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Loading... Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America (original 1997; edition 1998)by John D'Emilio
Work InformationIntimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America by John D’Emilio (1997)
   No current Talk conversations about this book.  deusvitae | Aug 18, 2016 |  no reviews | add a review
John D'Emilio and Estelle Freedman describe the different sexual worlds of plantation slaves, European immigrants, and the urban middle class, and how sexual matters moved from the privacy of the bedroom to its commercial exploitation and its entry into mass culture. The authors shed light on the complex nature of race, gender, and class inequality. They discuss such issues as white slavery and lynching, how sex has served as a symbol for a wide range of social problems, and how conflicts over sexuality have sometimes shaped the political and cultural contours of an era. D'Emilio and Freedman have drawn on court records, diaries, letters, and popular art and culture to provide both a scholarly interpretation of the history of sexuality and a compelling narrative of the lives of anonymous Americans.--From publisher description. No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)306.70973Social sciences Social Sciences; Sociology and anthropology Culture and Institutions Relations between the sexes, sexualities, love Biography And History North America United StatesLC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.92)
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Wikipedia in English (3)
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The author does not fall into the trap of considering any type of movement or expectation as a given, as if views and perspectives about sexuality are heading toward a particular end. He assesses changes and reactions to changes; moments of "liberation," and moments of "withdrawal." And yet there is a general trajectory toward greater understanding and a higher social profile of sexuality and its practices over time.
The author also does well at looking at the various attitudes which existed among different classes and ethnic groups while not neglecting the overall picture that at least a few in America wanted to present about what appropriate sexuality looked like.
Fully researched and documented and a useful resource if one is interested in understanding the various contours of the views and arguments regarding human sexuality in American culture. (