Sexualities: Identities, Behaviors, and Society by Michael S. Kimmel (Editor), Rebecca F. Plante (Editor) - March 1, 2004

Featuring a variety of readings, this interdisciplinary anthology addresses such key questions as: How are sexualities socially constructed? Why are sexualities more than just natural "urges" or "drives"? and How are sexualities personal, social, and political? Sexualities: Identities, Behaviors, and Society focuses on gender, using multiple disciplines, international populations, and theories to explore sexualities. The readings--including several written specifically for this volume--will grab students' attention. Topics range from the motivations of X-rated movie stars to vibrator use to gendered sexual fantasies. Same-sex orientation, people of color, and global populations are considered throughout. Sexualities: Identities, Behaviors, and Society opens with classical and contemporary theories about sexualities, including selections by Freud, Kinsey, and Fausto-Sterling. Subsequent chapters explore the ways in which we learn about sexual activities and develop sexual identities, both heterosexual and same-sex. The discussion expands to include sexual adaptations, sexual media, intersections with violence, and sexual education. The text ends with a key question: How will the next generation be taught about sex? With its synthesized focus on the psychological, social, ethical, and political dimensions of sexualities, Sexualities: Identities, Behaviors, and Society is ideal for courses in sociology, women's studies, anthropology, family studies, communication, and social work.

A Courtship After Marriage: Sexuality and Love in Mexican Transnational Families (Paperback)
by Jennifer S. Hirsch
From about seven children per woman in 1960, the fertility rate in Mexico has dropped to about 2.6. Such changes are part of a larger transformation explored in this book, a richly detailed ethnographic study of generational and migration-related redefinitions of gender, marriage, and sexuality in rural Mexico and among Mexicans in Atlanta.
About the Author
Jennifer S. Hirsch is Assistant Professor in the Department of International Health, Rollins School of Public Health, and the Department of Anthropology at Emory University.

Colonizing Sex: Sexology and Social Control in Modern Japan (Colonialisms, 4) (Paperback)
by Sabine Fruhstuck
A sweeping study of sex, power, and knowledge in modern Japan, this ambitious work provides the first full-scale, detailed history of the formation and application of a science of sex from Meiji through mid-twentieth century Japan. Tracing the different uses made of sexual knowledge, the book brings to light the complex and subtle interplay between sexuality, scientific expertise, social control, and empire building.
Drawing on a wide variety of sources, Fruhstuck analyzes the conflicts and negotiations that aimed at producing a normative sexuality. She shows how the "colonization" of sex was enacted through debates over several issues: the necessity of sex education; the prevention of venereal diseases; the problem of masturbation and its alleged consequences; the legalization of birth control; the fight against prostitution; the emergence of eugenics; and, eventually, the implementation of "racial hygiene" policies. In Colonizing Sex we see how these struggles were driven by rhetoric consisting of cries for defense, liberation, and truth--emphasizing in every historical moment how the sexual body has been, and is, part of much broader currents in political, cultural, and social life.
About the Author
Sabine Frühstück is Associate Professor of Modern Japanese Cultural Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is coeditor of The Culture of Japan as Seen through Its Leisure (1998) and Neue Geschichten der Sexualität: Beispiele aus Ostasien und Zentraleuropa 1700-2000 (1999). She is currently completing a book on military-societal relations in modern Japan, entitled Avant-garde: The Army of the Future.

Sexuality and Gender (Blackwell Readers in Sociology (Paper))
by Christine L. Williams (Editor), Arlene Stein (Editor)
As society shapes the expression of sexual desire through cultural images and social institutions, sociologists examine how sexual behavior shapes, and is shaped by, social norms. Several of the most eminent and readable social theorists drive this important new line of sociological thought. Gathered here are thirty-two of the best essays on the sociology of sex and gender.
The essays included here reflect differences in race, gender, and class and demonstrate how different social groups experience different sets of social norms. Topics include gender and sex theory, identity, childhood and adolescent sexuality, the objectification of women, sexuality and religion, leisure and recreation, politics and social change, and the possible future of sexual relationships. These essays also explore contemporary issues that remain relevant to students and to current theoretical debates. Editorial introductions give further direction and insight, making this an ideal introduction to sex and gender.--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
About the Author
Christine L. Williams is Professor of Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. She has served as chair of the Sex and Gender section of the American Sociological Association.
Arlene Stein teaches sociology at Rutgers University. She has served as chair of the Sexualities section of the American Sociological Association.

Sexuality and Holy Longing : Embracing Intimacy in a Broken World by Lisa Graham McMinn
In this excellent examination of sexuality from an evangelical Christian perspective, McMinn (Growing Strong Daughters), a sociology professor at Wheaton College, provides a refreshing perspective on sexuality in general and on the specific uses and misuses of sex in, as she describes it, a "broken world." Covering topics such as rites of passage for men and women, adolescent sexual awakening, singleness, marital sex, "birthing babies" and cultural attitudes toward sexuality, each chapter includes a half dozen or so genuinely thoughtful questions for reflection and discussion. McMinn's fresh insights and clear and readable style make the book accessible on a popular level. Parents of pre-teens and teens should find it a practical tool for helping their children make wise decisions about sex, while engaged couples should find her discussion of true intimacy, and our unrealistic expectation of achieving it in this life, to be helpful in navigating their way through marriage. At the same time, her thorough research makes the book appropriate for academic use. While never straying from biblical principles, the author explores emotionally charged issues like unwanted pregnancy and masturbation with grace and compassion; her discussion of homosexuality should be required reading in ministry programs at evangelical seminaries. (Jan. 30) (Publishers Weekly, December 22, 2003).

The Gender/Sexuality Reader: Culture, History, Political Economy
by Roger N. Lancaster (Editor), Micaela Di Leonardo (Editor)
A lot of books in the field give lip service to the idea that gender, sexuality, race, and class are somehow "connected" or "interconnected." This big book shows, convincingly, how they're connected--both historically, and in the present. The text includes stimulating essays on the history of colonialism and modern medicine; well-wrought ethnographic case studies on gender, race, and sexuality; and content-based theory (i.e., theory based on some empirical evidence). An indespensible resource for courses in gender, sexuality, lesbigay studies, and critical race studies.

The Language of Sex : Five Voices from Northern France around 1200 (The Chicago Series on Sexuality, History, and Society) (Paperback)
by John W. Baldwin
This study brings together widely divergent discourses to fashion a comprehensive picture of sexual language and attitudes at a particular time and place in the medieval world.
John Baldwin introduces five representative voices from the turn of the twelfth century in northern France: Pierre the Chanter speaks for the theological doctrine of Augustine; the Prose Salernitan Questions, for the medical theories of Galen; Andre the Chaplain, for the Ovidian literature of the schools; Jean Renart, for the contemporary romances; and Jean Bodel, for the emerging voices of the fabliaux. Baldwin juxtaposes their views on a range of essential subjects, including social position, the sexual body, desire and act, and procreation. The result is a fascinating dialogue of how they agreed or disagreed with, ignored, imitated, or responded to each other at a critical moment in the development of European ideas about sexual desire, fulfillment, morality, and gender.
These spokesmen allow us into the discussion of sexuality inside the church and schools of the clergy, in high and popular culture of the leity. This heterogeneous discussion also offers a startling glimpse into the construction of gender specific to this moment, when men and women enjoyed equal status in sexual matters, if nowhere else.
Taken together, these voices extend their reach, encompass their subject, and point to a center where social reality lies. By articulating reality at its varied depths, this study takes its place alongside groundbreaking works by James Brundage, John Boswell, and Leah Otis in extending our understanding of sexuality and sexual behavior in the Middle Ages.
"Superb work. . . . These five kinds of discourse are not often treated together in scholarly writing, let alone compared and contrasted so well."--Edward Collins Vacek, Theological Studies
"[Baldwin] has made the five voices speak to us in a language that is at one and the same time familiar and alien in its resonance and accents. This is a truly exceptional book, interdisciplinary in the real sense of the word, which is surely destined to become a landmark in medieval studies."--Keith Busby, Bryn Mawr Reviews
"[Baldwin's] attempt to 'listen' to these distant voices and translate their language of sex into our own raises challenging methodological questions that will be of great interest to historians and literary scholars alike."--John P. Dalton, Comitatus

Telling Sexual Stories: Power, Change and Social Worlds (Paperback) by Ken Plummer
Telling Sexual Stories explores the rites of a sexual storytelling culture. Taking three major examples--rape stories, coming-out stories, recovery stories--it examines the nature of these newly emerging narratives and the socio-historical conditions which give rise to them. It looks at the rise of the women's movement, the lesbian and gay movement and the ``recovery'' movement as harbingers of significant social change that encourage the telling of new stories. In a powerful concluding section the book turns out to the wider concern of how story telling may be changing in a postmodern culture and how central such storytelling may be in the creation of a participatory democratic political culture.--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
About the Author
Ken Plummer is Reader in Sociology at Essex University
Journal of the History of Sexuality
"...this book offers a rich synthesis of narrative theory, cultural studies, and symbolic interactionism..."--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Contemporary Sociology
"...focused, wide-ranging, and well-reasearched..."

Queer Theory/Sociology (Twentieth-Century Social Theory) by Steven Seidman
This is a great book. I always enjoy Steven Seidman's work. He is one of the best sociologists and social theorists writing on queer themes. Sociologists actually make the best analysts of gay and lesbian thought, life, culture, behavior, identity, etc. The so-called "queer theorists" working in English and Comparative Lit. departments never seem to get it right. The reason is simple: if you want to truly study something you need sociological skills like knowing how to do ethnographies and quantitative research. Compt lit people can't do any of that. All they can do (like the philosophy people) is just speculate. That doesn't quite cut it.

The Politics of Women's Bodies: Sexuality, Appearance, & Behavior
by Rose Weitz (Editor) - December 1, 2002

This anthology describes three themes: the social construction of ideas about women's bodies, the impact of these ideas on women's lives, and the potential for and limitations on women's resistance to these ideas. Selections cover a wide range of topics and disciplines, and were selected for their accessibility and for their attention to issues of class, ethnicity, age, and sexual orientation. With the exception of two classic articles, all articles were published in the last decade. On-quarter of the articles are new to this edition.

Evolution of Human Sexuality (Paperback) by Donald Symons
Reviewer: R. Charleson.
The understanding of human sexuality may be one of the most important issues in understanding ourselves as humans. In my professional life as a biologist, interested in evolution and the brain, this book has been an icon. Initially Symons received loads of criticism for appealing to sociological observations from the historical record. But, the fact is that his historical observations have stood the test of time. I highly recommend it.
Reviewer: A. G. Corona (Spain)
This book has been for more than 20 years, and, despite the fact that it provide a simple answer, beautiful and falsable in scientific terms, for the differences in the male and female sexuality, it has not entered in the mainstream of the human sciences as an accepted hypothesis in the arsenal of scientific theories. Sociobiology, and now the Evolutionary Psychology are sciences which cope with a strong resistance to be accepted by the scientific community. The fact is that both disciplines have more support by common people who are dissatisfied with the political correct answers to their most deep questions rather than with the professional Scientifics in sociology, psychology, anthropology and other human sciences.
The reason for this resistance is .. Politics. It's time to return to Reason and to reject the Inquisition of the political correctness in science, no matter what the facts are. Steven Pinker denounces that in "he Blank Slate"
Reviewer: A reader
It's hard to believe this book is over twenty years old, so little has it dated. One of the very best of its genre. Current writers of thick easy paperbacks on the subject of human evolution have not matched this book for scholarship, relevance, or modest wit. Sprinkled with nicely chosen literary references that not only satisfy literary readers, but serve as an important and neglected source of data on human sexuality. Professional readers will have professional disputes and quibbles, but the average woman or man interested in their most basic interests will find this surprisingly readable academic book a revelation.
Reviewer: A reader
Let's not kid ourselves: we'd all like to know more about sex. Well, look no further. Dressed up as a so-called "academic" book about human sexuality, this is an extremely hot book about the steamy things dudes and ladies do. Okay, just kidding -- it is very acadmeic, and a lot of scholarly work went into it. But I dare you to say it didn't make you somewhat aroused. There's all kind of dirty stuff in it, and in my opinion, that's what makes a great book truly great. I look forward to the sequel.
Reviewer: A reader
The great mystery to me when I was growing up was- Why were women and men so different in the way they handled sex? Why the huge differences in their sexual instincts?
In the book "The Evolution of Human Sexuality" these differences are explained in these terms:
If evolution existed, then successful sexual strategies had to be different for men and women.
Women openly acknowledge that they are attracted to men of wealth and power, with age a very distant secondary consideration if power and wealth are not to be had. This makes sense in terms of the fact that resources would have been available to raise her kids.
Another example: A man who wed a middle aged wealthy woman would have been a genetic dead end because the fertility of human females declines very rapidly after the age of 30-35. Youth, beauty (the appearance of health), and some assurance of fidelity (in wife material) was critical if his resources were to be committed to a woman. With one night stands, men can be far, far less picky.
The two sexes could not have evolved the same reproductive strategies. Success for one sex would have meant genetic oblivion for the other!
The offspring that survive would tend to have the same instincts of those humans who reproduced successfully. The patterns outlined in this great book can also be seen all thoughout the animal kingdom as well as in all peoples in all times.
You will understand what is going on with women and men after reading this book- it will not be that easy to discuss this with members of the opposit sex, however. This is a book for people who want to understand reality- not political correctness!

Liberty and Sexuality: The Right to Privacy and the Making of Roe V. Wade (Paperback)
by David J. Garrow
In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in America. The somewhat shaky scaffold supporting that decision drew together social struggles; the rights of women, physicians, and the state; and a slew of earlier cases on birth control and sexuality that had crafted a right to privacy never written into the Constitution. The vast size of David J. Garrow's gloriously sprawling Liberty and Sexuality allows him to tease out the miniscule fibers that would eventually be woven into Roe. While heavy hitters like Margaret Sanger and Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun are well drawn, it's the bit players who really have a chance to shine here. When James G. Morris, a Roman Catholic father of five, reads in the newspapers about a birth control clinic violating an antiquated Connecticut law in the 1960s, he doggedly calls police, prosecutor, and mayor until a reluctant investigation is kicked off. Marie Wilson Tindall, who had been to the clinic, agrees to have her testimony and contraband contraceptive jelly duly entered into the record to start a landmark court battle that would lay the foundation for Roe. And over the years, a veritable army of legal scholars, law clerks, judges, and regular citizens took part in an increasingly acrimonious debate over reproductive rights and free expression of sexuality. Well-crafted prose and meticulous journalistic footwork make this a definitive book for anyone intrigued by the ponderous mechanisms of legal and social change. --Francesca Coltrera
From Publishers Weekly
Behind the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v . Wade decision guaranteeing a woman's right to abortion lay 50 years of legal struggle. In this massively detailed, stirring chronicle, Garrow, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer of Martin Luther King Jr. ( Bearing the Cross ), shows how the courage and initiative of ordinary women and men made a crucial difference in establishing that right. He begins with Katharine Houghton Hepburn, an outspoken Connecticut activist who opened birth control clinics in the 1930s in defiance of a state law. Following in Hepburn's footsteps, Estelle Griswold, executive director of Connecticut Planned Parenthood, succeeded in having her own criminal conviction reversed by the Supreme Court: the 1965 Griswold v . Connecticut decision, which declared unconstitutional an 1879 statute criminalizing the use or counseling of birth control, paved the way for challenges to anti-abortion statutes across the U.S. Drawing on hundreds of interviews, Garrow profiles key advocates of the liberalization or repeal of anti-abortion laws in the decades preceding Roe. In a cogent final chapter he argues that Roe v . Wade has sustained "far greater wounds from the friendly fire of professed supporters than from the explicit attacks of candid opponents." Activists and students of legal history will be the most likely audience for this tome. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Sexual Nature/Sexual Culture (The Chicago Series on Sexuality, History, and Society) by Paul R. Abramson (Editor), Steven D. Pinkerton (Editor)
In this multidisciplinary study of human sexuality, an international team of scholars looks at the influences of nature and nurture, biology and culture, and sex and gender in the sexual experiences of humans and other primates.
Using as its center the idea that sexual pleasure is the primary motivational force behind human sexuality and that reproduction is simply a byproduct of the pleasurability of sex, this book examines sexuality at the individual, societal, and cultural levels. Beginning with a look at the evolution of sexuality in humans and other primates, the essays in the first section examine the sexual ingenuity of primates, the dominant theories of sexual behavior, the differences in male and female sexual interest and behavior, and the role of physical attractiveness in mate selection. The focus then shifts to biological approaches to sexuality, especially the genetic and hormonal origins of sexual orientation, gender, and pleasure.
The essays go on to look at the role of pleasure in different cultures. Included are essays on love among the tribespeople of the Brazilian rain forest and the regulation of adolescent sexuality in India. Finally, several contributors look at the methodological issues in the study of human sexuality, paying particular attention to the problems with research that relies on people's memories of their sexual experiences.
The contributors are Angela Pattatucci, Dean Hamer, David Greenberg, Frans de Waal, Mary McDonald Pavelka, Kim Wallen, Donald Symons, Heino Meyer-Bahlburg, Jean D. Wilson, Donald Tuzin, Lawrence Cohen, Thomas Gregor, Lenore Manderson, Robert C. Bailey, Alice Schlegel, Edward H. Kaplan, Richard Berk, Paul R. Abramson, Paul Okami, and Stephen D. Pinkerton.
Spanning the chasm of the nature versus nurture debate, Sexual Nature/Sexual Culture is a look at human sexuality as a complex interaction of genetic potentials and cultural influences. This book will be of interest to a wide range of readers--from scholars and students in psychology, anthropology, sociology, and history to clinicians, researchers, and others seeking to understand the many dimensions of sexuality.
"If we ever expect to solve the sexually based problems that modern societies face, we must encourage investigations of human sexual behavior. Moreover, those investigations should employ a broad range of disciplines--looking at sex from all angles, which is precisely what Sexual Nature, Sexual Culture does."--Mike May, American Scientist
"...This timely and relevant book reminds us that we cannot rely on simple solutions to complex problems. It represents a transdiciplinary approach integrating knowledge from diverse fields and provides the reader with a challenging and rewarding experience. Especially for those who are involved in teaching human sexuality to medical students and other health care professionals, this book is highly recommended."--Gerald Wiviortt, M.D., Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
"In short, this volume contains much to stimulate, inform, and amuse, in varying proportions. What more can one ask?"--Pierre L. van den Berghe, Journal of the History of Sexuality
"...the book succeeds in bring together some of the sharpest thinkers in the field of human sexuality, and goes a long way toward clarifying the diverse perspectives that currently exist."--David M. Buss and Todd K. Shackelford, Quarterly Review of Biology.

Out in Force : Sexual Orientation and the Military (Worlds of Desire: The Chicago Series on Sexuality, Gender, and Culture) (Paperback)
by Gregory M. Herek (Editor), Jared B. Jobe (Editor), Ralph M. Carney (Editor)
Can the U.S. military integrate gay personnel into its ranks and still accomplish its mission? In 1993, this question became the center of a heated debate when President Clinton attempted to lift the long-standing ban on gays in the military. This debate persists because the compromise policy "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue," faces serious legal challenges, and is likely to go to the Supreme Court before the end of the decade. Just below the surface of this debate rages a more general argument about the status of gay people in America.
Both sides base their views on assumptions about the consequences of integration. Even defenders of the ban grudgingly acknowledge that homosexuals are fully capable of serving with distinction. Few question gay service members' abilities or patriotism; justifications for the ban are now predicated on heterosexuals' negative reactions.
Out in Force refutes the notions that homosexuality is incompatible with military service and that gay personnel would undermine order and discipline. Leading social science scholars of sexual orientation and the military offer reasoned and comprehensive discussions about military organizations, human sexuality, and attitudes toward individuals and groups. They demonstrate forcefully that the debate is really about the military as an institution, and how that institution will adapt to larger social changes. The contributors show that the ban could be successfully eliminated, and set forth a program for implementation. In sorting opinion from fact, myth from reality, Out in Force stands as an invaluable guide for the military, lawmakers, and the courts as they continue to grapple with this question of institutional and societal change.

Sexualities In Health and Social Care by Wilton
"An exciting new text that is essential reading for all nurses and social workers who take their own and their clients' sexuality seriously." - Lesley Doyal, Professor in Health & Social Care, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol

"Sexualities in Health and Social Care addresses the issues so long neglected in textbooks for health care professionals. With no holds barred Tamsin Wilton thoroughly challenges unquestioned norms about sexuality in an accessible style and with useful exercises allowing the reader to begin on their own path of deconstruction. This text will open the minds of professionals working in health and social care - it is a text which is long overdue." - Hazel Platzer, member of the Royal College of Nursing's reference group for sexual health

"Firmly based on research drawn from a wide and fascinating range of sources, this innovative text challenges readers to confront their own beliefs, assumptions and prejudices about sexuality, while clearly demonstrating the destructive effect these can have on client care. Written with passion and integrity, Tamsin Wilton's important new book should be essential reading for all health and social care professionals." - Mary Stewart, Editor, MIDIRS Midwifery Digest

This lively and informative book offers a unique introduction to human sexuality in the context of health and social care practice. Drawing on research in the social sciences, cultural studies and social policy it presents a concise summary of current theories of sexual orientation, discusses the growth of contemporary lesbian and gay communities, and reveals the prejudice and discrimination which still exist. Using a reader-friendly approach developed during ten years teaching health and social care professionals, the author reveals how and why the needs of this group remain largely unmet, and suggests simple strategies for change that can be implemented by concerned practitioners.

The book is written at an introductory level, but in enough depth to be a useful reference for practising health professionals as well as trainees. Further reading lists are provided at the end of each chapter, as well as exercises designed to help readers become aware of their own attitudes and possible prejudices. This ground-breaking book is likely to become required reading for all trainee health and social care professionals.
About the Author
Tamsin Wilton is Reader in the Sociology of Sex and Sexualities at the University of the West of England, and has been teaching and writing about sexuality and health since 1988. Her recent books include Good for You: a handbook on lesbian health and wellbeing, and Engendering AIDS: deconstructing sex, texts, epidemic. She is presently researching narratives of sexual orientation, and is a member of the policy group set up by the Royal College of Midwives to examine the maternity care of lesbian mothers.