<DIV><p>Through an analysis of the poems Chaucers wordes Unto Adam, His Owne Scriveyn, Troilus and Criseyde, the Legend of Good Women, the Man of Law&rsquo;s Tale, the Wife of Bath&rsquo;s Tale and its Prologue, the Clerk&rsquo;s Tale, and the Pardoner&rsquo;s Tale, Carolyn Dinshaw offers a provocative argument on medieval sexual constructs and Chaucer&rsquo;s role in shaping them. Operating under the assumption that people read and write certain ways based upon society&rsquo;s demands, Dinshaw examines gender identity and the effects of a patriarchal society. The focal point of Dinshaw&rsquo;s argument is the idea that the literary text can be seen as the female body while any literary activities upon the text are decidedly male. Through a series of six provocative essays, Dinshaw argues that Chaucer was not only aware that gender is a social construction, but that he self-consciously worked to oppose the dominance of masculinity that a patriarchal society places on texts by creating works in which gender identity and hierarchy were more fluid.</p></DIV>