ABSTRACT
In this chapter I return to the impact of social forces on sexual choices and behaviour and review debates that suggest that, far from representing a space of free choice and expression, sexuality is subject to control and manipulation by economic imperatives and state interests. The economic advantages that are gained by various sexual cultures and the connections between consumerism, work and docility are considered. In the second part I reconsider British debates about hegemony and sexual cultures and review recent developments in government interest in sexuality. The key debate within the chapter is the question of whether sex can be subject to instrumental concerns that are determined by larger social forces (see Weeks 1989; Parker et al. 1992; Singer 1993).
