Our earlier studies of Hurricane Andrew focused on the destruction of
everyday lire during the crisis itself and the reconstruction of a tak
en-for-granted world during the recovery period; this paper examines t
he significance of gender in these processes. The abrupt loss of taken
-for-granted reality occasioned by the storm involved only a slight an
d momentary disruption of gender roles. The resilience of these roles
can be understood only if gender is seen as a property of social organ
ization that shapes not only interactional expectations and pressures,
but also cultural and institutional processes, as well as bodily expe
riences.