This book investigates the concepts of gender and representation in an interdisciplinary and comparative perspective from the viewpoint of a variety of European and North American cultural and intellectual traditions. It contextualizes recent debates about the relationship between gender, spectatorship, and social and historical formations. The issue of gender and representation is problematized by the inclusion of discussion on men and masculinities - the area of study that today boasts a rich and growing body of work. The volume further offers a new approach to various topics, for instance, positive feminist readings of mainstream Hollywood productions. It analyzes visualizations of women as the embodiments of national collective narratives and deals with critiques of the representations of men in print media. It also provides discussion of ideologies of gender and representation in the countries of the «New Europe». The book is an important source for undergraduates and researchers who want to learn more about the ideologies of gender and representation across cultures.