Sylvia Walby provides an overview of recent theoretical debates -- Marxism, radical and liberal feminism, post--structuralism and dual systems theory. She shows how each can be applied to a range of substantive topics from paid work, housework and the state, to culture, sexuality and violence, relying on the most up--to--date empirical findings. Arguing that patriarchy has been vigorously adaptable to the changes in womena s position, and that some of womena s hard--won social gains have been transformed into new traps, Walby proposes a combination of class analysis with radical feminist theory to explain gender relations in terms of both patriarchal and capitalist structure.