Sexual Conduct

The first edition of Sexual Conduct, published in 1973, swiftly became a landmark text in the sociology of sexuality. It went onto profoundly shape the ideas of several generations of scholars and has become the foundation text of what is now known as the "social constructionist" approach to sexuality. The present edition, revised, updated, and containing new introductory and concluding materials, will introduce a classic text to a new generation of students and professionals. Traditional views of human sexuality posit models of man and woman in which biological arrangements are translated into sociocultural imperatives. This is best summarized in the phrase "anatomy is destiny." Consequently, the almost exclusive concern has been with the power of biology and nature in sexual conduct as opposed to understanding the significance and impact of social life. In Sexual Conduct, Gagnon and Simon lucidly argue that sexual activities, of all kinds, may be understood as the outcome of a complex psychosocial process of development. Using the social script theory, the authors trace the ways in which sexuality is learned and fitted into particular moments in the lifecycle and in different modes of behavior. Sexual Conduct is a major attempt to consider sexuality within a non-biological, social psychological framework. It is a valuable addition to the study of human sexuality, and will be of interest to students of sociology, psychology, psychiatry, social work, and medicine.

ISBN 020230664X   Pages 380 ISBN13 9780202306643 (What's this?)   Volumes 1 Publisher Transaction Publishers   Weight (grammes) 557 Imprint AldineTransaction   Published in Somerset Format Paperback   Series title Social Problems & Social Issues S. Publication date 31 Dec 2002   Height (mm) 229 Library of Congress 2004010812   Width (mm) 152 DEWEY 306.7   Spine width (mm) 21 DEWEY edition DC22   Academic level Professional / Scholarly

		Foreword : permanence and change : Sexual conduct thirty years on by Kenneth Plummer
		Preface to the second edition by John H. Gagnon
1		The social origins of sexual development		1
2		Childhood and adolescence		21
3		Postadolescent sexual development		61
4		The pedagogy of sex		83
5		Homosexuality among men		97
6		A conformity greater than deviance : the lesbian		133
7		The prostitution of women		165
8		Homosexual conduct in prison		179
9		Pornography : social scripts and legal dilemmas		197
10		Social change and sexual conduct		215
		Afterword : the struggle over sexual change since 1970 by John H. Gagnon		235
		The writing of Sexual conduct : two recollections		279
		The never-ending conversation : two interviews		297

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