Beyond Gay or Straight: Understanding Sexual Orientation [Library Binding]

Jan Clausen (Author), Martin Duberman (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1996 | Series: Issues in Lesbian Gay Life

Examining the various theories that have been proposed throughout history and present day, this book explains the riddle of sexual orientation, assessing their validity, placing them in a cultural context, and enplaning the practical ramifications of each. Includes 40 photos.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 12 Up. Sexual orientation defies taxonomy, according to Clausen. She proposes that insistence on definitions of sexuality based on gender preferences is a recent Euro-American phenomenon that imposes invalid restrictions on the fluid and somewhat elusive qualities of sexual desire. A first chapter states the problem as three fold: determining whether sexual preference is inborn, whether it changes over time, and whether other cultures define sexuality as we do in the West. Subsequent chapters deal with these issues in fascinating, well-researched, occasionally personal detail. In the presence of a homophobic intolerant society, Clausen's thesis cries for elucidation, but her presentation may be beyond the comprehension of unsophisticated readers. Therein lies the difficulty of recommending this book for YA audiences. A scholarly writer deserves a scholarly reader. The inclusion of graphic materials, both as illustrations and as examples from gay and lesbian literature, means that only the most mature teenagers can benefit. However, books of this nature should be included in high-school collections for those students who can gain from them.?Sue A. Norkeliunas, Arlington Senior High School, LaGrangeville, NY
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Library Binding: 198 pages
• Publisher: Chelsea House Publications (August 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 079102606X
• ISBN-13: 978-0791026069
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,301,869 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Polarities are passe, May 17, 2002

By 

"pulseman" (Milwaukee/Madison, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond Gay or Straight: Understanding Sexual Orientation (Paperback)

Jan Clausen reasons carefully through essentialist vs. constructionist views of homosexuality. "Natural" and "universal" sexuality are examined, especially in light of other cultures' more open views toward a "sliding scale" of sexual expression. This is a careful set of ideas beautifully expressed: Careful to take readers through issues such as whom one has sex with, who is emotionally most important, which acts one chooses as "sexuality," how sexual identity in relation to biological sex might be modified by choice of occupation and dress, etc. Clausen is not afraid of "confusion" on these issues. She wants us to think about either-or thinking in our sexual categories. She helps us to think about passages in humanity's sexual history and the times & places of personal sexual expression in profound ways. A good deal of her reasoning focuses on how, where, and why some cultures see boundaries between "male" & "female" sexual expression as fluid or rigid. She argues that far from fixed, sexuality is the burden of freedom. This is a wonderful, thought-provoking book, still relevant in a time when religionists denounce sexual choices as sin and damnation and some gay theorists speak of getting "beyond gay." Its tone and its stories reflect the profound truths of a PFLAG (Parents, Family, & Friends of Lesbians & Gays) dictum in a pamphlet written for helping young people who are questioning their sexuality: The youth asks, "How can I tell if I'm gay?" The PFLAGers answer is: "You'll know when you know." There is profound compassionate counsel in that simple PFLAG statement, and there is compassionate examination of all human sexuality in Jan Clausen's Beyond Gay or Straight: Understanding Sexual Orientation. I love this book. I share this book with many people who are SERIOUS about sexual expressions.