George Herbert Mead, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and the core codes embedded in American ritual dramas. The recipient of numerous honors, Deegan was made an Admiral in the Nebraska Navy in 1995 by order of E. Benjamin Nelson, Governor of the State of Nebraska, for distinguished service to the citizens of Nebraska. She received the 2002 Distinguished Scholarly Career Award from the American Sociological Association Section on the History of Sociology and Social Thought.

Michael R. Hill (b. 1944) is associate director of the Jane Addams Research Center in St. Joseph, Michigan. Hill’s prior teaching posts include: Iowa State University, Albion College, The University of Nebraska at Omaha, The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the University of Notre Dame. He earned doctorates in geography (1982) and sociology (1989) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is an authority on archival research, Nebraska sociology, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Harriet Martineau. Hill received the 2003 Distinguished Scholarly Career Award from the American Sociological Association Section on the History of Sociology and Social Thought.