Privilege ─ A Reader

Privilege is about more than being white, wealthy, and maleas Michael Kimmel, Abby Ferber, and a wide range of contributors make clear in this fourth edition of their innovative and timely anthology. In an era when diversity” is too often shorthand for of color” and/or female,” the personal and analytical essays in this collection explore the multifaceted nature of social location and consider how gender, class, race, sexual orientation, (dis)ability, and religion interact to create nuanced layers of privilege and oppression. The individual essays are powerfully thought provoking; taken together, they help guide students to a deep understanding of the dynamics of diversity and stratification, advantage, and power.

The fourth edition features twelve new or newly recast essays that will help students understand the intersectional nature of privilege and oppression. Kimmel and Ferber have also added new introductory essays to contextualize the readings in each section. These enhancements, plus the enhanced pedagogical features of discussion questions and activities at the end of each section, encourage students to examine their own assumptions, beliefs, values, practices, and social location.

Michael S. Kimmel is Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at Stony Brook University where he directs the Center for the Study of Men and Masculinities. He is the author ofGuyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men (HarperCollins, 2008) andAngry White Men (2014). His other books include Changing Men (1987),Men’s Lives (8th edition, 2009) Against the Tide: Profeminist Men in the United States, 1776-1990 (1992),The Politics of Manhood (1996), Manhood: A Cultural History, and The Gendered Society. He co-edited The Encyclopedia on Men and Masculinities (2004) andHandbook of Studies on Men and Masculinities (2004). He is the founder and editor ofMen and Masculinities, the field’s premier scholarly journal, a book series on Gender and Sexuality at New York University Press, and edited the Sage Series on Men and Masculinities. He lectures extensively in corporations and on campuses in the U.S. and abroad. He lives in Brooklyn, New York with his wife and co-author, Amy Aronson and their son, Zachary.

Abby L. Ferber is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Matrix Center for the Advancement of Social Equity and Inclusion at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Her many authored, coauthored, and edited books includeWhite Man Falling: Race, Gender, and White Supremacy, Hate Crime in America: What Do We Know? andThe New Basics: Sex, Gender and Sexuality. She is also co-organizer of the national White Privilege Conference and the Knapsack Institute.