
Sex Acts
Practices of Femininity and Masculinity
Jenny Harding(Author)
SAGE Publications Inc (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 29. September 1998
Book
Hardback
160 pages
978-0-8039-7594-1 (ISBN)
Description
Drawing on original empirical research, this book provides a critical understanding of current theory in the study of sexuality.
Inter-disciplinary in approach, Jennifer Harding identifies a series of key issues on contemporary discourses: essentialism vs constructionism; gender and sexuality; representation and concepts of identity; Foucalut's notion of `discourse'; and Butler's theory of gender `performance'. These topics are explored in the light of contemporary cultural contexts - for instance, the debate on hormone theory and the social construction of sexuality, `gender bending' and masculinity, the maternal body, queer families, and constructions of motherhood and fatherhood. Critical summaries of the main debates in the field are presented in an accessible way, while the text forms an insightful guide to the dilemmas involved in the private/public divide.
Inter-disciplinary in approach, Jennifer Harding identifies a series of key issues on contemporary discourses: essentialism vs constructionism; gender and sexuality; representation and concepts of identity; Foucalut's notion of `discourse'; and Butler's theory of gender `performance'. These topics are explored in the light of contemporary cultural contexts - for instance, the debate on hormone theory and the social construction of sexuality, `gender bending' and masculinity, the maternal body, queer families, and constructions of motherhood and fatherhood. Critical summaries of the main debates in the field are presented in an accessible way, while the text forms an insightful guide to the dilemmas involved in the private/public divide.
Reviews / Votes
'Readable, accessible, interesting and lively ... This is a very good course text especially for undergraduates in years one to three' - Maggie O'Neil, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Staffordshire University`Sex Acts has much to recommend it to students of communications, sociology, psychology and feminism, for it examines the unwitting polarization of gender possible in each of these fields.' - Feminism and Psychology
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Thousand Oaks
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
417 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8039-7594-1 (9780803975941)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Book
09/1998
1st Edition
SAGE Publications Inc
€122.40
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Jennifer Harding is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Communications at London Guildhall University.
Content
The Power of Sex
An Introduction
Investigating Sex
Essentialism and Constructionism
Private Sex, Public Danger
Sex/uality and Representation
Chemical Sex and Social Control
`Gender-Bending' and Masculinity
Sex/uality and the Maternal Body
Queer Families
Sexual Parody
Lesbians in Popular Culture
An Introduction
Investigating Sex
Essentialism and Constructionism
Private Sex, Public Danger
Sex/uality and Representation
Chemical Sex and Social Control
`Gender-Bending' and Masculinity
Sex/uality and the Maternal Body
Queer Families
Sexual Parody
Lesbians in Popular Culture