Argues that defining sexuality on gender preference is a Euro-American attitude which restricts sexual desire, and discusses issues regarding sexual orientation
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Grade 12 Up. Sexual orientation defies taxonomy, according to Clausen. She proposes that insistence on definitions of sexuality based on gender preferences is a recent Euro-American phenomenon that imposes invalid restrictions on the fluid and somewhat elusive qualities of sexual desire. A first chapter states the problem as three fold: determining whether sexual preference is inborn, whether it changes over time, and whether other cultures define sexuality as we do in the West. Subsequent chapters deal with these issues in fascinating, well-researched, occasionally personal detail. In the presence of a homophobic intolerant society, Clausen's thesis cries for elucidation, but her presentation may be beyond the comprehension of unsophisticated readers. Therein lies the difficulty of recommending this book for YA audiences. A scholarly writer deserves a scholarly reader. The inclusion of graphic materials, both as illustrations and as examples from gay and lesbian literature, means that only the most mature teenagers can benefit. However, books of this nature should be included in high-school collections for those students who can gain from them.?Sue A. Norkeliunas, Arlington Senior High School, LaGrangeville, NY
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Trade Paperback. Condition: Fine. First Edition 1st Printing. Light Creasing on Front, Rear Covers; Front, Rear Covers, Spine Lightly Chipped. SUB-TITLE: Understanding Sexual Orientation. GENERAL EDITOR AND INTRODUCTION BY: Martin B. Duberman. ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Therese De Angelis. ASSISTANT EDITOR: Annie McDonnell. PICTURE RESEARCH: Matthew J. Dudley. CONTENTS: How Different? - Martin Duberman; Preface - Jan Clausen 1 What Is All the Shouting About? 2 Bodies and Meanings Across Cultures 3 The Marriage of Science and Sex and the Birth of Modern Sexual Identities 4 After Stonewall 5 The "Science of Desire". 6 .And the Desire for Science 7 "That Old Grating Mysterious Engine"; Sources; Further Reading; Glossary; Index. PUBLISHER: Chelsea House Publishers, a division of Main Line Book Co. Philadelphia. Editorial Director: Richard Rennert. Copy Chief: Robin James. Picture Editor: Judy Hasday. Art Director: Sara Davis. Production Manager: Pamela Loos. SERIES: Issues in Lesbian and Gay Life. Senior Editors: John Ziff, Sean Dolan. Series Design: Basia Niemczyc. Cover Design: Alison Burnside. Each of the volumes in Issues in Lesbian and Gay Life provides an up-to-date, learned, informative, and highly readable introduction to an important topic in this rapidly developing field of study. SYNOPSIS: Is sexual orientation an inborn trait, or does it somehow develop in the unfolding personality? Is it an unchanging characteristic, or one that may shift over time? Is it present in all cultures, or is it simply the way in which certain societies currently think about personal sexual identity? In this remarkably candid work, author Jan Clausen explores the intense and often emotional debate surrounding these questions. Moving from historical and cross-cultural surveys to scientific studies of modern sexual identity, from the political and social ramifications of "being different" to a distinctly personal analysis, Clausen examines the spectrum of variations in sexual orientation, allowing the reader to formulate his or her own idea of what constitutes "the mystery of desire" and how it informs individual identity. Jan Clausen has written on literature, feminism, and multiculturalism for such periodicals as Ms., The Nation, OUT/LOOK, and The Women's Review of Books. A poet and fiction writer, she is the author of the lesbian novels Sinking, Stealing (Crossing Press, 1985) and The Prosperine Papers (Crossing Press, 1988). She teaches writing and directs the writing center at the Eugene Lang College of the New School for Social Research. Martin Duberman is Distinguished Professor of History at the Graduate Center for the City University of New York and the founder and director of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies. One of the country's foremost historians, he is the author of 17 books and numerous articles and essays. He has won the Bancroft Prize for Charles Francis Adams (1960); two Lambda Awards for Hidden from History: Reclaiming the Gay and Lesbian Past, an anthology that he coedited; and a special award from the National Academy of Arts and Letters for his overall "contributions to literature." His play In White America won the Vernon Rice/Drama Desk Award in 1964. His other works include James Russell Lowell (1966), Black Mountain: An Exploration in Community (1972), Paul Robeson (1989), Cures: A Gay Man's Odyssey (1991), Stonewall (1993), Midlife Queer (1996), and A Queer World (1996). Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Seller Inventory # 004328
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