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Sexuality: A Very Short Introduction
(Very Short Introductions #187)
by
Véronique Mottier
3.6 · Rating details · 287 Ratings · 32 Reviews
Is our sexuality determined primarily by our genes? Or is it shaped by the social norms and expectations we happen to be born into. This Very Short Introduction provides an accessible, thoughtful and thought-provoking introduction to major debates around sexuality in the modern world, highlighting the social and political aspects of sexuality. It critically explores different ways of defining and thinking about sexuality and shows that many of our assumptions about what is "natural" in the sexual domain have, in reality, varied greatly in different historical or cultural contexts. The volume also examines ways in which governments have tried to regulate citizens' sexualities in the past-through policies and laws concerning public health, HIV/Aids, prostitution, and sex education-paying special attention to the particular zeal with which women's sexuality has been policed. The volume concludes by discussing political activism around sexuality more widely, focusing on the ways in which feminists, lesbians and gay men, as well as religious fundamentalists have transformed our ways of thinking about sexuality in the past few decades.
About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.
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Paperback, 151 pages
Published June 1st 2008 by Oxford University Press, USA (first published April 24th 2008)
Original Title
Sexuality: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
ISBN
0199298025 (ISBN13: 9780199298020)
Edition Language
English
Series
Very Short Introductions #187
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Jul 08, 2017Amir The Fat Bookworm rated it it was amazing
A fascinating book! A- for its coverage of different aspects of sexuality! It managed to do a good job, covering History as well as theory and sociology of sexuality. Though it lacked any chapter on the biology of sexuality, the book retaliated with fascinating details on science history of the matter.
I rather enjoyed this book. And what more, is, how astonishingly neutral the author managed to be while explaining the endless controversies across time!
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Nov 09, 2012Bettie☯ rated it really liked it
Shelves: published-2008, autumn-2012, essays, nonfiction
GASP All those categories - who knew!
~4.6 hours
Fab series this, just right for a quick refresh or a peek into a subject that one is curious about. All are unbiased, erudite and entirely objective essays.
3* Ancient Egypt
3* Paul
4* Witchcraft
3* The Book of Mormon
4* Druids
4* Forensic Psychology
3* Forensic Science
4* Sexuality
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Aug 13, 2016Thuydung rated it liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: owned, introduction
Mình từng thấy (nhưng chưa đọc) các sách liên quan đến nữ quyền được dịch và in nhiều hơn trong những năm gần đây, tuy nhiên cuốn Dẫn luận về tính dục (dù có một phần lớn bàn về nữ quyền) lại hứa hẹn thảo luận đa dạng vấn đề hơn xoay quanh khái niệm “tính dục”, nên cũng có thể xem là một tài liệu khoa học hiếm hoi và cởi mở. Về độ hiếm và độ mở đó thì mình thích nó.
Với tiêu đề Sexuality, tưởng tượng ban đầu của mình là cuốn sách sẽ lấy trọng tâm đề tài LGBT (dù khi đọc thì té ngửa ra là còn bao nhiêu thứ khác được đề cập). Theo đó, mình bắt đầu đọc vì lẽ: cộng đồng LGBT không phải là bí hiểm quá hay sao? Ngay cả khi các phong trào LGBT nổi lên rần rần trên các phương tiện truyền thông, mình vẫn thấy nó xa lạ như chuyện nhà người ta. Nhất là thuật ngữ. Đi kèm theo các phong trào LGBT là hàng loạt thuật ngữ không biết áp dụng ra sao. Khi mình nghĩ là mình có thể hiểu hiểu gay, les, bi một chút, thì chúng ta lại chèn thêm khái niệm trans khiến cho đầu óc chậm lụt của mình rối tung lên. Lấy ví dụ manga Hourou Musuko, bạn trai A muốn-làm-con-gái mê bạn gái B muốn-làm-con-trai, thì tụi nó đang nghĩ cái gì trong đầu vậy, và mình phải nhìn nhận “nhân dạng” của tụi nó ra sao? Diễn biến trong đầu nhân vật thì mình không tìm được lời giải, nhưng cuốn sách cũng an ủi cho mình rằng hầu như khái niệm và phong trào nào cũng có thể lôi kéo các chuyên gia lao vào tranh cãi chí chóe như thường. Có thể nói, mục tiêu của cuốn sách là trình bày, gợi mở nhiều hướng nghĩ khác nhau, thay vì dừng lại ở một kết luận nào đó.
Trong tài liệu dẫn luận này, mỗi vấn đề nêu ra đều được tác giả đặt vào các góc độ nhất định như sinh học, tôn giáo, đạo đức, chính trị, xã hội và kèm theo các trích dẫn hoặc tóm ý từ các tác phẩm nghiên cứu liên quan. Tính khoa học và cô đọng dĩ nhiên góp phần làm tăng tính gây-nhức-đầu cho các độc giả lười suy nghĩ như mình! Và thiệt tình phải tới nửa cuốn là mình ráng đọc cho hết chớ cũng chẳng hứng thú bao nhiêu! Lại nói, vì là “a very short introduction” nên cuốn sách tranh thủ đề cập thật nhanh các vấn đề, trọng “rộng” hơn “sâu”, người đọc cũng không việc gì phải tiêu hóa hết, cứ thấy nội dung nào quan tâm thì dựa vào các tài liệu tham khảo của sách mà tìm hiểu thêm.
Với mục tiêu giới thiệu như vậy, sách soi được vài tia sáng vào vốn hiểu biết tối tăm tù mù của mình. Chẳng hạn chương đầu kể chuyện tình dục đồng giới diễn ra vô tư ở Hy Lạp cổ đại, vì “điều quan trọng là ai xâm nhập ai”, chớ về mặt đạo đức thì chả có gì đáng nói. (Và một lưu ý là trong khâu tóm tắt lịch sử thì sách thiên về tình hình phương Tây; mãi các phần sau thì phương Đông mới lâu lâu ló vô điểm mặt được.) Vui nhất là các vụ cãi lộn giữa phe này với phe kia. Ngay cả trong nội bộ các nhà hoạt động xã hội cũng không thống nhất với nhau. Rồi thì có vụ mấy nhóm nữ quyền tách bộ phận người đồng tính nữ ra; hay mấy nhóm đồng tính tách bộ phận người ấu dâm ra, chung quy cũng để tiện đấu tranh trước xã hội nhiều kỳ thị và bất đồng quan điểm.
Cuốn sách có hình thức rất đẹp, nhất là khi đặt trong bộ sách Dẫn luận về con người. Nhưng ắt hẳn điều được quan tâm nhất ở đây là tính học thuật có được đảm bảo không. Sách do Oxford đầu tư nên cũng an tâm một chút đi, nhưng còn phần dịch thuật thì sao? Là một bạn đọc chân ướt chân ráo, dĩ nhiên mình không nhận xét nổi! Chỉ có điểm khó chịu nhất mà mình thấy lặp đi lặp lại là sách dùng từ “bệnh Aids” một cách rất có hệ thống từ đầu đến cuối, nhưng đúng ra nên viết hoa toàn bộ “AIDS”, nếu không sẽ sai nghĩa. Ngoài ra thì mình chỉ có ý kiến ở một số từ dịch được sách mở ngoặc ghi kèm từ gốc tiếng Anh:
(1) Transsexual dịch là “xuyên giới tính” thì được rồi, nhưng mình tự hỏi dịch transgender là “lạc giới tính” thì có hơi bị ngộ hay không.
(2) Câu khẩu hiệu “I hate straights” được mở ngoặc ghi là “tôi ghét những người bình thường”. Cái này khiến mình suy ra cụm “người bình thường” xuất hiện ở những chỗ khác chắc cũng dịch từ chữ “straights” mà ra. Dịch không sai, nhưng khi đặt vào văn bản khoa học thì nó đang áp đặt một quan điểm riêng, trong khi phần lớn sách đang trình bày rằng xu hướng tính dục nào cũng bình thường như nhau.
(3) Từ queer được dịch gọn là “người đồng tính”, và thế là chúng ta có được một câu khá tối nghĩa như: “[Đ]ằng sau đồng tính nam, đằng sau đồng tính nữ, đằng sau tính dục khác giới (có lẽ vậy?) chúng ta là người đồng tính (queer).”
…
Mình hơi siêng soi đột xuất, nhưng tại với sách khoa học dịch (lại nhằm lĩnh vực mới (và công ty lạ)) thì theo mình lúc nào cũng nên vừa đọc vừa nghi ngờ một chút. (less)
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Jul 05, 2011Chelsea Szendi rated it liked it
Shelves: gender, theory, sexuality
Clear, concise writing... which is what we all love about the "Very Short Introduction" series. It also pointed me in some useful directions, especially about eugenics and the left.
However.
Although I found the section on sexual practices in Ancient Greece (and it gets a little conflated with Rome) interesting, as a scholar of Japan, I have a eye-roll reflex to the instant link between a very specific ancient world and the very general concept of "antiquity." The link can (and ought to be) argued, but it should not be assumed. The section "Sex in the Ancient World" leads one to believe that the "Ancient World" was only Ancient Greece. Sigh. And then there is an image (ignored by the text) on page 71 of "Japanese sex toys, 1830," embedded in the section on Second Wave feminist sex wars. Even a brief mention of other antiquities (and the issue of modernity / Westernization / sexology in non-Western contexts) would have made this much much more comprehensive. (less)
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Nov 11, 2015Sujan rated it really liked it
Shelves: very-short-introductions
A fascinating read regarding the socio-political history of sexuality. The only limitation the book has is that it does not at all speak about the heterosexual man and his evolution as a sexual being. The book is more about women sexuality and its evolution through the history with a handful of mentionable discussions on sexual minorities.
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Jun 30, 2013Lucinda Davison rated it really liked it
The title says it all. It is a very short introduction of topics of sexuality. It is nevertheless a great starting point.
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May 23, 2011Bojan Tunguz rated it it was ok
The fascination, some would argue the obsession, with sex and gender has come to be (together with race and class) one of the cornerstones of modern humanistic scholarship. The view of sexuality that has come to dominate the modern academic discourse is largely based on the idea of sexuality as a particular cultural construct, much like a religious ritual or a political system. In that regard the study of sexuality is reduced to the study of ideas about sexuality, mostly through the prism of literary and philosophical writings throughout the history. Of course, this line of inquiry is highly restricted: it places premium on societies and cultures that left behind a lot of textual evidence, which probably skews the impression about what sexual norms were like throughout history. This book plays wholeheartedly into that narrative about sexuality. It subscribes wholeheartedly into the whole view of history of sexuality as mostly care-free, except for that long backward interlude of oppressive Christian attitudes. This becomes particularly glaring when in attempt to prove its points it sacrifices historical continuity and jumps back and forth through writings of Augustine, Calvin, Luther and Origen without necessarily pointing out that they were separated by more than a thousand years.
Most of the philosophical outlook of this book can be traced to Michel Faoucolt and his "History of Sexuality." Having one particular ideological outlook feature so prominently hardly makes this into a book with a broad outlook or utility.
The book repeats and reemphasizes the supposed distinction between "sex" and "gender." This is really a distinction without difference. Nowadays it only has much currency in academic circles, and predominantly in humanities.
The biological basis of sexuality receives the worst treatment, its main points barely being mentioned in a single sentence. On the other hand the criticism of the biological model receives many subsequent paragraphs. This is patently absurd: sex is the biological process par excellence, and to neglect the biological basis of sex is like neglecting the physical basis of gravity. Yes, you can still talk a lot about how people have conceptualized it over the millennia, but this would not do justice to the subject.
Most of the book is focused on the politics of sexuality from the middle of the nineteenth century until the present. Some of the most arcane and idiosyncratic political theories are described and discussed, oftentimes in terms of academic jargon straight out of a graduate seminar in humanities. The book is as exciting to read as watching an old lady clip her toenails. I can't imagine that a book on the most fun topic imaginable can be as dry and boring. If you are into the whole postmodern-deconstruction-critiques-analysis stuff, this might be the book for you. Otherwise, save a few books and instead of buying this book and go out with a group of friends to a bar and trade stories. You'll certainly learn more about sex that way.
One good thing about this book is the quality of writing. Material for the most part is presented in a clear and readable way, at the high level that one has come to expect from similar books in the "very short introduction" series. (less)
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May 19, 2011Anna rated it liked it
Shelves: she-bop
I never inflicted gender-studies on myself, so this was a nice cheat sheet.
Wasn't expecting to be so surprised by the eugenics data - the Swedes were well into it. Excuse me? 63,000 eugenics-based sterilisations between 1934 and 1976 in Sweden? Right then. The Swiss program 'Kinder der Landstrasse' which sought to eradicate Yenish culture through child removal was chilling too - sex and social engineering makes for ugly history.
This little book set me thinking all sorts of inappropriate things about population control. For example, how populous would the planet be without the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918? Taboo thoughts. I'll stop typing and go and listen to Randy Newman's "That's Why I Love Mankind" and slap myself round a bit. I seem to be afflicted with some Gnostic phelgm. (less)
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May 12, 2018Soroosh Akef rated it really liked it
Shelves: academic
While the title "Sexuality: A Very Short History" would have been more appropriate, this book does a decent job of covering the various perspectives on sexuality through history and the various movements that have played a role in bringing us to where we are today.
The author begins with ancient Greece (as usual) and the sexual norms prevalent in the ancient Greek society. In the later chapters, we are introduced to Feminists' attitudes toward sexuality (including some very radical views). The author doesn't shy away from discussing controversial ideologies that may shock the 2018 reader.
As one might expect from an academic introductory book, the author manages to paint a fair and balanced picture of the various schools of thought without explicitly taking any sides.
All in all, this book not only taught me about how individuals and activists have perceived sexuality, but brought into focus the uglier side of the 20th-century West for me. (less)
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Feb 15, 2017Joseph Sverker rated it it was amazing
Shelves: gender-and-queer-stuff, critical-culture-political-social-t, phd-related, very-short-introductions
Absolutely brilliant introduction to sexuality. This term has so many usages that in contemporary theories that it has been difficult to know at all what it might mean, but Matter does a great job in explaining and illustrating this meaning and how sexuality has developed to be one of the central terms by which we (Western) identify ourselves. She relies much on Foucault at times, but also makes interesting hints at critiques of the current views on sexuality. Mottier does not shy away from the more uncomfortable sides of the sexual revolution and rights movements either. Well worth reading and I am sure that I will have much use of it. (less)
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May 03, 2015NancyHelen rated it really liked it
Shelves: non-fiction
What a fascinating look at sexuality throughout history! I was particularly interested in the section about Eugenics, especially the fact that the people who first came up with it were completely unaware of just how inhumane the idea was. Although the author did make the comment that although they believed they were practicing science, in fact it was mostly based on prejudice. The feminist perspective was also interesting - something I had touched on in my Art History MA. Overall, this is a really succinct and interesting read with plenty of suggestions for further reading. (less)
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Jul 28, 2011Phillip rated it really liked it
Shelves: theory-philosophy-and-non-fiction
Like all of the Very Short Introductions, this is a quick and dirty summary, but as summaries go I thought it was very comprehensive. The focus is primarily how gender and sexuality have been created and regulated, in the ancient world and then in the modern. Parts of the sumary show a clear feminist bias (neither surprising nor inappropriate for the subject matter), while the book is very Foucauldian overall, meaning that the author is primarily interested in how the discourse surrounding sexuality and gender has been a tool for creating, changing, and/or resisting power structures.(less)
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Dec 29, 2010David rated it liked it
Interesting information from Greco Roman times, the Catholic church's influence, and the 1700's through today regarding the biological, political and sociological shaping of sexuality. I got a lot of new perspectives and great information from this book, as a history book does. However I found the book hard to read. Part of its problem is that it is only 160 pages, and hence all the reader gets is a 30,000 foot view of the subject.
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Jul 18, 2016Amy rated it really liked it
Shelves: books-i-own
Fantastic guide through the ever developing realm of sexuality with plenty of suggestions for further reading, which I plan to pursue. Unbiased straight forward evaluations of events and their effects that please the scientist within me. Great pace and style kept my interest throughout the whole book. I have already recommended to a couple friends/family and definitely extend that recommendation to anyone even remotely interested in the intricacies of sex and gender.
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Sep 18, 2012C30net rated it liked it
یکی از بدیهای فیلترینگ و سرعت کم اینه که آدم باس بیاد فله ای اینجا و بره
اون یکی کتاب فلسفه واربرتون هنوز نیمه کاره مونده
این یکی هم کتاب صوتیش بود هم پی دی اف: سکسی طور هم بود که دیگه هیچ
کتاب خوب و راحتیه، به نظرم انتظار خواننده رو کاملن برطرف میکنه
اما دلیل اینکه نمره ی 3 دادیم از 5 به خاطر اینکه کسی از آینده خبر نداره
شاید کتاب خیلی خوبی خوندیم یه روز آینده اگه زنده بودیم
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May 14, 2014Stephen Cranney rated it it was ok
Shelves: sociology-class
Short and accessible. However, like a lot of histories of sex it's exclusively about the attitudes of the fraction of the population (disproportionately white, educated, etc.) that actually stays up on all the different -isms. Also repeats a lot of the standard myths about 18th, 19th, and early 20th century sexual attitudes. Gives very standard, unilateral direction-of-history fare.
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May 23, 2011M Pereira rated it it was amazing
Shelves: sexuality, psychoanalysis, sexual-politics, identity-politics, very-short-introduction, queer-politics, lgbt
This is a great book. Due to brevity it cannot go into too much detail, but it is a map of the history of gender politics from the ancients to the 1990s. There is a fascinating observation about how impossible coalitions can be on some issues where gender and sexuality meet. Such as how gay (men) groups do not get involved with abortion rights.
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Mar 17, 2016Tiffany rated it liked it
Accessible, full of historical context about the idea of sexuality, covers a broad perspective of multiple concepts of sexuality and where sexuality is socially headed. This book has piqued my interest in the subject matter and prompts me to dice further into many of the various topics discussed- for example, the connection between social - democratic European societies and eugenics.
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Oct 12, 2014Blake rated it liked it
Shelves: science-philosophy
The loose, fluxive chronologies, the early gold nostalgia and late awakened grey, and the light swirl of Greek contrasting with the Modern opaque, all converge nicely in this little introduction to couple some written insights with its typed facts.
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Oct 25, 2015C. Michael rated it really liked it
Did you every want to know where feminist criticism went when it veered off the rails. Well, here it is. No matter what any one dreams, sex is binary with a miscible surface where each diptych touches.
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Jul 06, 2014Luke rated it really liked it
This edition provides a really informative introduction to discourses on sexuality and gender. It also makes particular reference to feminist responses to the male-centric, heavily binary reality of western attitudes to sex.
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Sep 26, 2015Sash Chiesa rated it really liked it
Concise as its supposed to be, Mottier's book is a great starting point for an amateur like me. I got some fascinating info and different standpoints from where I can view sexuality.
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Jun 14, 2017Rebecca added it
Shelves: psychology-and-counselling
A must read for Denim Queens and non Denim Queens alike.
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Apr 13, 2015Jaquelyn LaCroix rated it really liked it
Very informative, good, easy read. Hard to put down. Explores sexuality in numerous views throughout different time frames.
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Mar 29, 2011Peter rated it really liked it
Shelves: a-very-short-introduction, audiobook
Nice historic overview of sexuality in the various aspects of human culture, religion and politics.
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Apr 30, 2015Elijah rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Great Read
This book was a great intro to human sexuality. Furthermore, the book provides you with a list of additional resources.
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Oct 22, 2017Linda rated it really liked it
Even if book is about sexuality, hoping for sexy content would be a mistake. There was nothing sexy about history of eugenetics. If anything this book reminded me that people are products of their time and ideas of right change rather rapidly nowadays.
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Apr 04, 2018dogman rated it it was amazing
a must read with tons of useful data. the only trouble is that Chapter 4 is somewhat poorly structured and named - the rest is perfect. pomosexuality is a great concept
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