Synopses & Reviews
Handcuffs, paddles, whipsandmdash;the words alone are enough to make a person blush. Even by our societyandrsquo;s standards, the practice of things like BDSM is still very hush-hush, considered deviant sexual behavior that must be kept hidden. But the narrow view of what is thought of as andldquo;normalandrdquo; sexandmdash;a vanilla act performed by one man and one womanandmdash;is more and more contested these days. And as Julie Peakman reveals, normal never really existed; for everyone, different kinds of sex have always offered myriad pleasures, and almost all sexual behaviors have traveled between acceptance and proscription. The Pleasureandrsquo;s All Mine examines two millennia of letters, diaries, court records, erotic books, medical texts, and more to explore the gamut of andldquo;deviantandrdquo; sexual activity.and#160;Delving into the specialized cultures of pain, necrophilia, and bestiality and the social world of plushies, furries, and life-size sex dolls, Peakman considers the changing attitudes toward these, as well as masturbation, andldquo;golden showers,andrdquo; sadomasochism, homosexuals, transvestites, and transsexuals. She follows the history of each behavior through its original reception to its interpretation by sexologists and how it is viewed today, showing how previously acceptable behaviors now provoke social outrage, or vice versa. In addition, she questions why people have been and remain intolerant of other peopleandrsquo;s sexual preferences.and#160;The first comprehensive history of sexual perversion and packed with both color and black and white images, The Pleasureandrsquo;s All Mine is a fascinating and sometimes shocking look at the evolution of our views on sex.
Review
andldquo;Serious, historically informed, and as close to an exhaustive account as we are likely ever to see of the extravagant creativity that humans have invested in sex. A masterpiece.andrdquo;
Review
and#8220;For those with an erudite interest in debauchery, this latest from author, historian, and sex scholar Peakman is just the ticketand#8230; Peakmanand#8217;s broad overview is stunning, sweeping, and very carefully nonjudgmental. She recounts the history of each so-called perversion from its earliest recorded occurrence through the present, showing how the shifting mores of society color our views on this endlessly fascinating subject. Exhaustively researched and packed with startling images, this work is a fact-filled, entertaining read for sex history neophytes and scholars alike.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;A substantial, well-illustrated, funny, and thoughtful work. . . . If societies are arbitrary and changeable about what they consider perversions, there is good reason to rely on the rule about harm to determine what is actually perverse and what is not. Peakmanand#8217;s book is a good step toward this understanding.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;This seductive book traces changing attitudes to a dozen different sexual perversions from the beginning of Western civilisation to the present day. . . . In an ambitious book that unites compelling subject matter with authoritative style, the author does an excellent job of tracking the multiple and changing attitudes towards non-mainstream sexual preferences. The study is enlivened by many telling examples. . . . The illustrations within are fabulous, albeit not for the faint-hearted.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;A thorough history of sexual stigmas, this book will prove especially useful to undergraduate and graduate students interested in the study of sexuality and culture. General readers will find the book entertaining. Recommended.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Whether sussing out topics like homosexuality and BDSM, to those that still remain taboo, like bestiality and pedophilia, Peakman is able to provide a well-needed historical context for all things "perverse" (or in her opinion, not perverse at all) and shine a light in the many places we would rather keep dark.and#8221;
Synopsis
A Sociology of Sex and Sexuality offers an historical sociological analysis of ideas about expressions of sexual desire, combining both primary and secondary historical and theoretical material with original research and popular imagery in the contemporary context.
While some reference is made to the sexual ideology of Classical Antiquity and of early Christianity, the major focus of the book is on the development of ideas about sex and sexuality in the context of modernity. It questions the widespread assumption that the anxieties and fears associated with old sexual mores have been overcome in the late twentieth century context, and asks whether the discourses of Queer sexual politics have successfully fractured the binary categories of heterosexuality and homosexuality.
A Sociology of Sex and Sexuality will be of interest to students in the fields of sociology, sexual history, gender studies and cultural studies.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 149-154) and index.
About the Author
Gail Hawkes was born in Melbourne, Australia, where she initially pursued a career in nursing. Her undergraduate and doctoral studies, undertaken over the last ten years at the Victoria University of Manchester, concentrated in the area of historical sociology. She is currently employed as Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the Manchester Metropolitan University.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Taking it Straight
2. From Onanism to Spending
3. From Ganymedes to Gays
4. From Female Friendships to Lipstick Lesbians
5. From Transvestites to Transsexuals
6. A Manand#8217;s Best Friend: Bestiality
7. The Ties that Bind: Sadomasochism
8. Loving the Dead
9. Too Close for Comfort: Incest
10. Child Love or Paedophilia?
11. The Games People Play
12. On Body Parts: Fellatio, Fetishism, Infibulations and Fisting
Epilogue: A Limit to Tolerance
References
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index