The Biosocial Construction of Femininity: Mothers and Daughters in Nineteenth-Century America Contributions in Women's Studies

"How did 19th-century women determine what behaviors and attitudes constituted femininity, and how did one generation pass on to another those social attitudes and adaptations deemed proper and necessary for womankind? Theriot argues convincingly that women themselves were the agents in the formation of attitudes about gender. . . .

This book would be difficult for readers not familiar with some aspects of women's studies, but is an important and perceptive examination of the effect of sexual ideology." Choice