The contemporary relevance of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Women And Economics

Abstract

Charlotte Perkins Gilman's main theoretical work, Women and Economics, was largely forgotten after her death, and, despite its recovery as a feminist document, is usually ignored within mainstream sociological theory. Her work, however, contains elements that can be extremely useful in contemporary theory, and should be included within the canon of social theory because it is an important part of the history of sociology. Her most important theoretical concept, the sexuo-economic relationship, can still be seen in contemporary analyses of gender relations within the family and within the workforce. This thesis explicates Gilman's theory as it stands in Women and Economics, and demonstrates the validity of her theory by placing it in the context of contemporary social theory.