Sociology of Sexualities
SOC 293
PAC Building, Room 004
Monday-Wednesday 11:00am-12:20pm
Spring 2015
Instructor: Kerwin Kaye
Email: kkaye@wesleyan.edu
Office: PAC 105
Office Hours: Mondays 1-2pm
2nd and 4th Wednesdays (1-2pm)
(and by appointment)
Class Description
This course seeks to denaturalize some of what are often the most intimate and taken-for-granted
aspects of daily life—our bodies and genders, our erotic desires, our sexual identities—in order
to explore the ways in which human sexuality is socially, historically, and politically constructed.
To this end, this course will provide a critical-historical overview of dominant Euro-American
understandings of sexuality and their embodied legacies. How has sexuality been conceptualized
by Western social science and other culturally dominant discourses such as religion, biological
science, psychiatry, medicine, and law? How do these discourses intersect with politics, history,
and other social forces such as gender, race, and class? In the first part of the course, we will
trace the paradigm shift from a religious worldview in early modern Europe to the first scientific
models of sexuality in the late 19th century (sexology and psychoanalysis). In the second part of
the course, we will explore the challenges posed to the “medical model” of sexuality by the
emergence of a sociology of sexuality in the 1960s and 1970s and by the elaboration of feminist,
critical race, and queer theories in recent decades. In the final part of the course, we will consider
the state of sexual politics within the contemporary United States, focusing upon key arenas of
struggle including sexual assault, homosexuality, evangelical sexualities, and prostitution.
Course Requirements
There are three requirements for the class:
—attend all classes and be prepared to discuss the assigned readings
—write five response papers of approximately one and a half pages (preferably no more than
two pages) regarding that day’s readings. These response papers should first briefly
summarize some of the main points of the readings, and then offer commentary upon
them. You get to select most of the weeks to which you will respond, however no late
papers will be accepted (i.e. you may not turn in papers for prior weeks). You must
respond to the first reading (on Krafft-Ebing) and to the reading for Week 5 (Foucault),
and at least two response papers must be written after Spring Break. Response papers
should be sent to me by 6pm the day before we will discuss that reading in class. See the
separate description of this assignment (available in Dropbox) for further details.
—a final paper (including paper proposal, a list of sources, and an early draft); 10-12 pages
Course Materials
Course materials are available through a Dropbox link:
www.dropbox.com/sh/uv5gfdp9zt8y369/AAAnGaBX3UipS6QtWOpbiO4va?dl=0
Four books are also required for the course. Both are available via Broad Street Books:
Freud, Sigmund. 2000 [1905]. Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality. Basic Books:
New York, NY.
Foucault, Michel. 1978. The History of Sexuality, vol. 1. Vintage Books/Random House:
New York, NY.
Bernstein, Elizabeth. 2007. Temporarily Yours: Intimacy, Authenticity, and the
Commerce of Sex. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL.
Stein, Arlene. 2001. The Stranger Next Door: the Story of a Small Community’s Battle
Over Sex, Faith, and Civil Rights. Beacon Press: Boston, MA.
Grading
Class attendance/participation:
Five reading response papers:
List of Sources for Final Paper
Draft of final paper
Final paper (10-12pgs):
25%
25% (5% each)
5%
5%
40%
Key Dates
Wednesday, January 26th (no later than 6pm): First Response Paper due
Sunday, February 22nd: Response paper due by 6pm (on Foucault’s History of Sexuality)
Wednesday, February 18th: Paper proposals due at beginning of class
March 6th-23rd: Spring Break
Wednesday, March 25th: List of sources for final paper due
Wednesday, April 22nd: Draft of final paper due at beginning of class
Wednesday, May 6th: Final Paper due at beginning of class
No Final Exam
Paper Guidelines
All papers should be well organized and proof-read. Please double-space all of your papers,
and use one inch margins. Please use Times New Roman (12 point) as your font. If you
email me your paper, send it both as an attached file and with the text pasted into the body
of the email (in case I have difficulty with the attachment). Plagiarism will not be
excused; if in doubt, provide a citation. Late papers will suffer as grade deduction as
follows: between 15 minutes and 1 hour (3.5%); between 1 hour and 2 hours (5%);
between 2 and 24 hours (10%); each additional day follows the same rate of loss
Use of Electronic Devices within the Classroom
Use of electronic devices is not allowed. Permission will be granted in exceptional cases.
Disability Resources
I am happy to accommodate concerns regarding disabilities. Wesleyan also asks that the
following statement be included on all course syllabi:
Wesleyan University is committed to ensuring that all qualified students with disabilities
are afforded an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from its programs and
services. To receive accommodations, a student must have a documented disability as
defined by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the ADA Amendments Act of
2008, and provide documentation of the disability. Since accommodations may require
early planning and generally are not provided retroactively, please contact Disability
Resources as soon as possible. If you believe that you need accommodations for a
disability, please contact Dean Patey in Disability Resources, located in North College,
Room 021, or call 860-685-5581 for an appointment to discuss your needs and the process
for requesting accommodations
Schedule Overview
Week 1: Course Overview / Nineteenth Century Sexology I (62 pgs)
Week 2: Nineteenth Century Sexology II / Eugenics (129 pgs)
Week 3: Freudian Theories (132 pgs)
Week 4: The Emergence of a Sociological Lens (155 pgs)
Wednesday, February 18th: Paper proposals due at beginning of class
Week 5: Theoretical Challenges of Socio-Historical Scholarship (157 pgs)
Sunday, February 22nd: Response paper due by 6pm
Week 6: Sex, Homosex, and the Boundaries of Gender (127 pgs)
March 6th-23rd: Spring Break
Week 7: Feminist Theories and the Sex Wars (123 pgs)
Week 8: Constructing Race / Constructing Sex (125 pgs)
Monday, March 30th: List of sources for final paper due
Only 2-3 sources needed; these must be annotated (one paragraph summary) with a
brief discussion as to how you will be using these 2-3 key texts in your analysis
Week 9: The Politics of Sexual Assault (140 pgs)
Week 10: Commercial Sexuality — Prostitution (193 pgs)
Week 11: Evangelical Sexualities (112 pgs)
Wednesday, April 22nd: Draft of final paper due at beginning of class
Week 12: Battling Homosexuality (196 pgs)
Week 13: Hook-Up Culture (84 pgs)
Final paper at same time as final exam — Thursday, May 14th at 10pm
Assigned Readings
Week 1: Course Overview / Nineteenth Century Sexology I (68 pgs)
Monday, January 26th: no reading
Wednesday, January 28th:
Krafft-Ebing, Richard von. 1999 [1903, 1886]. Psychopathia Sexualis, 12th
edition, translated by Brian King, pp. v-viii, xxiii-xxxvii, 5-9, 14-9, 23743, 248-9, 252-4, 277-81, 300-2, 370-1, xli (45 pgs)
Selections from Sexology Uncensored, pp. 201-15 (6 pgs).
Kaye, Kerwin. 2003. “Male Prostitution in the Twentieth Century,” pp. 1-6 (6 pgs)
Duggan, Lisa. 2000. Sapphic Slashers, pp. 156-63 (6 pgs)
Week 2: Nineteenth Century Sexology II / Eugenics (131 pgs)
Monday, February 2nd:
Terry, Jennifer. 1999. An American Obsession, pp. 27-39, 74-119 (56 pgs).
Wednesday, February 4th:
Selections from Sexology Uncensored, pp. 165-73, 178-80 (12 pgs).
Roberts, Dorothy. 1997. Killing the Black Body, pp. 56-81 (26 pgs)
Ordover, Nancy. 2003. American Eugenics, pp. 159-95 (36 pgs)
Week 3: Freudian Theories (132 pgs)
Monday, February 9th:
Abelove, Henry. 1993 [1985]. “Freud, Male Homosexuality, and the Americans,”
in The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader, pp. 381-93 (11 pgs).
begin: Freud, Sigmund. 2000 [1905]. Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality,
entire book (including foreword by Chodorow) (121 pgs)
Wednesday, February 11th:
finish: Freud.
Week 4: The Emergence of a Sociological Lens (138 pgs)
Monday, February 16th:
Kinsey, Alfred, Wardell B. Pomeroy and Clyde E. Martin. 1982. Excerpts from
Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and Sexual Behavior in the Human
Female in Human Sexual Relations, pp. 137-155 (18 pgs).
Irvine, Janice. 1990. “Toward a ‘Value-Free’ Science of Sex,” in Sexualities in
History, pp. 327-56 (27 pgs)
Terry, Jennifer. 1999. An American Obsession, pp. 297-314 (19 pgs).
Wednesday, February 18th:
Paper proposals due at beginning of class
Harold Garfinkel. 1967. Studies in Ethnomethodology, pp. 116-185, 285-8 (74
pgs)
Week 5: Theoretical Challenges of Socio-Historical Scholarship (157 pgs)
Monday, February 23rd and Wednesday, February 25th:
Foucault, Michel. 1990 [1978]. The History of Sexuality, volume 1 (157 pgs)
Optional: Cameron, Deborah and Don Kulick, Language and Sexuality, pp. 112
Response paper due, Sunday, February 22nd at 6pm
Week 6: Sex, Homosex, and the Boundaries of Gender (127 pgs)
Monday, March 2nd:
Sedgwick, Eve. 1991. “How to Bring Your Kids up Gay,” Social Text 29: 18-27
(9 pgs)
Ward, Jane. 2010. “Gender Labor: Transmen, Femmes, and Collective Work of
Transgression,” Sexualities, 13(2): 236-54 (17 pgs)
Valentine, David. 2002. “We’re ‘Not About Gender’: The Uses of
‘Transgender,’” in Out in Theory: The Emergence of Lesbian and Gay
Anthropology, pp. 222-45 (19 pgs)
Manalansan IV, Martin. 2003. Global Divas: Filipino Gay Men in the Diaspora,
pp. 24-35 (12 pgs)
Wednesday, March 4th:
Rich, Adrienne. 1993 [1978]. “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian
Existence” in The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader, pp. 227-255 (23 pgs)
Stein, Arlene. 1992. “Sisters and Queers: The Decentering of Lesbian Feminism,”
Radical Society, 22(1): 33-55 (21 pgs)
D’Emilio, John. 1983 [1979]. “Capitalism and Gay Identity,” in Powers of Desire,
pp. 100-13 (12 pgs).
Valocchi, Steve. 1999. “The Class-Inflected Nature of Gay Identity,” Social
Problems, 46(2): 207-24 (14pgs)
March 6th-23rd: Spring Break!
Week 7: Feminist Theories and the Sex Wars (130 pgs)
Monday, March 23rd:
Dworkin, Andrea. 1987. Intercourse, selections (20 pgs).
Catharine MacKinnon, “Sexuality,” in Toward a Feminist Theory of the State, pp.
126-154 (29 pgs).
Jackson, Stevi. 1996 [1995]. “Heterosexuality, Power and Pleasure,” in Feminism
and Sexuality, pp. 175-9 (4 pgs)
Califia, Pat. 1996. “Feminism and Sadomasochism,” in Feminism and Sexuality,
pp. 230-7 (7 pgs)
Duggan, Lisa. 1995 [1993]. “Feminist Historians and Antipornography
Campaigns,” in Sex Wars, pp 68-73 (5 pgs)
Wednesday, March 25th:
Gayle Rubin, 1993 [1982]. “Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the
Politics of Sexuality,” in The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader, pp. 3-45
(36 pgs).
Hollibaugh, Amber, and Cherríe Moraga. 1983 [1981]. “What We’re Rollin
Around in Bed With,” in Powers of Desire, pp. 394-405 (12 pgs)
Nash, Jennifer. 2006. “Bearing Witness to Ghosts,” Wisconsin Women’s Law
Journal, 21: 47-72 (no need to read footnotes — 17 pgs)
Week 8: Constructing Race / Constructing Sex (125 pgs)
Monday, March 30th:
Stoler, Ann. 1989. “Making Empire Respectable: The Politics of Race and
Morality in 20th-Century Colonial Cultures,” American Ethnologist, pp.
634-60 (19 pgs)
Crenshaw, Kimberle. 1991. “Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity
Politics, and Violence against Women of Color,” Stanford Law Review,
43(6): 1241-5, 1266-82 (no need to read footnotes — 20 pgs)
Collins, Patricia Hill. 1990. “Black Women and the Sex/gender Hierarchy,” from
Black Feminist Thought (4 pgs).
Nash, Jennifer. 2008. “Strange Bedfellows: Black Feminism and
Antipornography Feminism,” Social Text, 26(4): 51-76 (20 pgs)
Wednesday, April 1st:
Miller-Young, Mireille. 2010. “Putting Hypersexuality to Work: Black Women
and Illicit Eroticism in Pornography,” Sexualities, 13(2): 219-35 (13 pgs)
Fung, Richard. 1998. “Looking for My Penis: The Exoticized Asian in Gay Video
Porn,” in Q&A: Queer in Asian America, pp. 115-34 (17 pgs)
Takagi, Dana. 1994. “Maiden Voyage: Excursions into Sexuality and Identity
Politics in Asian America,” Amerasia Journal, 20(1): 1-17 (15 pgs)
Ward, Jane. 2008. “Dude-Sex: White Masculinities and ‘Authentic’
Heterosexuality among Dudes who have Sex with Dudes,” Sexualities,
11(4): 414-34 (17 pgs)
Week 9: The Politics of Sexual Assault
Monday, April 6th:
Freedman, Estelle. 2013. Redefining Rape, pp. 3-6, 12-32 (24 pgs)
Brownmiller, Susan. 1975. “Against Our Will,” excerpted in The Essential
Feminist Reader, pp. 311-7 (6 pgs)
Beneke, Tim. 1982. Men On Rape, pp. 1-35 (33 pgs)
Wednesday, April 8th:
Freedman, Estelle. 2013. Redefining Rape, pp. 89-103 (15 pgs)
Bumiller, Kristen. 2008. In an Abusive State, pp. 1-15 (15 pgs)
Madriz, Esther. 1997. Nothing Bad Happens to Good Girls, pp. 10-9, 34-41, 6693, 147-50 (47 pgs)
Week 10: Commercial Sexuality — Prostitution (193 pgs)
Monday, April 13th and Wednesday, April 15th:
Bernstein, Elizabeth. 2007. Temporarily Yours, can skip appendix (188 pgs)
Kaye, Kerwin. 2008. “Book Review: Modern Babylon? and Children in the
Global Sex Trade,” Sexuality Research & Social Policy, 5(4): 87-91 (5
pgs).
Week 11: Evangelical Sexualities (134 pgs)
Monday, April 20th:
Wilkins, Amy. 2008. Wannabes, Goths, and Christians, pp. 117-49 (33 pgs)
Luker, Kristen. 1984. Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood, pp. 158-75, 194215 (40 pgs)
McQueeney, Krista. 2009. “‘We’re are God’s Children, Y’all’: Race, Gender, and
Sexuality in Lesbian- and Gay-Affirming Congregations,” Social
Problems, 56(1): 151-73 (20 pgs)
Wednesday, April 22nd:
Erzon, Tanya. 2006. Straight to Jesus, pp. 85-125 (41 pgs)
(Draft of Final Paper due at beginning of class)
Week 12: Battling Homosexuality (175 pgs)
Monday, April 27th and Wednesday, April 29th
Stein, Arlene. 2001. The Stranger Next Door, can skip chapters 7-8 and appendix
(175 pgs)
Week 13: Hook-Up Culture (84 pgs)
Monday, May 4th:
Brown, Helen Gurly. 1962 [2003]. Excerpt from Sex and the Single Girl, in
Sexual Revolution, pp. 70-6 (7 pgs)
Mehlinger, Kermit. 1966 [2003]. “The Sexual Revolution,” in Sexual Revolution,
pp. 40-50 (11 pgs)
Jong, Erica. 1973 [2003]. Excerpt from Fear of Flying, in Sexual Revolution, pp.
143-7 (5 pgs)
Heldman, Caroline and Lisa Wade. 2010. “Hook-Up Culture: Setting a New
Research Agenda,” Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 7: 323-33 (9
pgs)
Armstrong, Elizabeth, Laura Hamilton and Paula England. 2010. “Is Hooking Up
Bad for Young Women?” Contexts, 9(3): 22-27 (5 pgs)
Hamilton, Laura and Elizabeth Armstrong. 2009. “Gendered Sexuality in Young
Adulthood,” Gender & Society, 589-616 (read only pp. 597-611 – 13 pgs)
Wednesday, May 6th:
Wilkins, Amy. 2008. Wannabes, Goths, and Christians, pp. 54-87 (34 pgs)
(Final Paper due at same time as Final Exam – Thursday, May 14th at 10pm)