The Sociology of Sexualities: Taking Stock of the Field

Annual Review of Sociology, 2004

I Abstract We identify three trends in the recent sociology of sexuality. First, we examine how queer theory has influenced many sociologists whose empirical work observes sexuality in areas generally thought to be asexual. These sociologists also elaborate queer theory's challenge to sexual dichotomizing and trace the workings of power through sexual categories. Second, we look at how sociologists bring sexuality into conversation with the black feminist notion of "intersectionality" by examining the nature and effects of sexuality among multiple and intersecting systems of identity and oppression. A third trend in the sociology of sexuality has been to explore the relationships between sexuality and political economy in light of recent market transformations. In examining these trends, we observe the influence of globalization studies and the contributions of sociologists to understanding the role of sexuality in global processes. We conclude with the contributions sociologists of sexuality make toward understanding other social processes and with the ongoing need to study sexuality itself. * The authors are listed alphabetically and contributed equally to this paper.

This course examines gender, sex, and sexuality as powerful forces in people's lives that are loaded with cultural significance. In this class, we will explore the construction of gender and sexuality both in the United States and international contexts by asking some of the following questions: How has contemporary anthropological theory shaped the ways we think about gender and sexuality? Why is the regulation of sexuality such an important component for maintaining certain forms of social hierarchy both in the US and abroad? How do international differences and inequalities manifest in understandings of gender and sexuality around the world? and How does sexuality intersect with race, gender and class in various cultural contexts? We will address these questions by looking at both obvious and less visible dimensions of power, culture, gender, and sexuality. Students should leave the course with an increased understanding of the historical development of gender and sexuality, as well as understand these concepts beyond " normative " definitions. Specifically, students should engage with the ways sexuality intersects with gender, race, class, religion, location and other forms of social distinction or exclusion. Course Objectives Students will be able to: 1. identify and explain key terms that are central to an anthropological understanding of sexuality 2. relate sexuality to topics of cultural and social diversity 3. understand relationships between sexuality, gender, class, race, and other forms of difference 4. relate issues in sexuality studies with power relations, ideology, and social institutions 5. apply key themes, theories, and approaches of anthropology to their own analysis

2017

1.Introduction 2. Ethnography and the Sexual Life of the Primitive 3. The Cold War and Second-Wave Feminism 4. Labor and Love: Marxism in Anthropology of Gender 5. Coloring Sex: Voices of “difference” 6. Looking At The Powerful: The Subaltern Voice 7. Identity Politics and the Emergence of the Queer Movement 8. Post-structuralism in Anthropology of Science and Feminism (1990’s) 9. Anthropology of Gender at the Present 10. A problem of Theory 11. A Political Problem: Reconstructing Racial Gender 12. Conclusion Glossary Annotated Bibliography Additional Bibliography Biographical Sketch

APA handbook of sexuality and psychology, Vol. 2: Contextual approaches., 2014

2007

us with the opportunity to continue some of the debates initiated by Patricia MacFadden, Charmaine Pereira and Sylvia Tamale in an earlier issue (see Feminist Africa 2). In keeping with Feminist Africa's intellectual development agenda, the present issue also provides a platform for new research carried out by leading African feminist thinkers. The three feature articles present thoughtprovoking material drawn from the Mapping Sexualities Research Project. This is possibly the first project in the transnational field of sexuality research to have been carried out by African researchers rooted in feminist praxis. Through this new knowledge, we provide ourselves with the opportunity to deepen and further inform the ongoing debates and struggles around various aspects of sexuality. Much of the literature available on the global market addresses African sexuality by proxy – in terms of grand theorisations of race and imperialism, colonial histories of regulation and population contr...