"In this book new book, the author draws on anthropology, feminism and psychoanalysis to develop an original and provocative theory of gender and of how we become sexed beings." ... "Using detailed ethnographic data from Melanesia and Africa to explore the strengths and weaknesses of a range of theories in anthropology, feminism and psychoanalysis, the author advocates an ethics of engagement based on a detailed understanding of our differences and similarities in the ways in which local communities and western scholars have imaginatively deployed the power of sexual difference. She demonstrates the importance of ethbnographic listening, of focused attention to people's imaginations, and of how this illuminates different facets of complex theoretical issues and human conundrums".