Contexts

sociology for the public

gender

Fashioning Flawlessness

Amanda LanzoneDuring New York’s Fashion Week last September, patients of plastic surgeon Ramtin Kassir sashayed down the runway to … Read More

The Feminization of Foreclosure

During the Great Recession that began in 2007, news reports portrayed housing foreclosure as an equal opportunity crisis, overlooking the fact that women—especially women of … Read More

Changing Men In South Africa

Sociologist Shari L. Dworkin interviews Dean Peacock, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Sonke Gender Justice (a South-African NGO). This interview attempts to flesh out the ways in which men are critical points of engagement and active agents in reducing violence and minimizing the spread and impact of HIV/AIDS in South Africa. The ways in which social science thinking has inspired Sonke's "One Man Can Campaign" is explored, along with the program and policy impact of Sonke's numerous innovative "gender-transformative" projects. Read More

Don’t Say Gay

For now, “the love that dare not speak its name” won’t be silenced in Tennessee. Since 2008, Republican Senator Stacey Campfield has been trying to … Read More

The Poetry of Politics

Last year, Katha Pollitt, the longtime columnist at The Nation, received the American Sociological Association’s award for Excellence in the Reporting of Social Issues. One … Read More

Walking Like A Man

SlutWalk marches have emerged to protest the blaming of women for their own sexual assault. Sociologists Kristen Barber and Kelsy Kretschmer consider the different ways men participate in SlutWalk, and how their participation at times both supports and undermines the feminist goals of the event. Read More

The Hearts of Boys

Five experts, Niobe Way, C.J. Pascoe, Mark McCormack, Amy Schalet, and Freeden Ouer shed light on the everyday lives of teenage boys and their relationships. Read More

About Contexts

Contexts is a quarterly magazine that makes cutting-edge social research accessible to general readers. We're the public face of sociology.

It is a publication of the American Sociological Association, edited by Amin Ghaziani and Seth Abrutyn (University of British Columbia), with Letta Page.