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Discusses the shifts in the geography of feminist energies in the context of US pursuit of gender justice to situate the feminist imaginary in the politics of post-war capitalism. The historicization of these shifts aims to reinvigorate present practice of gender equality under current political conditions. As a map of the transformation of the feminist imagination, the author seeks to determine what should be discarded, & preserved for the struggles ahead. The contextualization of shifts in the context of post-war capitalist changes & post-Communist geopolitics stimulates discussion that will reinvent the project of feminism in an environment of globalization. References. J. Harwell

Editor's introduction that establishes the theme of the future of "gender" as a research trajectory. The distinctions between "gender" & "sex" are contextualized in the history of the terms as biological endowments & functions. Comparative definitions identify gender as the description of social characteristics of feminine & masculine that is distinguished from "sex" as analysis based on a priori assumptions about behavior. The contributions are briefly organized into three sections: reorienting the feminist imagination, variations on the theme of gender, & gender & political practice. The author concludes that antidiscrimination measures should he separated from the goal of "gender equality" via a reinterpretation of the "relevant respects" for equal treatment of men & women. References. J. Harwell

Reviews the feminist arguments for equal rights to reconsider the meaning of equality in postmodern feminist theory. A discussion of contemporary equality presents a challenge to the framework of the equality debate. The "common-sense" perspective must concede that women still earn less, live in poverty, & remain in the lower half of the hierarchy of public power & influence. The demand for individual rights in economic competition does not consider the gendered nature of the marketplace. Politically, the liberalist focus on the public sphere cannot conceptualize the domestic inequalities. The author proposes a non-patriarchal model of equality constructed on flexible working practices, collective responsibility for child care, & the measurement of unpaid work as a value productive activity. References. J. Harwell

Investigates the persistent inequality of women in the job market to critique the preferences assertion of individual & family choice. The author argues that preference-based explanations rest on an essentialist view of gender. A description of preference theory reviews the extensive criticism of the theoretical maintenance of women's entrapment in the responsibilities for care-work. Changes to the male breadwinner model of employment are weakened by governmental unwillingness to interfere in an employer's right to manage. The gendered division of labor in both public & private spheres remains central to the explanation of aggregate levels of material inequalities between men & women. "Preference theory' is concluded to be a powerful rationale for the gendered status quo & the persistent material inequalities between men & women. Tables, References. J. Harwell