ABSTRACT

A pioneering study which has become an established classic in its field, Sex, Politics and Society provides a lucid and comprehensive analysis of the transformations of British sexual life from 1800 to the present. These changes are firmly located in the wider context of social change, from industrialization and the experience of Empire through the establishment of the welfare state to the rise of new social movements, such as feminism and gay liberation, and new forms of social conservatism.

Now fully revised and updated, and with a new chapter bringing the story right up to date, this new edition considers:

  • the transformation of the sexual world through globalization and the internet
  • the changing impact of the AIDS pandemic over the last thirty years
  • the influence of new currents in social and cultural theory on the study of sexuality
  • the gradual depoliticization and mainstreaming of sexuality within historical study

Combining rich empirical detail with innovative theoretical insights, Sex, Politics and Society remains at the cutting edge of the subject and this third edition will inspire and provoke a whole new generation of readers in history, sociology, social policy, and the study of sexuality.

chapter 1|26 pages

Sexuality and the historian

chapter 4|29 pages

Sexuality and the labouring classes

chapter 6|39 pages

The construction of homosexuality

chapter 8|23 pages

The theorisation of sex

chapter 9|26 pages

Feminism and socialism

chapter 10|23 pages

Sex psychology and birth control

chapter 11|42 pages

Towards a conservative modernity

chapter 12|25 pages

The state and sexuality

chapter 13|36 pages

The permissive moment

chapter 14|34 pages

Personal politics and moral conservatism

chapter 15|36 pages

A new world?