Sexualities in Context

by Plante, Rebecca F.

• ISBN13: 9780813342931
• ISBN10: 0813342937
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-01-09
• Publisher: Westview Pr

Summary

Written in an accessible and clear manner,Sexualities in Contextpresents focused overviews and explorations of some of the most timely issues in the social construction of sex. This brief text is suitable for courses with coverage of gender and sexuality in sociology, psychology, women's and gender studies, and human development. The only book of its kind to address sexualities from a social perspective, Plante's analysis of the context of sexuality, sexual behaviors, and identities is both intelligent and readable. With contemporary topics, such as 'hooking up,' sexual fantasies, and bisexualities, along with examples of how to apply critical thinking, students are empowered to think outside their comfort zones and encouraged to explore the topic of sex in a new context. Employing useful pedagogical features like end-of-chapter questions and suggested projects, this is the ideal text to help students see that sex is not only personal but social and political as well.

Author Biography

Rebecca F. Plante is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Ithaca College. She is co-editor (with Michael S. Kimmel) of the anthology Sexualities: Identities, Behaviors,and Society, and has written on sexuality and gender for scholarly journals and the popular press. Plante has worked as an evaluator of various state-level HIV/AIDS education programs.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Setting the Scene	ix
Section I The Basics of Sexuality
Why Sex Matters: A Brief History of Sex/uality	3	(28)
Studying the Sexual: Classifying and Theorizing	31	(36)
Boys, Girls, Men and Women: Variables of Experience	67	(32)
Section II Becoming Sexual
Birds Do It, Bees Do It: Learning about ``It''	99	(34)
Finding a Playboy under a Rock in the Woods: Sex in the Mind	133	(30)
Hooking It Up: Sex in the Bedroom	163	(32)
Section III Outside Ourselves: Sex in Social Context
LGBTQQPA(H), BDSM: The Alphabet Soup of Sexualities	195	(46)
Bunnies, Bytes, and Beaches: Representations of Sex	241	(26)
Screwing with Sex: Some Politics of Sexualities	267	(22)
Acknowledgments	289	(2)
Notes	291	(28)
Index	319