Moral Panics, Sex Panics: Fear and the Fight over Sexual Rights

Intersections: Transdisciplinary Perspectives on Genders and Sexualities

by Gilbert Herdt (Editor)

Finalist for 2010 LGBT Anthology Award from the Lambda Literary Awards
Unwed teen mothers, abortion, masturbation, pornography, gay marriage, sex trafficking, homosexuality, and HIV are just a few in a long line of issues that have erupted into panics. These sexual panics spark moral crusades and campaigns, defining and shaping how we think about sexual and reproductive rights. The essays in Moral Panics, Sex Panics focus on case studies ranging from sex education to AIDS to race and the "down low," to illustrate how sexuality is at the heart of many political controversies. The contributors also reveal how moral and sexual panics have become a mainstay of certain kinds of conservative efforts to win elections and gain power in moral, social, and political arenas. Moral Panics, Sex Panics provides new and important insights into the role that key moral panics have played in social processes, arguing forcefully against the political abuse of sex panics and for the need to defend full sexual and reproductive rights.
Cathy J. Cohen, Diane DiMauro, Gary W. Dowsett, Janice M. Irvine, Carole Joffe, and Saskia Eleonora Wieringa.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, LGBT, Queer, Sexuality

304 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2009

About the author

Gilbert Herdt is a cultural anthropologist, Director of the Program in Human Sexuality Studies at San Francisco State University, where he is also Professor of Human Sexuality Studies and Anthropology. His publications include nearly 30 single and edited books, and more than 100 scientific papers.

Reviews

[Carden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this book very insightful and even though it's almost two decades old it's very applicable to today's situation in the USA and around the world