Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

An introduction to the sociology of sexuality, discussing its cultural and socio-historical construction, its relationship with power and the State's involvement in its rationalisation and regulation.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Editor's Foreword to the First Edition (p. vii)
• Author's Preface to the Second Edition (p. ix)
• Acknowledgements to the First Edition (p. xi)
• Acknowledgements to the Second Edition (p. xii)
• 1 The Languages of Sex (p. 1)
• 2 The Invention of Sexuality (p. 11)
• A Brief History of the History of Sexuality (p. 11)
• The 'Social Construction' of Sexuality (p. 17)
• The Importance of Sexuality (p. 28)
• Sexuality and Power (p. 34)
• 3 The Meanings of Sexual Difference (p. 41)
• The Biological Imperative (p. 41)
• Sexuality and Social Relations (p. 53)
• Sexuality and the Unconscious (p. 60)
• The Consequences of Difference (p. 64)
• 4 The Challenge of Diversity (p. 69)
• The Language of Perversity (p. 69)
• The Discourse of Diversity (p. 76)
• Deconstructing the Categories (p. 83)
• 5 Sexuality, Intimacy and Politics (p. 91)
• Sexuality: On the Front Line of Politics (p. 91)
• The Breakdown of Tradition (p. 95)
• Living with Uncertainty: HIV/AIDS (p. 101)
• Regulating Sexuality (p. 105)
• Towards Sexual Citizenship (p. 112)
• 6 Private Pleasures and Public Policy (p. 117)
• Suggestions for Further Reading (p. 129)
• Notes (p. 139)
• Bibliography (p. 143)
• Index (p. 155)