Description
Book SynopsisThe 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
Table of Contents
Foreword: Permanence and Change: Sexual Conduct Thirty Years On Kenneth PlummerPreface to the Second Edition John H. GagnonAcknowledgments to the First Edition1. 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 ConductAfterword: The Struggle Over Sexual Change Since 1970 John H. GagnonThe Writing of Sexual Conduct: Two Recollections The Never-Ending Conversation: Two InterviewsReferences Index
