ABSTRACT
In recent years the political aspects of sexuality have increasingly become visible on the front
pages of newspapers around the globe. Headlines include stories on abortion rights, same-sex
marriage, hate crimes committed against gays and lesbians, anti-discrimination laws, and
access to contraception. Sexuality consistently rears its head in popular cultural and political
debates. This is largely the result of a growing number of social movements dealing with
sexuality. The past few decades in the United States alone have witnessed a wave of move-
ments, such as the gay and lesbian, transgender, S/M, feminist, and prostitutes’ rights
movements, which have tackled issues of sexuality head-on.
