Sexual Conduct : The Social Sources of Human Sexuality

ISBN-13: 9780202306643 / Angielski / Miękka / 2005 / 378 str.

William Simon; John H. Gagnon

Opis

The first edition of Sexual Conduct, published in 1973, swiftly became a landmark text in the sociology of sexuality. It went on to profoundly shape the ideas of several generations of scholars and has become the foundation text of what is now known as the "social constructionist" approach to sexuality. The present edition, revised, updated, and containing new introductory and concluding materials, introduces a classic text to a new generation of students and professionals.Traditional views of human sexuality posit models of man and woman in which biological arrangements are translated into sociocultural imperatives. This is best summarized in the phrase "anatomy is destiny." Consequently, the almost exclusive concern has been with the power of biology and nature in sexual conduct as opposed to understanding the significance and impact of social life. In Sexual Conduct, Gagnon and Simon lucidly argue that sexual activities, of all kinds, may be understood as the outcome of a complex psychosocial process of development. Using the social script theory, the authors trace the ways in which sexuality is learned and fitted into particular moments in the lifecycle and in different modes of behavior.Sexual Conduct is a major attempt to consider sexuality within a non-biological, social psychological framework. It is a valuable addition to the study of human sexuality, and will be of interest to students of sociology, psychology, psychiatry, social work, and medicine.

Spis treści

Foreword: Permanence and Change:
Sexual Conduct Thirty Years On
Kenneth Plummer

Preface to the Second Edition
John H. Gagnon

Acknowledgments to the First Edition

1. The Social Origins of Sexual Development
2. Childhood and Adolescence
3. Postadolescent Sexual Development
4. The Pedagogy of Sex
5. Homosexuality Among Men
6. A Conformity Greater than Deviance: The Lesbian
7. The Prostitution of Women
8. Homosexual Conduct in Prison
9. Pornography: Social Scripts and Legal Dilemmas
10. Social Change and Sexual Conduct

Afterword: The Struggle Over Sexual Change Since 1970
John H. Gagnon

The Writing of Sexual Conduct: Two Recollections
The Never-Ending Conversation: Two Interviews

References
Index

O autorze

William Simon