ABSTRACT
A historical approach to sexuality is one that seeks to understand it as a product of shifting historical circumstances rather than biology or nature. John H. Gagnon and William Simon were less historically specific, but both interactionists and Michel Foucault tended to the view that sexual behaviour was organised not through mechanisms of 'repression' but through powers of 'incitement', definition and regulation. An important mechanism in the shaping of sexual politics is that of the 'moral panic'. Foucault argued that sexuality, far from being the domain of the private, has become central to the modern operation of power. Patterns of kinship and the organisation of the family and household are critical factors in shaping sexual activities in all cultures. One of the major preoccupations of the new sexual history since the 1970s has been the development of sexual identities. This chapter also presents some key concepts of this book.
