The field of language and gender is methodologically diverse, encompassing approaches that include conversation analysis, corpus linguistics, critical discourse analysis, discursive psychology, linguistic anthropology, and variationist sociolinguistics. Within this diversity, ethnography has long been a key method for interrogating the social semiotic complexities of gender, securing the field's close partnership with linguistic anthropology. This historical review outlines the prominent role played by linguistic anthropology in the theorization of gender by highlighting its enduring methodological and conceptual contributions, while also outlining the ways that interdisciplinary scholarship in language and gender has shaped the course of linguistic anthropology.