The Gender of Sexuality

With its broad range of contemporary and historical examples from empirical research, popular culture and news events, The Gender of Sexuality is a superb resource for discussion-oriented courses and is sure to evoke lively class discussions, as well as to encourage students to be self- reflective about their own beliefs, practices and identities regarding gender and sexuality. . . . The authors' final instructions for the readers to 'feel free to construct who you want to be' and to 'become a positive force for sexual health and positive sexual experiences' exemplify the book's optimistic vision of a society with boundless sexual possibilities. In this manner, The Gender of Sexuality is not merely informative but inspiring, a rare find among textbooks. * Sex Roles: A Journal of Research * Assign this book and your students will get a clear overview of research on sex, and how gender affects our sex lives. Whether the topic is what couples are actually doing in bed, gay marriage, teen sex education, bisexuality, or the college 'hookup,' Rutter and Schwartz provide clear explanations of research and debates. -- Paula England, New York University In this lively, relevant, and fun to read book, Rutter and Schwartz invite us to question why sexuality is a gendered experience, rather than something based on preferences or tastes such as 'tall' or 'left-handed.' Using both experience and evidence, they uncouple gender from sexuality to explain why and how we insist on putting them together in the first place. A unique strength of the book is the integration of biological and social constructionist perspectives on sexuality. The result is an up-to-date, comprehensive tour de force of the social science of gendered sexuality. -- Jodi O'Brien, Seattle University, author of "The Production of Reality" From Lady Gaga to Bristol Palin, this second edition features fresh updates and invites readers to explore sexuality as a gendered phenomenon. Rutter and Schwartz provide a nuanced and comprehensive analysis of major research studies and contemporary cultural scripts on sexuality and gender. The authors address key questions from an integrative perspective, illustrating why human sexuality and gender must be examined together. The Gender of Sexuality succeeds as a sociological toolboxequipping readers to investigate the stereotypes and assumptions hidden within everyday social productions of sexualities. -- Adina Nack, California Lutheran University

Virginia Rutter is professor of sociology at Framingham State University. She is a senior fellow of the Council on Contemporary Families and an editor and columnist at Girl w/ Pen, where she writes about gender and sexuality. Pepper Schwartz is professor of sociology at the University of Washington, past chairman of the Board of the National Sexuality Resource Center, past president of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, and past president of the National Sexuality Resource Center. Author of numerous books, she is a senior fellow at the Council of Contemporary Families and is the Love, Sex, and Relationship ambassador for AARP.

Preface to Second Edition Acknowledgments Chapter 1: Sexual Desire and Gender Chapter 2: Sexual Behavior and Gender Chapter 3: Uncommitted Sexual Relationships Chapter 4: Sex and Marriage Chapter 5: The Politics of Sexuality Chapter 6: But how do we use what we know? Questions and Answers References Index About the Authors