Synopses & Reviews
The first full length study of the history of sexuality in America,
Intimate Matters offers trenchant insights into the sexual behavior of Americans, from colonial times to today. D'Emilio and Freedman give us a deeper understanding of how sexuality has dramatically influenced politics and culture throughout our history.
"The book John D'Emilio co-wrote with Estelle B. Freedman, Intimate Matters, was cited by Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy when, writing for a majority of court on July 26, he and his colleagues struck down a Texas law criminalizing sodomy. The decision was widely hailed as a victory for gay rights—and it derived in part, according to Kennedy's written comments, from the information he gleaned from D'Emilio's book, which traces the history of American perspectives on sexual relationships from the nation's founding through the present day. The justice mentioned Intimate Matters specifically in the court's decision."—Julia Keller, Chicago Tribune
"Fascinating. . . . [D'Emilio and Freedman] marshall their material to chart a gradual but decisive shift in the way Americans have understood sex and its meaning in their lives." —Barbara Ehrenreich, New York Times Book Review
"With comprehensiveness and care . . . D'Emilio and Freedman have surveyed the sexual patterns for an entire nation across four centuries." —Martin Bauml Duberman, Nation
"Intimate Matters is comprehensive, meticulous and intelligent." —Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World
"This book is remarkable. . . . [Intimate Matters] is bound to become the definitive survey of American sexual history for years to come." —Roy Porter, Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences
Review
"This first, full-length history of American sexuality is an engaging synthesis remarkable for its breadth and depth. The authors trace the meaning of sexuality from its 'primary association with reproduction within families' in 17th-century America to its current status as primarily a vehicle for 'emotional intimacy and physical pleasure for individuals.' They examine the way American society determined what was sexually appropriate, what was sexually deviant, and how that changed over
time. Intertwined with that question is one of sexual politics—if, roughly, church authorities proclaimed the boundaries of proper sexual behavior in the 17th and 18th centuries, the medical profession in the 19th century, and the state in the 20th century, how did sexuality become intensely politicized as it has in our time? Solidly argued and gracefully written, the narrative is chock-full of pertinent anecdotal evidence. Certainly, this is a must for anyone interested in how the Supreme Court became enmeshed in our most 'Intimate Matters.'" Reviewed by Daniel Weiss, Virginia Quarterly Review (Copyright 2006 Virginia Quarterly Review)
Synopsis
The first full length study of the history of sexuality in America,
Intimate Matters offers trenchant insights into the sexual behavior of Americans, from colonial times to today. D'Emilio and Freedman give us a deeper understanding of how sexuality has dramatically influenced politics and culture throughout our history.
"The book John D'Emilio co-wrote with Estelle B. Freedman, Intimate Matters, was cited by Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy when, writing for a majority of court on July 26, he and his colleagues struck down a Texas law criminalizing sodomy. The decision was widely hailed as a victory for gay rights--and it derived in part, according to Kennedy's written comments, from the information he gleaned from D'Emilio's book, which traces the history of American perspectives on sexual relationships from the nation's founding through the present day. The justice mentioned Intimate Matters specifically in the court's decision."--Julia Keller, Chicago Tribune
"Fascinating. . . . [D'Emilio and Freedman] marshall their material to chart a gradual but decisive shift in the way Americans have understood sex and its meaning in their lives." --Barbara Ehrenreich, New York Times Book Review
"[With] comprehensiveness and care . . . D'Emilio and Freedman have surveyed the sexual patters for an entire nation across four centuries." --Martin Bauml Duberman, Nation
"Intimate Matters is comprehensive, meticulous and intelligent." --Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World
"This book is remarkable. . . . [Intimate Matters] is bound to become the definitive survey of American sexual history for years to come." --Roy Porter, Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [419]-431) and index.
About the Author
Estelle B. Freedman is the Edgar E. Robinson Professor in US History at Stanford University and the author of No Turning Back: The History of Feminism and the Future of Women.
Table of Contents
Preface to the Second Edition
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I: The Repoductive Matrix, 1600-1800
1. Cultural Diversity in the Era of Settlement
2. Family Life and the Refulation of Deviance
3. Seeds of Change
Part II: Divided Passions, 1780-1900
4. Within the Family
5. Race and Sexuality
6. Outside the Family
7. Sexual Politics
Part III: Toward a New Sexual Order, 1880-1930
8. "Civilized Morality" Under Stress
9. Crusades for Sexual Order
10. Breaking with the Past
Part IV: The Rise and Fall of Sexual Liberalism, 1920 to the Present
11. Beyond Reproduction
12. Redrawing the Boundaries
13. Sexual Revolutions
14. The Sexualized Society
15. The Contemporary Political Crisis
Afterword
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index