What is "women's studies"

n. The academic field which examines topics concerning women, feminism, gender and politics.

Women's studies is an interdisciplinary field of academic study that examines gender as a social and cultural construct, the social status and contributions of women, and the relationships between power and gender.

Popular methodologies within the field of women's studies include standpoint theory, intersectionality, multiculturalism, transnational feminism, autoethnography, and reading practices associated with critical theory, post-structuralism, and queer theory. The field researches and critiques societal norms of gender, race, class, sexuality, and other social inequalities. It is closely related to the broader field of gender studies. Women's studies preceded gender studies as an established field, in the United States the first PhD in women's studies was created in 1990 and the first PhD in gender studies was created in 2005.