Women Sexuality And The Changing Social Order

This book, first published in 1991, examines the effect of government policies and social restrictions on the reproductive behaviour and family life of the women of Kenya, especially the Kikuyu people. Importation of techniques for social and behavioural regulation from the developed nations, the social restructuring that followed the colonial intervention, the Mau Mau uprisings and current widespread concern with AIDS have disrupted traditional influences on Kenyan reproductive behaviour and family life. In response to these changes, women mobilised into a movement comprised of small local women’s groups scattered throughout Kenya that attempt to educate and influence both its members and government policy. The successes and failures of this movement offer important lessons for the rest of Africa and the developing world.

First Published in 1991. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This new introduction to the sociology of gender and sexuality offers a fresh take on the importance of these concepts in modern society. It provides an insight into our rapidly changing attitudes towards sex and our understanding of masculine and feminine identities, relating the study of gender and sexuality to wider social concerns throughout the world and presenting a comprehensive yet readable summary of recent research and theory. In an accessible and engaging style, the book demonstrates how thinking about gender and sexuality can illuminate and enliven other contemporary sociological debates about social structure, social change, and culture and identity politics. Emphasis is placed on the diversity of gendered and sexual lives in different parts of the world. The book offers detailed coverage of wide-ranging topics, from international sex-tourism to celebrity culture, from gender in the work-place to new sexual lifestyles, drawing examples from everyday life. By demonstrating the links between gender and sexuality this book makes a clear case for thinking sociologically about these important and controversial aspects of human identity and behaviour. The book will be of great value to students in any discipline looking to understand the roles gender and sexuality play in our lives.

The essays included here reflect differences in race, gender and class and demonstrate how different social groups experience different sets of social norms. Topics include gender and sex theory, identity, childhood and adolescent sexuality, the objectification of women, sexuality and religion, leisure and recreation, politics and social change and the possible future of sexual relationships.

Originally published in 1976, Sexual Divisions and Society argues that mainstream sociology has neglected to incorporate the notion of sexual divisions as an integral part of its theoretical underpinnings. It suggests that sociology has often included women completely within the term of ‘men’, or as a part of their husbands, rather than asking how and when the relationship between the sexes is pertinent to the explanation of social structure and behaviour. The volume is composed of papers brought together from the 1974 British Sociological Association Conference on Sexual Divisions.

A philosophical exploration of female submission, using insights from feminist thinkers—especially Simone de Beauvoir—to reveal the complexities of women’s reality and lived experience What role do women play in the perpetuation of patriarchy? On the one hand, popular media urges women to be independent, outspoken, and career-minded. Yet, this same media glorifies a specific, sometimes voluntary, female submissiveness as a source of satisfaction. In philosophy, even less has been said on why women submit to men and the discussion has been equally contradictory—submission has traditionally been considered a vice or pathology, but female submission has been valorized as innate to women’s nature. Is there a way to explore female submission in all of its complexity—not denying its appeal in certain instances, and not buying into an antifeminist, sexist, or misogynistic perspective? We Are Not Born Submissive offers the first in-depth philosophical exploration of female submission, focusing on the thinking of Simone de Beauvoir, and more recent work in feminist philosophy, epistemology, and political theory. Manon Garcia argues that to comprehend female submission, we must invert how we examine power and see it from the woman’s point of view. Historically, philosophers, psychoanalysts, and even some radical feminists have conflated femininity and submission. Garcia demonstrates that only through the lens of women’s lived experiences—their economic, social, and political situations—and how women adapt their preferences to maintain their own well-being, can we understand the ways in which gender hierarchies in society shape women’s experiences. Ultimately, she asserts that women do not actively choose submission. Rather, they consent to—and sometimes take pleasure in—what is prescribed to them through social norms within a patriarchy. Moving beyond the simplistic binary of natural destiny or moral vice, We Are Not Born Submissive takes a sophisticated look at how female submissiveness can be explained.

The Politics of Passion centers on an old institution among the Afro-Surinamese working class in which women have multiple sexual relationships with both men and women. These women reject marriage because of the bonds of dependency it fosters, preferring to create their own families of kin, lovers, and children. Gloria Wekker analyzes this phenomenon, known as mati work, as she vividly describes the lives of Afro-Surinamese women. She gives an account of women's sexuality that is not limited to either heterosexuality or same-sex sexuality. Her work offers new perspectives on black women's sexuality, the lives of Caribbean women, transnational gay and lesbian movements, and an Afro-Surinamese tradition that challenges conventional Western notions of marriage, gender, and sexuality. By foregrounding the voices of Afro-Surinamese women, Wekker illuminates these women's daily lives in light of the changes occurring in Surinamese society. She also considers the historical, religious, psychological, economic, linguistic, cultural, and political elements that have shaped their lives. The book concludes with stories of women who have migrated to the Netherlands, where they have created new, vibrant mati communities.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Contributors -- Preface -- Sexual Divisions and Society -- In the Production of their Lives, Men ... Sex and Gender in British Community Studies -- Kin, Clients, and Accomplices: Relationships among Women in Morocco -- Continuities and Discontinuities in Marriage and Divorce -- French Judicial Ideology in Working-class Divorce -- Women: Supporters or Supported? -- Finishing School: Some Implications of Sex-segregated Education -- 'Who Wants Babies?' The Social Construction of 'Instincts' -- I May Be a Queer, But At Least I am a Man: Male hegemony and ascribed versus achieved gender -- Women's Liberation, Reproduction, and the Technological Fix -- 'Free-choice Marriage' in China: The Evolution of an Ideal -- Men, Women, and Communes -- Name Index -- Subject Index