The cultural shaping of gender norms and relations is analyzed in Ancient American Studies/Cultural and Social Anthropology based on postcolonial concepts such as transculturality, hybridity, and cultural in-between spaces. Gender is understood as a relational and fluid category that is examined intersectionally with other categories of difference such as social class, indigeneity, race, religion, and sexualities, among others. Moreover, the decolonial approaches of 'feminisms from the Global South' take a central place in the conceptualization of research projects.

In addition to the theoretical approach, gender research also implies methodological reflection and positioning of ethnographic research: The writing-culture approach and the feminist response women-writing-culture had already triggered a debate since the 1980s about who gets to speak in ethnographies, and how.

Gender relations are reflected transversally in all areas of focus in the field, thus shaping central questions in Ancient American Studies/Cultural and Social Anthropology. Political subjectivities and social movements are examined in terms of the role played by gender relations and female actors. In the context of visual anthropology, the focus is on questions concerning the media representation and staging of gender roles. Migration anthropology seeks to analyze the transformation of gender roles in the course of transnational migration and mobility. Sports anthropology examines gender-specific differences in bodily performances and belonging.