Global Sex [Hardcover]

Dennis Altman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0226016064 | ISBN-13: 978-0226016061 | Edition: 1

Global Sex is the first major work to take on the globalization of sexuality, examining the ways in which desire and pleasure—as well as ideas about gender, political power, and public health—are framed, shaped, or commodified by a global economy in which more and more cultures move into ever-closer contact.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Tracing the combined impact of telecommunications, faster air-travel and the Internet on sexual expression the world over, Altman (Homosexual: Oppression and Liberation) historicizes sexual activity while exploring specific changes resulting from advances in technology. Covering such issues as the impact of prostitution and pornography on global economics, and how AIDS affects sexual practices, legislation and the commercialization of sex, he presents a gripping portrait of a world barely able to keep pace psychologically, sociologically and theologically with enormous, rapid-fire changes. An AIDS/HIV activist as well as a professor in the School of Politics, Sociology and Anthropology at La Trobe University, Australia, Altman is best when he's most specific for example, when he compares Bangkok's current reputation with Vienna's as "the global brothel" circa 1900; when he traces the dissemination of U.S. gay culture around the world; or when he discusses how Reagan and Thatcher used traditional "moral panics" to promote their agendas. Drawing upon a wide range of sources and cultural artifacts including Playboy, U.N. Development Programme reports, Sharon Stone's famous leg crossing in Basic Instinct, and La Cage aux Folles, as well as the theories of Freud, Herbert Marcuse, William Reich and Franz Fanon Altman ranges outside the usual boundaries of academic research. Offering neither a dire warning nor a reason to rejoice (he sees "the interconnectedness of the world [as] both a threat and an opportunity) his savvy, energetic book truly maintains a global perspective.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Altman (politics, sociology, and anthropology, LaTrobe Univ., Australia) thoroughly analyzes the way globalization has influenced sex in various cultures around the world. He discusses the worldwide ramifications of various aspects of sex AIDS, beauty pageants, prostitution, abortion, sterilization programs, genital mutilation, and others always showing the complexities of the problems. For example, gay and lesbian issues all over the world have been greatly influenced by Western ideas, but at the same time definitions, behaviors, and policies differ from country to country. What is considered gay behavior is simply not clear. Most of all, Altman shows that sex and sexuality are not just personal and private matters but have much more to do with global politics and economies. Despite the title, this work is scholarly in tone, although, given the subject, it is sometimes lurid in details. Recommended for large public and academic libraries. Kitty Chen Dean, Nassau Coll., Garden City, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (April 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226016064
• ISBN-13: 978-0226016061
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,371,985 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How sex has been shaped and marketed in the global economy, June 7, 2001

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Global Sex (Hardcover)

This unparalleled discussion of the globalization of human sexuality provides the first major work to examine the issue, from how sex has been shaped and marketed in the new global economy to how access to Western pornography has changed sexual behavior in China. Global Sex offers a fascinating and informative set of connections between economics, human sexuality, and marketing behaviors results.