The Transformation Of Sexuality

The sexual revolution: an evocative term, but what meaning can be given to it today? How does 'sexuality' come into being and what connections does it have with the changes that have affected personal life on a more general plane? In answering these questions, Anthony Giddens disputes many of the dominant interpretations of the role of sexuality in modern culture. The emergence of what the author calls plastic sexuality - sexuality freed from its intrinsic relation to reproduction - is analysed in terms of the long-term development of the modern social order and social influences of the last few decades. Giddens argues that the transformation of intimacy, in which women have played the major part, holds out the possibility of a radical democratization of the personal sphere. This book will appeal to a large general audience as well as being essential reading for students and professionals.

How do contemporary young people construct their sexual identities? Are young people sexually liberated, or is human sexuality increasingly controlled and manipulated by commercial forces? Thomas Johansson explores the construction of sexual identities by young people as part of a wider process of identity construction, combining the work of key authors such as Elias and Foucault with original and revealing empirical material drawn from an extensive survey of the views of 1300 sixteen to nineteen year olds, combined with a number of qualitative in-depth interviews with different sexual subcultures. Topics covered include fidelity and infidelity, love, homosexuality, pornography and beauty ideals. Designed to look beyond media images and popular prejudices the book illustrates how young people of both genders, of different nationalities and of different group allegiances view and relate to their own sexuality.

How do contemporary young people construct their sexual identities? Are young people sexually liberated, or is human sexuality increasingly controlled and manipulated by commercial forces? Thomas Johansson explores the construction of sexual identities by young people as part of a wider process of identity construction, combining the work of key authors such as Elias and Foucault with original and revealing empirical material drawn from an extensive survey of the views of 1300 sixteen to nineteen year olds, combined with a number of qualitative in-depth interviews with different sexual subcultures. Topics covered include fidelity and infidelity, love, homosexuality, pornography and beauty ideals. Designed to look beyond media images and popular prejudices the book illustrates how young people of both genders, of different nationalities and of different group allegiances view and relate to their own sexuality.

The transformation of the Roman world from polytheistic to Christian is one of the most sweeping ideological changes of premodern history. At the center was sex. Kyle Harper examines how Christianity changed the ethics of sexual behavior from shame to sin, and shows how the roots of modern sexuality are grounded in an ancient religious revolution.

Sex is cheap. Coupled sexual activity has become more widely available than ever. Cheap sex has been made possible by two technologies that have little to do with each other - the Pill and high-quality pornography - and its distribution made more efficient by a third technological innovation, online dating. Together, they drive down the cost of real sex, and in turn slow the development of love, make fidelity more challenging, sexual malleability more common, and have even taken a toll on men's marriageability. Cheap Sex takes readers on an extended tour inside the American mating market, and highlights key patterns that characterize young adults' experience today, including the timing of first sex in relationships, overlapping partners, frustrating returns on their relational investments, and a failure to link future goals like marriage with how they navigate their current relationships. Drawing upon several large nationally-representative surveys, in-person interviews with 100 men and women, and the assertions of scholars ranging from evolutionary psychologists to gender theorists, what emerges is a story about social change, technological breakthroughs, and unintended consequences. Men and women have not fundamentally changed, but their unions have. No longer playing a supporting role in relationships, sex has emerged as a central priority in relationship development and continuation. But unravel the layers, and it is obvious that the emergence of "industrial sex" is far more a reflection of men's interests than women's.

This book explains how the short-lived sexual revolution 50 years ago has led to the current evolution of our sexual values and behaviors and social standards among youth culture, examining topics such as communication technologies and sex, teen pregnancy, and divorce rates in the Bible Belt. Is an increase in sexual activity during adolescence a normal part of the transition to adulthood, or evidence of a societal problem? Why would conservative religious youth become sexually active earlier than their peers and be more likely to have an unintended pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease? How are women continuing to lead our society's sexual transformation? Written by an author whose 40-year career in sexology and university administration provides a uniquely qualified perspective upon both sex research and the changing sexual perceptions of American youth, this comprehensive book is must-read for both parents and policy makers. America's Sexual Transformation traces the philosophical, cultural, and scientific developments responsible for the beginning and end of America's sexual revolution that have now spawned a more substantive sexual transformation. It examines traditional theories and attitudes regarding sex, and demonstrates how the findings of sex research provide entirely new paradigms that should replace outmoded and harmful theories. This groundbreaking book also explains who we are as sexual individuals and how we got to be that way.

A pioneering study which has become an established classic in its field, Sex, Politics and Society provides a lucid and comprehensive analysis of the transformations of British sexual life from 1800 to the present. These changes are firmly located in the wider context of social change, from industrialization and the experience of Empire through the establishment of the welfare state to the rise of new social movements, such as feminism and gay liberation, and new forms of social conservatism. Now fully revised and updated, and with a new chapter bringing the story right up to date, this new edition considers: the transformation of the sexual world through globalization and the internet the changing impact of the AIDS pandemic over the last thirty years the influence of new currents in social and cultural theory on the study of sexuality the gradual depoliticization and mainstreaming of sexuality within historical study Combining rich empirical detail with innovative theoretical insights, Sex, Politics and Society remains at the cutting edge of the subject and this third edition will inspire and provoke a whole new generation of readers in history, sociology, social policy, and the study of sexuality.