Cover -- Half-title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Tables -- Figures -- Acknowledgements -- 1 Introduction -- Why a new look at inequality? -- The importance of the social -- The importance of history -- Part 1 The Body Society and Inequality -- 2 Inequality and the Sociology of the Body -- The micro-politics of bodily inequality -- The basis for a sociology of the body -- The origins of the sociology of the body: Classical social theory -- The critique of the idea of nature -- The body as cultural mirror -- Social structure, the body and inequality -- Foucault: The enabling and the constrained body -- The poststructuralist/postmodern body -- The decline of industry and the rise of consumption -- Post-industrial society and new forms of inequality -- Conclusion -- 3 Sick Bodies and Inequality: Class, Mortality and Morbidity -- Genetic explanations -- The role of modern medicine -- Lifestyle, social capital and work -- Lifestyle -- Communities and social capital -- Work and unemployment -- Unemployment: Does it cause or follow sickness? -- Australian socioeconomic patterns and health data -- Conclusion -- 4 Gendered, Aged and Disabled Bodies -- Gender and health -- Women, gender and health -- Gendered differences in sickness and death -- Men, gender and health -- The family, the aged and the disabled -- Age and older women -- Constructing disabled bodies -- Structuring new forms of inequality: The increase in ageing bodies -- Constructing the elderly as sick -- The 'increasing' cost of the elderly -- Theorising the medicalisation of women and their caring roles -- Conclusion -- Part 2 The Self, Society and Understandings of Inequality -- 5 Experiencing the Inequality of Social Resources -- The nature and role of self-experience in approaches to social inequality -- Davies and Connell -- Chamberlain and Western -- McGregor and Peel.

The place of life chances in approaching inequality -- Social inequality and life chances -- The empirical picture of social inequality -- The changing face of middle Australia -- Poverty and the world of work -- Theorising social inequality and life chances -- Conclusion -- 6 Experiencing the Inequality of Cultural Difference -- The problem with culture -- Assumptions surrounding cultural identity -- A closer look at the role of cultural identity -- Explaining cultural identity and organisation -- Multiculturalism as policy -- Multiculturalism in practice: The empirical picture -- The social construction of Aboriginality -- Conclusion -- 7 Experiencing the Inequality of Life Choices -- The problem with gender -- Earlier understandings of gender and inequality -- The empirical reality: Gender and transsexualism -- The factors influencing 'doing gender' -- Physical characteristics -- The links between gender, sex and sexual orientation -- Gender socialisation -- The role of history -- Conclusion -- Part 3 Politics, Society and Inequality -- 8 Collective Identity, Politics and the Myth of Egalitarianism -- The contemporary political relevance of inequality -- Inequality and national identity -- The pervasiveness of the myth of egalitarianism -- The origins of the myth of egalitarianism -- Challenging the myth of egalitarianism -- Federation and inequality -- The growth of the welfare state and the reshaping of equality -- Transforming the post-Federation egalitarian myth -- Conclusion -- 9 Citizenship, Nation-Building and Political Struggles for Equality -- The struggle for equality in the labour market -- The institutionalisation of Australian class conflict -- The consolidation of the postwar wage-earners' welfare state -- The struggle for gender equality -- Domesticating gender inequality in Australia -- From citizen-mother to citizen-worker.

The struggle for cultural equality -- Immigration, assimilationism and nation-building -- Multiculturalism, equality and difference -- Conclusion -- 10 The Contested Nature of Inequality in Contemporary Australia -- Unions, the state and inequality -- Globalisation and inequality -- The restructuring of work -- Information and inequality -- New social movements and new politics -- New elites and inequality -- The battle over the meaning of equality -- Conclusion -- 11 Conclusion -- The holistic approach -- The domains of inequality -- The nature of the findings -- Bibliography -- Index.