Born into a gendered world, each of us is affected in our close relationships by gender. How we interact with one another during each stage of a relationship is influenced by the volatile and sometimes divisive role that gender plays in our lives. Gender and Close Relationships is an exploration into the current world of gendered interaction and the ways in which gender influences how others perceive and treat us.

This timely and comprehensive discussion demonstrates clearly how societies construct and create gendered relationships, and also suggests how "non-traditional" close relationships may strengthen, or make irrelevant, gender-linked behavior.