
Rethinking Sexual Citizenship
Jyl J. Josephson(Author)
State University of New York Press
Published on 2. January 2017
Book
Paperback/Softback
254 pages
978-1-4384-6048-2 (ISBN)
Description
Offers a more democratic way to think about families, politics, and public life.
Public policy often assumes there is one correct way to be a family. Rethinking Sexual Citizenship argues that policies that enforce this idea hurt all of us and harm our democracy. Jyl J. Josephson uses the concept of "sexual citizenship" (a criticism of the assumption that all families have a heterosexual at their center) to show how government policies are made to punish or reward particular groups of people. This analysis applies sexual citizenship not only to policies that impact LGBTQ families, but also to other groups, including young people affected by abstinence-only public policies and single-parent families affected by welfare policy. The book also addresses the idea that the "normal" family in the United States is white. It concludes with a discussion of how scholars and activists can help create a more inclusive democracy by challenging this narrow view of public life.
Public policy often assumes there is one correct way to be a family. Rethinking Sexual Citizenship argues that policies that enforce this idea hurt all of us and harm our democracy. Jyl J. Josephson uses the concept of "sexual citizenship" (a criticism of the assumption that all families have a heterosexual at their center) to show how government policies are made to punish or reward particular groups of people. This analysis applies sexual citizenship not only to policies that impact LGBTQ families, but also to other groups, including young people affected by abstinence-only public policies and single-parent families affected by welfare policy. The book also addresses the idea that the "normal" family in the United States is white. It concludes with a discussion of how scholars and activists can help create a more inclusive democracy by challenging this narrow view of public life.
Reviews / Votes
"...Rethinking Sexual Citizenship is a rigorously theorized and historically informed analysis whose contribution to the fields of sexuality studies and American politics is both thrilling and timely." - H-Net Reviews (H-Citizenship)More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Albany, NY
United States
Target group
College/higher education
US School Grade: College Graduate Student and over
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
4 Tables, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 231 mm
Width: 154 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
366 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4384-6048-2 (9781438460482)
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

Jyl J. Josephson
Rethinking Sexual Citizenship
E-Book
05/2016
1st Edition
De Gruyter
from
€84.99
Available for download
Person
Jyl J. Josephson is Associate Professor of Political Science and Women's and Gender Studies at Rutgers University-Newark. She is the author of Gender, Families, and State: Child Support Policy in the United States and the coeditor (with Sue Tolleson-Rinehart) of Gender and American Politics: Women, Men, and the Political Process.
Content
List of Tables
Acknowledgments
1. Sexual Citizenship
2. Welfare Policy and the Politics of Sexual Deviance
3. The Politics of Sexual Shaming: Abstinence-Only Sex Education
4. Defense of Marriage Acts and the Politics of Sexual Regulation
5. Sexual Citizenship after the White Hegemonic Heteronormative Family
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
1. Sexual Citizenship
2. Welfare Policy and the Politics of Sexual Deviance
3. The Politics of Sexual Shaming: Abstinence-Only Sex Education
4. Defense of Marriage Acts and the Politics of Sexual Regulation
5. Sexual Citizenship after the White Hegemonic Heteronormative Family
Notes
Bibliography
Index