Gilman, Charlotte Perkins (1860–1935)

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was an influential and sometimes controversial contributor to early American sociology. HerWomen and Economics(1898) launched a searching feminist sociological critique of the economic position of women in patriarchal societies. The primary site for Gilman's continuing sociological work was theForerunner(1909–16), a monthly journal that Gilman wrote and self‐published. The socially problematic issues that Gilman explored in her works echo theoretical proposals of Lester F. Ward (1841–1913), a founding American sociologist who admired Gilman and vice versa. Ward's concept of gynecocentric (i.e., woman‐centered) social theory reinforced Gilman's strong belief in the fundamental rationality of women's values and social contributions. Gilman developed this perspective at length in her non‐fiction works. Gilman was an early member of the American Sociological Society, published in theAmerican Journal of Sociology, was respected by contemporary sociologists, and was widely known by lay readers in the public generally.