The Sex Obsession
Perversity and Possibility in American Politics
by Janet R. Jakobsen
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Pub Date Aug 25 2020 | Archive Date Oct 19 2020
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Description
Finalist, 2021 Lambda Literary Award in LGBTQ Studies
Offers a way to undo the inextricable American knot of sex, politics, religion, and power
American politics are obsessed with sex. Before the first televised presidential debate, John F. Kennedy trailed Richard Nixon in the polls. As Americans tuned in, however, they found Kennedy a younger, more vivacious, and more attractive choice than Nixon. Sexier. The political significance of Kennedy’s telegenic sex appeal is now widely accepted – but taking sexual politics seriously is not. Janet R. Jakobsen examines how, for the last several decades, gender and sexuality have reappeared time and again at the center of political life, marked by a series of widely recognized issues and movements – women’s liberation and gay liberation in the 1960s and ’70s, the AIDS crisis and ACT UP in the ‘80s and ’90s, welfare and immigration “reform” in the ‘90s, wars claiming to “save women” in the 2000s, and battles over health care in the 2010s, to recent demands for reproductive justice, trans liberation, and the explosive exposures of #MeToo.
Religion has been wound up in these political struggles, and blamed for not a little of the resistance to meaningful change in America political life. Jakobsen acknowledges that religion is a force to be reckoned with, but decisively breaks with the common sense that religion and sex are the fixed binary of American political life. She instead follows the kaleidoscopic ways in which sexual politics are embedded in social relations of all kinds – not only the intimate relations of love and family with which gender and sex are routinely associated, but also secularism, freedom, race, disability, capitalism, nation and state, housing and the environment.
In the midst of these obsessions, Jakobsen’s promiscuous ethical imagination guides us forward. Drawing on examples from collaborative projects among activists, academics and artists, Jakobsen shows that sexual politics can contribute to building justice from the ground up. Gender and sexual relations are practices through which values emerge and communities are made. Sex and desire, gender and embodiment emerge as bases of ethical possibility, breaking political stalemate and opening new possibility.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781479846085 |
| PRICE | $65.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 304 |
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Featured Reviews
Krystelle F, Reviewer
A book with a focus on the fixation that America has on sex and the political nose that likes to stick itself into other people's bedrooms, this proves to be an interesting but a rather quick read. There are some interesting points about the scandals that have pervaded American politics throughout the decades and the bills that have been spawned prohibiting certain activities from people behaving just as 'improperly' themselves.
One thing I really enjoyed about this book was how it approached the hope that the country has for eventually moving towards a freer world and legislative jurisdiction, but also how it highlights just how much needs to change. Some startling things include the way that people vote according to their perception of attractiveness and the willingness of people to accord value to conservative values in the face of contradictory evidence.
Overall, an interesting book that could have done with a little more research and substance, but I understand this may be largely due to the fact that this, again, constitutes a thesis. Certainly a little bit more of an academic piece, but interesting nonetheless.
Media/Journalist 652998
I really enjoyed The Sex Obsession. This book explores the significance of sexual politics within the political arena, despite this concept having little mind paid to it by the media, in academic communities, and legislative agendas. The author does an excellent job creating this thesis and then exploring its intricacies within many realms of society, from enviornmental ethics to ability, justice, and employment.
Lisa K, Reviewer
This is very similar to another book I finished "Entitled: how male privilege hurts women by Kate Manne". Some of the same comparisons between rich men in high ranking titles and men in general and their perception of being the preferred gender. This book goes further in to sex in politics and mentions some of the infamous scandals. A good reference for this topic that is quite current.
Both of these books were well written and researched but the content was getting repetitive and wish I had read this books further apart to get better appreciation of each. Overall, another necessary book.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Available: 8/25/20
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