Deviations : A Gayle Rubin Reader

Deviationsis the definitive collection of writing by Gayle S. Rubin, a pioneering theorist and activist in feminism, lesbian and gay studies, queer activism, and sexuality studies since the 1970s. Rubin first rose to prominence in 1975, with the publication of “The Traffic in Women,� an essay that had a galvanizing effect on feminist thinking and became a foundational text for queer theory. Her status as a significant feminist and queer theorist was cemented in 1984, with “Thinking Sex,� an examination of how certain sexual behaviors are constructed as moral or natural, and others as unnatural. Along with such canonical pieces of Rubin’s writing, Deviationsfeatures less-known but equally insightful pieces, including her reflections on lesbian history, lesbian gender, the feminist antipornography movement, the feminist sex wars, the politics of sadomasochism, crusades against prostitution, and the historical development of sexual knowledge. In the introduction, Rubin traces her personal and intellectual evolution and discusses the development and reception of some of her most influential essays. Like the book it opens, the introduction highlights the major lines of inquiry pursued for nearly forty years by a singularly important theorist of sex, gender, and culture.

Gayle S. Rubin is Associate Professor of Anthropology, Women's Studies, and Comparative Literature at the University of Michigan.