Psychology: sexual behaviour Books

Book Synopsis The term swinging calls to mind a bygone era of 1970s sexual liberation--images of shag carpet, hot tubs and married couples swapping motel keys. The Internet age has made swinging widely accessible and discreet to a broad range of participants, married or single, and of any sexual orientation. Some people pursue the excitement of spontaneous, noncommittal sex with strangers, while others seek a certain intimate connection they find unattainable by conventional dating or romantic relationships. Casey Donatello''s frank memoir describes her transition from inexperienced 20-something, through the ups and downs of her introduction to swinging as a couple with her boyfriend, to her maturation as a single female swinger--known in the lifestyle as a unicorn--in her 30s. Her explicit account goes beyond the physical acts to explore the psychology and life lessons of self-discovery through sex.

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Book SynopsisFrom Oprah’s “Love Ambassador,” this encouraging, inspiring guide will help you overcome the things holding you back from meeting your real soul mate.Real love is out there . . . Kailen Rosenberg will help you find it. From the costar of the groundbreaking series Lovetown, USA on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, this is an encouraging, inspiring book to help you get past the things holding you back from finding real, authentic love. Kailen starts with a physical, mental, and emotional self-appraisal, which asks you to examine the things you don’t want to admit are holding you back, and helps you discover what you need to work on to have the best shot at finding a soul mate and creating a fuller, more rewarding love life. She then lays out a fail-proof, step-by-step thirty-day plan that will lead you to love when you have made yourself love-ready. Kailen has an inspiring personal story; she is living proof that love and

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Book SynopsisSex worker activists throughout Africa are demanding an end to the criminalization of sex work and the recognition of their human rights to safe working conditions, health and justice services, and lives free from violence and discrimination. To Live Freely in This World is the first book to tell the story of the brave activists at the beating heart of the sex workers' rights movement in Africathe newest and most vibrant face of the global sex workers' rights struggle. African sex worker activists are proving that communities facing human rights abuses are not bereft of agency. They're challenging politicians, religious fundamentalists, and anti-prostitution advocates; confronting the multiple stigmas that affect the diverse members of their communities; engaging in intersectional movement building with similarly marginalized groups; and participating in the larger global sex workers' rights struggle in order to determine their social and political fate. By locating this counter-narrTrade ReviewBy taking the sex worker's narratives as data, Mgbako paints a picture of a more layered landscape to sex work activism than what we normally hear about on an international level. * Feministing.com *This monograph presents the first book-length study on sex workers activism in Africa, and it makes an important contribution, not only to feminist debates about sex work, but also to the scholarship of social movements and activism in contemporary Africa. * African Affairs *Though sex workers rights movements are globally interconnected, in practice, we are still often isolated, failing to learn from each other.To Live Freely in This Worldserves as a source text for western sex workers to study the success of their African counterparts. Certainly, it turns the Eurocentric notion that western movements are somehow more advanced right on its head. * Make/Shift *A detailed study of the history and ongoing activism of the sex workers’ movement in Africa. It shows how this young movement is blossoming – despite pervasive challenges – and contributes an African perspective to feminist debate about sex work. Based on a wide range of interviews and participant observation from fieldwork in seven focus countries (Botswana, Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Uganda, and Nigeria), the author argues that African sex worker activists determine their social and political fate through strategic, informed choices … As scholars endeavor to fill literature gaps related to sex workers’ rights (in Africa, as well as centering on movements in the United States, Europe, and Asia), this book provides a critical resource for policy makers, students, and those interested in furthering their knowledge of debates related to sex workers’ rights. -- Human Rights ReviewMgbako contributes to closing a gap in knowledge on sex work and sex work activism in Africa. The book’s anchoring in personal stories and experiences of sex workers is an attempt to move away from the tendency of non-sex workers to speak for sex workers, and to let the latter speak for themselves. Fortunately, as is shown throughout the book, African sex workers are independently and fiercely creating more and more platforms from where to speak and be heard. -- Feminist ReviewI taught To Live Freely in this World in an upper-level course, Gender and Sexuality in Africa, and the students gained a lot from it. They told me that they appreciated that Mgbako used herself as a vehicle to let others speak and that the book was based on empowerment and not degradation. It challenged their views on dominant representations of gender and sexuality in Africa, as well as gave them another set of narratives about African agency and organizing. I think To Live Freely in this World would be an excellent teaching tool in a variety of courses on human rights, African studies, gender and sexuality, and social organizing. -- Human Rights QuarterlyMgbako’s groundbreaking project champions the human rights and agency of these workers and documents their increasing activism... To Live Freely in This World is well-written and engaging. The author includes many notes and a lengthy bibliography of scholarly and legal sources. The greatest strength of the work, however, is the collective testimony Mgbako presents from transcribed interviews with a range of sex workers, revealing their determination and commitment to reach out to other activists locally and globally to move their cause forward. These first-person accounts, coupled with the author’s perceptive analysis of the methods and strategies for building activism, make for a profound work that enhances not only the study of sex workers in particular but also feminist scholarship in general. A vital addition to academic collections. -- Feminist CollectionsThe book is accessible and clear, without the use of jargon... The people profiled clearly explain how criminal justice law and policy and implementation affect them, preventing their ability to access justice, as in the murders that remain uninvestigated. The extensive profiles convey a sense of real engagement with the people and their lives. Black and white photographs of profiled activists humanize them; they are not merely names on the page working in places unfamiliar to most readers... This book is strongly recommended for classes addressing human rights, including law and pre-law programs; undergraduate classes examining the developing world; and women’s studies classes, especially those looking at marginalized groups like sex workers, and African people. The book brings attention to the murder of sex workers, and in doing so offers hope that the growing sex worker rights movement in Africa will see progress in promoting human rights and combating indifference. -- International Journal of Feminist PoliticsThis book should appeal to all social work educators in general, but it is particularly relevant for courses in diversity, sexuality, gender inequality/women’s issues, social welfare policy, and social justice. It would make a compelling read for advanced year social policy course, as there is much to learn about advocacy skills from the sex worker’s movement in Africa. The strategies of informal and formal political resistance and intersectional movement building illustrated in this book can be applied to organize and energize any social movements. It is also an excellent resource for social work practitioners who want to understand how issues of gender and sexuality intersect with the issues related to HIV prevention, sex work, and trafficking. -- Affilia: Journal of Women and Social WorkTo Live Freely in This World is an essential contribution to our understanding of how sex workers resist and make change. The stories Chi Mgbako has gathered in her original research highlight sex workers' own analysisof their work, the inequality they face, and their commitment to justice. Journalists, human rights advocates, and feminists will find a wealth of inspiration here for further study and solidarity. -- Melissa Gira Grant,author of Playing the Whore: The Work of Sex WorkMgbako's incomparable To Live Freely in This World brings readers the here-and-now stories of African sex workers who are fighting for human rights. As the author reminds us, their struggles for dignity and respect were born in the anti-colonial and anti-apartheid movements of earlier times, and are being revitalized through this new century's network of sex worker activists from around the world. -- Melinda Chateauvert,author of Sex Workers Unite! A History of the Movement from Stonewall to SlutWalkTo say this is a groundbreaking book is an understatement. Well-written and elegant, Mgbako'sresearch reveals the rise of African sex work activism and the ongoing trials and tribulations of organizing in the face of economic, social, and political adversity. As one of the worlds foremost scholars on sex work in Africa, Mgbako'sincisive analysis allows us to explore questions of human rights, consent, and coercion in the sex work context. This book will change the conversation about sex work in Africa, and globally, while forcing those who resist sex worker organizing to confront a movement that has only just begun. -- Aziza Ahmed,Northeastern University

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Book SynopsisWaggish Coquetry in South Asian Street Communication critically examines the role of coquettish remarks in urban life of South Asia, in the context of the sociology and linguistics of South Asian street communication. Ali R. Fatihi explores the design and structure of coquetry, and in so doing sheds light on the role of gendered street communication as a type of sexual harassment. Fatihi takes up the semiology of the street, focusing on the street as the locus of communication and its meaning in the community. The book also describes the role of metaphors in coquettish remarks, placing them in the context of the anthropology and sociology of streets, and male behavior therein.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Chapter I Introduction Chapter II Street Communication Chapter III Coquetry Chapter IV Coquettish Metaphors Chapter V Conclusions and Implications Bibliography

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Book SynopsisAssisted reproductive technology (ART) allows people who are infertile the opportunity to conceive children and form much desired families. Over the past few decades, the number of ART procedures conducted in the United States has steadily increased, in part affected by the growing number of women trying to conceive later in their reproductive liveswomen trying to pursue careers while balancing personal and societal demands of creating a family. The initial spotlight cast by this demographic shift in baby making has widened as a variety of other people experiencing social infertility (e.g., single persons, same-sex couples) have increasingly used such procedures to conceive their own desired families as well. The spotlight has intensified as media exposure and political attention to the use of ART, particularly by socially infertile people, has aroused public concern and controversy. The purpose of this book is to explore the factors that shape the community''s sentimentand thus the coTable of ContentsPreface Introduction: Assisted Reproductive Technology: Why All the Controversy? Chapter 1: The Players, Procedures, Outcomes, and Objections Chapter 2: How Assisted Reproduction Shapes Family Law Chapter 3: The Relationship between Media and Community Sentiment toward ART Chapter 4: How Personal Differences Shape Community Sentiment toward ART Chapter 5: How Societal Factors Affect Community Sentiment toward ART Chapter 6: How Psychological Processes Influence Community Sentiment toward ART Chapter 7: Furthering the Study of Community Sentiment toward ART Conclusion: As Reproductive Technology Advances, Divided Sentiment Remains Appendix A: Scientific Information About Infertility and IVF (Study 2) Appendix B: Manipulated Messages (Study 2) Appendix C: Measures for Both Studies References Index About the Authors

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Book SynopsisIn The Reproductive Industry, scholars explore the local and international histories of in vitro fertilization and assisted reproduction, revealing the dynamics of the evolving reproductive industry.Trade Review“This exemplary volume charts both the promises and fragilities of assisted reproduction as it is being choreographed within and between societies across the globe. Through rich ethnographic, historical, and legal accounts, the collection shines a much-needed light on the ways in which technologies are reconfiguring kin and families, including for transgender people and queer communities. The volume’s focus on the Asia-Pacific is also novel and timely, given regional concerns over low fertility amidst the exploitation of surrogate women’s bodies. In short, this is a must-read volume for anyone interested in gender, technology, and globally mediated quests for conception.” -- Marcia C. Inhorn, Yale University"The Reproductive Industry: Intimate Experiences and Global Processes is a provocative book that challenges the happy-ever-after narratives around assisted reproductive technologies to expose the inequalities of power, gender, race and sexuality on which this global trade depends.” -- Shurlee Swain, Australian Catholic UniversityTable of ContentsIntroduction: The Body and the Globe Chapter 1: A Tale of Two Halves?: IVF in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s Chapter 2: Situating India in the Global Assisted Reproduction Industry Chapter 3: “A Cloak and Dagger Situation”: Artificial Insemination, Secrecy and Openness in New Zealand, 1950s to Early 2000s Chapter 4: An Examination of “Just in Case” Arguments as They are Applied to Fertility Preservation for Transgender People Chapter 5: ‘The Queer Multiracial Family: Figuring Race in Donor-Assisted Conception Chapter 6: ‘IVF and the “Promise of Happiness” Chapter 7: Private International Law and Cross-Border Surrogacy: The Role of Analogy Chapter 8: “Stop Thai Women’s Wombs from Becoming the World’s Womb”: Reproductive Nationalism and the Closure of Commercial Surrogacy in Thailand Chapter 9: Modes of Mobility: Tracing the Routes of Reproductive Travel in the Asia-Pacific Region

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Book SynopsisThe Intersexes: A History of Similisexualism as a Problem in Social Life (1906) is a work of nonfiction by Edward Irenaeus Prime-Stevenson. Written while Prime-Stevenson was living as an expatriate in Europe, The Intersexes is a defense of homosexuality grounded in scientific and historical research. Throughout his career, Prime-Stevenson sought to dispel falsehoods surrounding the history and social acceptance of homosexuality. Writing under the pseudonym Xavier Mayne, Prime-Stevenson took great care to insulate himself from the reprisal common to the period in which he worked. Despite his limited audience—copies of his works numbered in the hundreds—Prime-Stevenson is now recognized as a pioneering advocate for the rights of the LGBTQ community. “Between a protozoan and the most perfect development of the mammalia, we trace a succession of dependent intersteps...A trilobite is at one end of Nature's workshop: a Spinoza, a Shakespeare, a Beethoven is at the other. […] Why have we set up masculinity and femininity as processes that have not perfectly logical and respectable inter-steps?” Seeking to defend homosexuality as a natural result of human evolution, Prime-Stevenson offers his theory of intersexes, of which he identifies two while leaving room for more to be defined in the future. To do so, he rejects the binary of masculine and feminine, both of which fail to describe the vast majority of humanity, in favor of a broader spectrum of sexual identity. Using the terms Uranian and Uraniad, which align with gay and lesbian respectively, Prime-Stevenson attempts to define these types, call attention to historical examples, and critique the societal condemnation and persecution of such individuals as “degenerate” or “criminal.” This groundbreaking study, perhaps the first to approach homosexuality from a scientific, historical, personal, and legal point of view, is recognized today as a landmark in queer literature by academics around the world. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Edward Irenaeus Prime-Stevenson’s The Intersexes: A History of Similisexualism as a Problem in Social Life is a classic work of queer literature reimagined for modern readers.

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Book SynopsisThe archive has assumed a new significance in the history of sex, and this book visits a series of such archives, including the Kinsey Institute’s erotic art; gay masturbatory journals in the New York Public Library; the private archive of an amateur pornographer; and one man’s lifetime photographic dossier on Baltimore hustlers. Shedding new light on American sexual history, the topics covered are both fascinating and wide-ranging: the art history of homoeroticism; casual sex before hooking-up; transgender; New York queer sex; masturbation; pornography; sex in the city. This book will appeal to a wide readership: those interested in American studies, sexuality studies, contemporary history, the history of sex, psychology, anthropology, sociology, gender studies, queer studies, trans studies, pornography studies, visual studies, museum studies, and media studies.Trade Review‘Barry Reay once again has applied his sharp historical eye and his willingness to open himself to “perversion” to write a nuanced and layered history of sex archives. Far from dry or limited to “facts,” however, Sex in the Archives shows the erotic nature of archiving and of studying archives. The archive becomes itself fleshed, an erotic site of exchange among (past) subjects and the researcher, who (in this case) willingly admits his implication in what he studies. This is a beautiful book, but also an extremely informative one; theoretically sophisticated, it also provides historical detail to figures often misunderstood or superficially recounted.’ Amelia Jones, University of Southern California‘This is important work, comparable to the very best recent scholarship in queer history and the history of sexuality more broadly. It builds on many of the theoretical advances in the field that challenge identities and binaries, opens up some important archives and new approaches, and never drowns the reader in esoteric jargon.’ Brian Lewis, Professor of Modern British History at McGill University'The erotic histories in words and pictures that Reay finds in the archives are breathtakingly revealing of the sexual histories of the twentieth century. They are beautifully and sympathetically told, worlds within worlds, that have left their traces in the libraries and manuscript collections of the western world.' Thomas Laqueur, Helen Fawcett Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction1 The lure of the archive2 Sexual portraits: Edward Melcarth and homoeroticism in modern American art (co-authored with Erin Griffey)3 Autoarchivism: Alfred Kinsey’s informants4 Promiscuous intimacies: rethinking the history of American casual sex5 A transgender story: the diaries of Louis Graydon Sullivan6 Sex in the archives: David Louis Bowie’s New York diaries, 1978– 937 ANONYMOUS and Badboy Books: a 1990s moment in the history of pornography (co-authored with Nina Attwood)8 The body as amusement park: a quick history of masturbation9 Queer Baltimore: the photography of Amos Badertscher (co-authored with Branka Bogdan)Index

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Book SynopsisThe archive has assumed a new significance in the history of sex, and this book visits a series of such archives, including the Kinsey Institute’s erotic art; gay masturbatory journals in the New York Public Library; the private archive of an amateur pornographer; and one man’s lifetime photographic dossier on Baltimore hustlers. Shedding new light on American sexual history, the topics covered are both fascinating and wide-ranging: the art history of homoeroticism; casual sex before hooking-up; transgender; New York queer sex; masturbation; pornography; sex in the city. This book will appeal to a wide readership: those interested in American studies, sexuality studies, contemporary history, the history of sex, psychology, anthropology, sociology, gender studies, queer studies, trans studies, pornography studies, visual studies, museum studies, and media studies.Trade Review‘Barry Reay once again has applied his sharp historical eye and his willingness to open himself to “perversion” to write a nuanced and layered history of sex archives. Far from dry or limited to “facts,” however, Sex in the Archives shows the erotic nature of archiving and of studying archives. The archive becomes itself fleshed, an erotic site of exchange among (past) subjects and the researcher, who (in this case) willingly admits his implication in what he studies. This is a beautiful book, but also an extremely informative one; theoretically sophisticated, it also provides historical detail to figures often misunderstood or superficially recounted.’ Amelia Jones, University of Southern California‘This is important work, comparable to the very best recent scholarship in queer history and the history of sexuality more broadly. It builds on many of the theoretical advances in the field that challenge identities and binaries, opens up some important archives and new approaches, and never drowns the reader in esoteric jargon.’ Brian Lewis, Professor of Modern British History at McGill University'The erotic histories in words and pictures that Reay finds in the archives are breathtakingly revealing of the sexual histories of the twentieth century. They are beautifully and sympathetically told, worlds within worlds, that have left their traces in the libraries and manuscript collections of the western world.' Thomas Laqueur, Helen Fawcett Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction1 The lure of the archive2 Sexual portraits: Edward Melcarth and homoeroticism in modern American art (co-authored with Erin Griffey)3 Autoarchivism: Alfred Kinsey’s informants4 Promiscuous intimacies: rethinking the history of American casual sex5 A transgender story: the diaries of Louis Graydon Sullivan6 Sex in the archives: David Louis Bowie’s New York diaries, 1978– 937 ANONYMOUS and Badboy Books: a 1990s moment in the history of pornography (co-authored with Nina Attwood)8 The body as amusement park: a quick history of masturbation9 Queer Baltimore: the photography of Amos Badertscher (co-authored with Branka Bogdan)Index

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Book SynopsisSexual Progressives is a major new study of the feminists and socialists who campaigned against the moral conservatism of the Victorian period. Drawing on a range of sources, from letters and diaries to radical newspapers and utopian novels, it provides the first group portrait of Scotland’s hitherto neglected sexual rebels. They include Bella and Charles Pearce, prominent Glasgow socialists and disciples of an American-based mystic who taught that religion needed ‘re-sexed’; Jane Hume Clapperton, a feminist freethinker with advanced views on birth-control and women’s right to sexual pleasure; and Patrick Geddes, founder of an avant-garde Edinburgh subculture and co-author of an influential scientific book on sex. A consideration of their lives and work forces a reappraisal of our understanding of British sexual progressivism during this period and will therefore be of interest to all historians of modern gender and sexuality.Trade Review'Her book is beautifully written, thoroughly researched, and elegantly argued. Cheadle brings to life a cast of Scottish progressives—Bella Pearce, Charles Pearce, Anna Geddes, Patrick Geddes, and Jane Hume Clapperton—and the networks and discourse they created.'Mary Linehan, Journal of British Studies'Sexual Progressives is beautifully constructed, offering a distinct and original Scottish dimension to a history of ideas and attitudes to progressive sex that has largely centered on Bohemian spaces in major cities.'Kate Barclay, VICTORIAN STUDIES / VOLUME 64, NO. 1 -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction1 The reach of the 'unco guid'2 Matrons, maidens and new men3 Re-sexing religion in suburban Glasgow4 Realising a more than earthly paradise of love5 Deeds of daring rectitudeConclusionSelect bibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisSexual Progressives is a major new study of the feminists and socialists who campaigned against the moral conservatism of the Victorian period. Drawing on a range of sources, from letters and diaries to radical newspapers and utopian novels, it provides the first group portrait of Scotland’s hitherto neglected sexual rebels. They include Bella and Charles Pearce, prominent Glasgow socialists and disciples of an American-based mystic who taught that religion needed ‘re-sexed’; Jane Hume Clapperton, a feminist freethinker with advanced views on birth-control and women’s right to sexual pleasure; and Patrick Geddes, founder of an avant-garde Edinburgh subculture and co-author of an influential scientific book on sex. A consideration of their lives and work forces a reappraisal of our understanding of British sexual progressivism during this period and will therefore be of interest to all historians of modern gender and sexuality.Trade Review'Her book is beautifully written, thoroughly researched, and elegantly argued. Cheadle brings to life a cast of Scottish progressives—Bella Pearce, Charles Pearce, Anna Geddes, Patrick Geddes, and Jane Hume Clapperton—and the networks and discourse they created.'Mary Linehan, Journal of British Studies'Sexual Progressives is beautifully constructed, offering a distinct and original Scottish dimension to a history of ideas and attitudes to progressive sex that has largely centered on Bohemian spaces in major cities.'Kate Barclay, VICTORIAN STUDIES / VOLUME 64, NO. 1 -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction1 The reach of the 'unco guid'2 Matrons, maidens and new men3 Re-sexing religion in suburban Glasgow4 Realising a more than earthly paradise of love5 Deeds of daring rectitudeConclusionSelect bibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisA worldwide subculture that influences everything from fashion to advertising, sadomasochism has a long and lively history. A Lover’s Pinch tells the story of consensual sadomasochism, from a controversial religious practice to a secretive sexuality branded a perversion. The origins of kink and fetish culture have been shrouded in secrecy and myths, until now. Here, Peter Tupper reveals the true story of sadism and masochism, dominance and submission. From the ancient Christian flagellants to the Fifty Shades trilogy, the history of consensual sadomasochism is a story of fascinating individuals, unlikely connections and strange twists and turns. Meet Arthur Munby, the Victorian gentleman who secretly married Hannah Cullwick, his maid of all work, and called her his slave; and Jack McGeorge, the UN weapons inspector who was outed as a BDSM club leader just before the Iraq war. Explore the links between Robinson Crusoe, Uncle Tom's Cabin and modern BDSM pornography, and between fetish fashion and anti-Catholic propaganda. Learn how the 19th century middle-class household nurtured dominant-submissive sexuality. Discover the secret history of a hidden world.Trade ReviewPeter Tupper’s remarkably detailed work answers two key questions: Where does BDSM come from? And, even more importantly, What does it mean? Whatever your interest in kink is, A Lover’s Pinch deserves a prominent spot among your references. -- Ayzad, kink educator and author of "The Sexual Explorers Manifesto"A selective, surprising, and thoroughly enlightening journey through the cultural history of sadomasochism. Accessible yet sophisticated, A Lover's Pinch will appeal to both general and academic readers alike. -- Umni Khan, Joint Chair in Women's Studies, Carelton UniversityIn this wonderful history, Peter Tupper has collected an unprecedented amount of historical detail and context on BDSM practices. Clearly the result of both exhaustive research and up-close-and-personal experience with the modern BDSM community, A Lover’s Pinch is filled with stories I’ve never heard before. It's an invaluable historical resource for sex researchers, experienced BDSMers, and newcomers alike. -- Clarisse Thorn, author of “The S&M Feminist” and internationally renowned BDSM speakerIn this historical narrative of the private world of play, pleasure, and power, writer Peter Tupper seeks to answer questions of the origins of sadomasochism. A Lover’s Pinch places relationships and interactions involving corporal punishment and theatrics within the standard context of BDSM culture rooted in Freudian and Foucaultian theory. . . . A Lover’s Pinch offers essential context for students examining a comprehensive history of sexuality from a global perspective. Highly recommended. * CHOICE *A Lover’s Pinch fills a void, and it dives to depths I couldn’t have imagined before I started reading . . . Peter Tupper has worked hard to “get it right” * Of Sex and Love *Table of ContentsChapter 1. Saints and Shamans Chapter 2. The Pornography of the Puritan Chapter 3. Virtue in Distress Chapter 4. Orientalism Chapter 5. The Peculiar Institution Chapter 6. Romance of the Rod Chapter 7. Class and Classification Chapter 8. Every Woman Adores a Fascist Chapter 9. The Velvet Underground Chapter 10. Unknown Pleasures Chapter 11. alt.sex Chapter 12. Sex and Power

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Book SynopsisJennifer can’t believe it. Just married and pregnant, she discovers that her husband has been meeting Brad for sex. When confronted, Tom doesn’t deny it, but he insists it’s just “a thing” and he isn’t gay. Elsewhere, John’s wife, Karen, discovers that her husband likes to watch gay porn. John doesn’t understand his wife’s reaction. Why does she care what he watches if he’s not unfaithful? In couple’s therapy, Karen and Jennifer raise the same questions: Does this mean my husband is gay? Can my marriage survive? These and other stories illustrate the difficulties inherent when a wife or girlfriend finds out her man has had or wants to have sexual contact with other men. But many times, the man is not gay or even bisexual. Of course, some men with gay sexual interests are gay men in a process of self-discovery; they are “coming out.” These desires may only reflect a different side of a man’s sexuality or some response to childhood trauma or experiences they have not fully processed. Here Joe Kort and Alexander P. Morgan make the distinction between gay men and “straight men with gay interests” clearer to women who want to know how they can overcome these revelations. The authors explain the many reasons why straight men may be drawn to gay sex; how to tell whether a man is gay, straight, or bisexual; and what the various options are for these couples, who can often go on to have very fulfilling marriages. Is My Husband Gay, Straight or Bi? is intended to help couples understand how male sexuality can express itself in ways that may be difficult to understand. Many marriages have been hurriedly terminated when couples (and their therapists) have lacked the information they needed to understand their current situations. This book provides the clarity, describes the choices, and (in many cases) offers hope for relationships and marriages that have been brushed off as doomed.Trade ReviewFor decades, husbands and wives have faced the social tendency to shame, fear, and denounce husbands who have sex with men. Kort and Morgan's book offers a compassionate and understanding view that is grounded in science and clinical practice, rather than fear. Their book offers a surprising and pleasing depth to the understanding of this phenomenon and does not treat it in simplistic, black and white ways. Is My Husband Gay, Straight, or Bi? offers up a sophisticated view of masculine sexuality and eroticism that is sorely needed. Their work is a gift to the many husbands and wives out there who are struggling to understand the husband's same-sex attractions and trying to figure out where to go from here. -- David J. Ley, Ph.D., author of The Myth of Sex Addiction and Insatiable Wives: Women Who Stray and The Men Who Love ThemMale sexual fluidity is a cutting-edge, and sometimes confusing, topic. With empathy and insight Kort distills his years of experience helping couples decode and deal with a spectrum of scenarios into a single compelling volume. -- Ian Kerner, PhD, LMFT, sex therapist and NY Times best-selling author of She Comes FirstIs My Husband Gay, Straight, or Bi? is a smart, contemporary look at a controversial issue. This is the only book I have ever seen that addresses the complexities of men's sexuality with empathy and a direct language that both men and women will find helpful. Clinicians who work with couples will turn again and again to this book for answers to this contemporary quandary as more and more couples struggle with the boundaries of male sexuality. Kort and Morgan give clear answers and direction and explain how to talk about relationships and betrayal while moving our understanding of sexuality forward into a new era of openness and maturity. Thank you, Joe Kort and Alexander P. Morgan. -- Dr. Tammy Nelson, author of The New Monogamy: Redefining Relationships after Infidelity and Getting the Sex You Want: Shed Your Inhibitions and Reach New Heights of Passion TogetherSeasoned couples therapist Joe Kort and scientist Alexander P. Morgan shine a clear and compassionate light on a much needed and little discussed topic—what to do if you think your husband may be gay. They walk readers through the distinctions between being gay, bi, or straight with an attraction to male sexuality. This is not a theoretical conversation but a hands-on guide to a complex, and often overwhelming, situation. Is My Husband Gay, Straight, or Bi? has the power to save marriages and change lives. -- Terrence Real, bestselling author and family therapistIs my Husband Gay, Straight or Bi? is a wonderful collection of case studies, therapy practices, and research-based information that illustrate the diverse range of behaviors, emotions, and psychological states of husbands (and in turn their wives) who think, suspect, or believe they are gay or bisexual, whether or not their identity actually fits the complex definition of homosexuality or bisexuality. The detailed examples, psychological theories, and therapeutic protocols in this book will be helpful to husbands, wives, and couples who seek clarity in this confusing situation and especially useful to therapists with such clients. -- Amity Pierce Buxton, PhD., founder, Straight Spouse Network; co-author, Unseen-Unheard: Straight Spouses from Trauma to TransformationIs my Husband Gay, Straight, or Bi? is a work of great significance. Dr. Kort has crafted a clear, no-nonsense, compassionate book that will benefit the lay-public as much as his professional colleagues. Written with the experienced and kind voice of an expert sex-therapist, Kort explores variations of human sexual behavior with well-deserved authority. This book is illuminating reading for couples in distress and a “must-read” for anyone who works in the field of sexual health. -- Evelyn Resh, MPH, CNM, Sexuality Counselor; author of Women, Sex, Power, and Pleasure and The Secret Lives of Teen GirlsThis is an amazing book. It uncovers the truth about many men who have sex with other men who are not necessarily gay. Case examples illustrate the complexity of this phenomenon. A very useful resource for men and women who are dealing with this issue in their lives and relationships – and any professionals who want to understand them. -- Eli Coleman, Ph.d., Professor of Human Sexuality, University of MinnesotaA brave and much needed exploration of the diversity of sexuality. Kort frees sexuality by discussing the health and beauty of diverse arousal patterns by breaking the limits of gay, straight, and bisexuality. -- Chris Donaghue, PhD, LCSW, CST; Certified Sex and Couples Therapist

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Book SynopsisLongtime Washington, D.C. health journalist John-Manuel Andriote didn’t expect to mark the twenty-fifth year of the HIV-AIDS epidemic in 2006 by coming out in the Washington Post about his own recent HIV diagnosis. For twenty years he had reported on the epidemic as an HIV-negative gay man, as AIDS killed many of his friends and roused gay Americans to action against a government that preferred to ignore their existence. Eight little words from his doctor, "I have bad news on the HIV test," turned Andriote's world upside down. Over time Andriote came to understand that his choice, each and every day, to take the powerful medication he needs to stay healthy, to stay alive, came from his own resilience. When and how had he become resilient? He searched his journals for answers in his own life story. The reporter then set out to learn more about resilience. Stonewall Strong is the result. Drawing from leading-edge research and nearly one hundred original interviews, the book makes it abundantly clear: most gay men are astonishingly resilient. Andriote deftly weaves together research data and lived experience to show that supporting gay men's resilience is the key to helping them avoid the snares that await too many who lack the emotional tools they need to face the traumas that disproportionately afflict gay men, including childhood sexual abuse, substance abuse, risky sexual behavior, depression, and suicide. Andriote writes with searing honesty about the choices and forces that brought him to his own 'before-and-after' moment, teasing out what he learned along the way about resilience, surviving, and thriving. He frames pivotal moments in recent history as manifestations of gay men's resilience, from the years of secrecy and subversion before the 1969 Stonewall riots; through the coming of age, heartbreak, and politically emboldening AIDS years; and pushing onward to legal marriage equality. Andriote gives us an inside look at family relationships that support resilient sons, the nation's largest organizations' efforts to build on the resilience of marginalized LGBTQ youth, drag houses, and community centers. We go inside individuals’ hearts and groups’ missions to see a community that works, plays, and even prays together. Finally, Andriote presents the inspiring stories of gay men who have moved beyond the traumas and stereotypes, claiming their resilience and right to good health, and working to build a community that will be "Stonewall Strong."Trade ReviewJohn-Manuel Andriote’s message in his latest book manages to be both simple and complex all at once; and most importantly, relevant to people from all walks of life who have needed to find their inner resilience in order to rise above their personal struggles. * The Norwich Bulletin *Andriote's journey to discover how he made those affirming choices to be resilient led to his latest book, "Stonewall Strong: Gay Men's Heroic Fight for Resilience, Good Health, and a Strong Community" (Rowman & Littlefield). He writes about the traumas in his own life, drawing from journals he kept since 1980, and how he managed to stay sane, hopeful, and optimistic. Drawing from leading-edge research and almost 100 original interviews, he shows how gay men have been resilient before Stonewall, through the AIDS years, and onward to marriage equality. * Bay Area Reporter *This multifaceted book invites readers on a journey through Andriote’s life—starting from scratch in a lower middle-class abusive household to the trials and triumphs of learning to respect oneself in relationships—sexual and otherwise. * Windy City Times *All of this [Andriote’s] research is woven together in a remarkable volume showing that individually and collectively, gay people have proven to be tough, thriving, resilient folk. * thebody.com *Stonewall Strong is in many ways quite remarkable. John-Manuel Andriote has combined his own personal story of being a PLWHIV with an amazingly detailed examination of how the LGBTQ community refused to lie down and die and instead formed a genuine community to care for one another, to fight our government’s indifference, to combat pharmaceutical companies’ greed, and to erase the stigma that, unfortunately, continues to attach to HIV/AIDS to this day. * Art & Understanding Magazine *Beginning with the famed 1969 Stonewall Riots, to the initial shock of the early years of dealing with the crisis, and pushing onwards to the fight for marriage equality and basic human rights for all, Andriote has penned an informative and insightful yet touching work that will resonate deeply with readers. * HIVPlus Magazine *Andriote argues that gay men face an inherent obstacle of being marginalized for their sexuality, which forces them to find resilience and strength within themselves to fight back. . . . It is a story of resilience that Andriote tells with personal commitment and passion. * The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide *Through his own personal experiences, Andriote tells a much larger story of a societal transformation marked by historic psychological resilience in the face of antigay stigma, discrimination, and outright hatred. It is a story that will inspire any reader, regardless of their sexual orientation. * Psych Central *Stonewall Strong is a tour de force, interweaving John-Manuel Andriote's personal journey with a trenchant analysis of societal transformation. He recounts the harrowing early days of the recognition of the devastation of AIDS, his responses to becoming HIV-infected, while insightfully telling the parallel narrative of the evolution of the LGBT community, from pre-Liberation, to crisis management and beyond. He skillfully educates the reader how the lessons learned from addressing the epidemic have laid the foundations for a stronger, more resilient community. The book is well-written, compelling, and highly informative. -- Kenneth Mayer, MD, Infectious Disease Attending and Director of HIV Prevention Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Medical Research Director,The Fenway InstituteAs John-Manuel Andriote writes about himself, he tells, in bits and pieces, the story of us all. How the LGBTQ community refuse to lay down and die (literally) and fought back with resilience for our place in the American society and how we did not go "quietly into the night." Andriote's book, Stonewall Strong, is truth telling at its best! -- Rev. Elder Troy D. Perry, founder, Metropolitan Community ChurchesAndriote skillfully integrates history and science with compelling personal stories -- his own and those of the many people he interviewed -- to create a highly readable narrative of men’s resilience and thriving in the face of antigay stigma and the HIV epidemic. Stonewall Strong will inform and inspire readers of all sexual orientations and genders. -- Gregory M. Herek, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Davis; Author of the blog Beyond Homophobia (www.beyondhomophobia.com/)

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Book SynopsisIn Love and Freedom, Jorge Ferrer proposes a paradigm shift in how romantic relationships are conceptualized, a step forward in the evolution of modern relationships. In the same way that the transgender movement surmounted the gender binary, Ferrer defines how a parallel step can—and should—be taken with the relational style binary. This book offers the first systematic discussion of relationship modes beyond monogamy and polyamory, as well as introduces the notion of “relational freedom” as the capability to choose one’s relational style free from biological, psychological, and sociocultural conditionings. To achieve these goals, Ferrer first discusses a number of critical categories—specifically, monopride/polyphobia, and polypride/monophobia—that mediate the contemporary “mono–poly wars,” that is, the predicament of mutual competition among monogamists and polyamorists. The ideological nature of these “mono–poly wars” is demonstrated through a review of available empirical literature on the psychological health and relationship quality of monogamous and polyamorous individuals and couples. Then, after showing how monogamy and polyamory ultimately reinforce each other, Ferrer articulates three relational pathways to living in-between, through, and beyond the mono/poly binary: fluidity, hybridity, and transcendence. Moving beyond that binary opens a fuzzy, liminal, and multivocal relational space that Ferrer calls novogamy. In this groundbreaking book, readers will learn practical tools to not only transform jealousy, but also enhance their relational freedom while being aware of key issues of diversity and social justice. They will also learn novel criteria to evaluate the success of their intimate relationships, and be introduced to a transformed vision of romantic love beyond both monocentrism and emerging polynormativities.Trade ReviewJorge N. Ferrer's Love and Freedom is a powerful, thought-provoking book, and a very welcome addition to the literature on consensual non-monogamy, and relationships more broadly. Written in a highly engaging and well-informed style, this book contains much of interest to the academic reader while being accessible to activists and general readers as well. Ferrer provides a timely overview on the relationship literature and the ways in which monogamy and polyamory have generally been framed, before heading into binary-busting territory. The divisions between monogamy and non-monogamy, jealousy and compersion, and love and freedom themselves, are all opened up for enjoyable and important exploration and challenge. Drawing on theory and research from biological science through to Buddhist philosophy, Ferrer suggests ways in which we could all occupy more fluid and transbinary positions in relation to love, engage in contemplative practices in order to experience love differently, and cultivate relationships which enable both interconnectedness and personal freedom. -- Meg-John Barker, author, The Psychology of SexLike previous groundbreaking works that have suggested a blurring of established and cherished identity categories, Jorge Ferrer’s Love and Freedom boldly introduces the notion of “relational freedom” into the collective consciousness. The central premise of this book is refreshing: the idea that style of connection—monogamous, polyamorous, even asexual or aromantic—might not be fixed or essential personality categories, but rather stops along a long, personal road, perhaps even (for some) facets of more complicated orientations (e.g., monogamish, ambisexual, or Ferrer’s proposed frame of the fuzzy, liminal, queered relational space of “novogamy”). This provocative volume cuts across multiple politics and investments in a way that might cause both monogamous and nonmonogamous alike to clutch their pearls, and for that alone it is worth the read. -- Nathan Rambukkana, author, Fraught Intimacies: Non/Monogamy in the Public SphereI read this book with a sigh of relief and renewed energy that the study and living of consensual non-monogamies is not heading down the monogamist track of binary, division, fixity and hierarchy. All too soon social movements meant to enlarge and embrace fluidity and possibility in our intimate lives may become entrenched in having to pick a new term for one's relationship and stick to it for life. We know where that too often ends up for too many relationships in coerced monogamy, and we don’t want to repeat that in the exploration of relationship diversity across the lifespan, place, and contexts. Bring on what Jorge calls novogamy with its freedoms and ethics, its possibilities and care! -- Maria Pallota-Chiarolli, author, Border Sexualities, Border Families in Schools

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Book SynopsisThis handbook provides perspectives across mental health disciplines on clinical work with consensual non-monogamous (CNM) people/relationships from a lens of power, privilege, and oppression. The authors provide a broad-based resource for clinicians, trainees, educators and supervisors in CNM-affirming care, addressing societal and internalized mononormativity and intersections with other forms of oppression (including ableism, racism, cisnormativity, classism).Educators using this volume will find foundational, current data on the experiences of CNM individuals and their relationships, as well as recent theory and empirical research relevant to CNM clients, including the importance of cultural humility within clinical practice. Key topics include developmental approaches to CNM, communities, families and relationships, queerness, emotional experiences, strengths/resilience, as well as ethical issues, training and organizational considerations in work with these clients, emphasizing practical recommendations, insights, and tools to promote CNM-affirming practice across settings.

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Book SynopsisAs the controversial field of sex addiction treatment reaches for legitimacy across the disciplines of medicine, psychiatry and psychotherapy, Getting Real About Sex Addiction: A Psychodynamic Approach to Treatment applies psychoanalytic framework to concepts of addiction and sex, as well as related concepts of personality and attachment development. Authors Graeme Daniels and Joe Farley explore the intersection of sex and culture and address social undercurrent relating to gender, such as objectification and sexual aggression and how those influence conceptualization goals and procedures in treatment. Through number case illustrations and vignettes, this text demonstrates psychodynamic method across treatment contexts, in formats of individual, couples, and group therapy. The result is a work that critiques theoretical, intervention, and gender biases that have infiltrated this important yet embattled field, and provides a fresh, alternative approach from a source with the oldest pedigree in modern psychology.

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Book SynopsisAs the controversial field of sex addiction treatment reaches for legitimacy across the disciplines of medicine, psychiatry and psychotherapy, Getting Real About Sex Addiction: A Psychodynamic Approach to Treatment applies psychoanalytic framework to concepts of addiction and sex, as well as related concepts of personality and attachment development. Authors Graeme Daniels and Joe Farley explore the intersection of sex and culture and address social undercurrent relating to gender, such as objectification and sexual aggression and how those influence conceptualization goals and procedures in treatment. Through number case illustrations and vignettes, this text demonstrates psychodynamic method across treatment contexts, in formats of individual, couples, and group therapy. The result is a work that critiques theoretical, intervention, and gender biases that have infiltrated this important yet embattled field, and provides a fresh, alternative approach from a source with the oldest pedigree in modern psychology.

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Book SynopsisProducing the Acceptable Sex Worker considers how sex work is produced in news media narratives, a site where much of the general public draws its understanding of the industry in the absence of lived interaction with it. Taking New Zealand as a case study, this book considers an emerging discourse of acceptability for some sex workers, primarily those who do low-volume indoor work. Their acceptability is established in comparison with other kinds of sex workers, resulting in a redistribution but not a reduction of stigma. The conditions attached to acceptability reflect persistent anxieties aboutsex work: workers who are acceptable must give the impression that the sexual labour of the job is enjoyable and virtually indistinguishable from their personal life, eliding the work involved. Unacceptable workers have existing marginalisations magnified by their association with the industry, with migrant sex workers produced as devious or exploited, and transgender women’s involvement with the industry used to deny them the right to public space. The conditions attached to acceptability reveal how neoliberal discourses of choice, desire, authenticity, and personal responsibility inform the formation of sex work in the public eye.Trade ReviewProducing the Acceptable Sex Worker provides a compelling account of how sex workers are represented and produced in New Zealand media to create the ‘accepted’ and ‘unaccepted’ sex worker. Easterbrook-Smith very eloquently argues that racist, classist, transphobic and xenophobic media reporting has functioned to reinforce a ‘whorearchy’ amongst sex workers through the shifting of stigma. The book is a thought-provoking read from beginning to end and a must-read for all who have an interest in sex work. -- Dr. Gillian Abel, University of Otago, Christchurch, New ZealandA sensitive, multi-layered account of what stigma looks like, how it is produced, and how it operates through media portrayals of sex workers and debates about sex work itself. Skillfully traces the function of multiple discourses—from sex positivity to transmisogyny—to reproduce stigma and privilege. Producing the Acceptable Sex Worker is written to be read widely—clear, engaging, poignant, and forthright; a useful volume for scholars and activists both in and out of the academy. -- Carisa R. Showden, University of AucklandThis important book offers a nuanced analysis of how media draw on a cultural imaginary of the sex industry to produce and reify the stigmas associated with sex work. Easterbrook-Smith deftly reveals the implicit hierarchies of “acceptable” and “unacceptable” sex workers and how intersectional oppressions of gender, race, class, and citizenship status are implicated in this stratification. This book should be key reading for sex work and labour researchers and activists, students of sociology and communication, journalists writing about sex work, and anyone concerned with the rights and legal protections owed to people doing sex work. -- Stacey Hannem, professor, Wilfrid Laurier UniversityTable of ContentsPreface and AcknowledgmentsChapter 1: IntroductionSex and WorkSex work in New ZealandSex work as workResearcher positionalityStigma and the Sex IndustryWhat is stigma?How is stigma applied to sex work?How does this stigma affect sex workers?What approaches exist to resist this stigma?Sex Work in the News MediaThe role of the mediaPeople don’t know sex workers, but they watch TVMedia analysis and news mediaNew Zealand’s media landscapeChapter 2: Objects of StudyExisting Research into Media RepresentationsNaming the Sex Working SubjectWho Speaks and Who is Spoken AboutDiscursive Slippage and Questions of VoiceImages and Motifs of Sex WorkChapter 3: Intertextuality and Responding to StigmaIn/Visibility as AcceptabilityNormative Identity Categories and CommunityThe Sex Worker as Disease VectorSex Work and the Assumption of ViolenceThe Constrained Nature of Intertextual NarrativesChapter 4: Comparative AcceptabilityCisgender and Transgender Sex Workers: Vulnerable or VilifiedTransgender workers as a physical threatTransgender workers as a moral contagionMigrant Sex Workers and Narratives of Economic ScarcityThe early 2010s: the Rugby World Cup and Student Sex WorkMigrant sex workers and traffickingMigrant sex workers as an economic threat in 2018Indoor Workers, Work Volume, and Class PositionConclusionChapter 5: Denying Legitimate LaborMigrant Workers: Deceptive or ExploitedStreet-Based Sex Work: Disrupting ‘Legitimate Businesses’Indoor Sex Work: A Conflation of Work and PlaySex work as temporary or supplementaryInvisible affective labourAnything But WorkChapter 6: Neoliberal Discourses of Choice and PleasureSexual Labour, Sexual Pleasure, and the Right ‘Choice’The Un/Availability of ChoicesRemoving Management from the PictureChapter 7: The Making of the Sex Worker, the Remaking of StigmaBibliographyReferencesMedia TextsAbout The Author

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Book SynopsisPlease Scream Quietly is the collective autobiography of the BDSM subculture. It argues that most people are a little bit kinky, but the BDSM subculture teaches its members to emphasize and cherish their kinky differences. Drawing from interviews, survey data, and years of observations conducted by a self-identified kinkster and professional sociologist, it tells the story of how people live and love in this much misunderstood subculture. The book begins with a discussion of BDSM identities, explaining how kinksters learn to define kink/BDSM, and to construct socially meaningful identities for themselves as kinksters. It next discusses what kinksters get out of doing BDSM, with a particular focus on how they experience BDSM as sexual or not. It then moves from individual experiences to relationships, with a focus on BDSM relationships and consensual non-monogamy/polyamory in the subculture. Then it describes community-level experiences of group norms and rules, analyzing subcultural demographics, as well as behavioral and attitudinal norms in and out of public BDSM dungeons. The book concludes with an analysis of how the subculture constructs positive and negative social status for members, and reflects on how the subculture’s world of BDSM might be different from BDSM outside of it.

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