Customer Reviews

The Mismeasure of Desire: The Science, Theory, and Ethics of Sexual Orientation (Ideologies of Desire)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

How ironic that I finished this book on the same day that a new study came out linking finger length to sexual orientation.

This book is one of the most challenging I have ever read ... not only was it slow going at times while I struggled to grasp new ideas and concepts, but challenging in terms of getting me to look at my preconceived notions about sexual orientation in completely new ways.

I admit there were times when I almost gave up on The Mismeasure of Desire. First because of the dry, academic style in which it is written. Later I grew frustrated with Mr. Stein taking up pages to explain a concept only to watch him "tear down" that concept in the next chapter. Now that I've finished The Mismeasure of Desire, I'm happy I stuck with the task of reading it. I find myself initiating conversations with friends about the ideas that are presented in the book and I find that I'm thinking about being gay in much different ways than when I first started this book.

On the whole, this is a fascinating overview of the issue of sexual orientation and the research to study and define our "desires." My only major complaint with the book is the final section on the ethics of sexual orientation research. The issues raised in the chapters in this section could easily be expanded into an entire book. As it is, it feels like Mr. Stein breezes through some of these issues that could stand more in-depth study.

This book is a serious look at the issues involved in thinking about sexual orientation. For example, while we all have a basic understanding of ideas like "gay" and "straight", coming up with an adequate definition that works for all the different kinds of people in the world is not as easy as it might seem at first glance. The point of this book is to take it beyond first glances to a clearer understanding. Such fundamental definitional questions have implications for any discussions of related issues, such as gay rights legislation (who is actually covered by these protections?) and scientific research on sexual orientation (just what are we trying to measure?). How can we claim to know what causes a person to be "gay" unless we first know which people that term is supposed to describe?

There is also a less philosophical discussion of research methodologies and problems that arise specifically in doing research on an aspect of human nature that many people try to keep secret. For example, it's not clear that all the subjects in various experiments were "gay" at all, even by a simple definition. Obviously, if this is true, the results of such research are close to worthless, and yet the popular press generally ignores these crucial problems.

Because it is a serious book, it is not light reading; you have to stop and think about what Stein is saying. But he explains the ideas clearly and uses effective examples to guide even the novice through all the hidden assumptions in discussions of sexual orientation. I recommend it to anyone interested in thinking critically about these issues.

I recommend this book to everyone I talk to. It's simply outstanding.
Scientists will always seek to order the chaos, and philosophers will always seek to say that chaos can never be fully ordered. One may trim a hedge and box it into a container, but it is always alive, ever changing and growing. The best scientists can hope for is to catalog the waypoints.

I wrote an essay on this subject for a lesbian and gay studies class back in 1997, knowing nothing of postmodernism, and knowing only that I was bi, and didn't seem to fit gender categories either, and was continually frustrated by people's attempts to label me. At the time, I was considered a radical, and my professor sought to discredit all of my anecdotal evidence by saying I was too young to know what I "really" was yet.

That this book exists vindicates me on both a personal and professional level, and I hope will help all the rest of us "freaks" who exist outside the boxes come to terms with the idea that our chaos is the way things are meant to be, and that we should always refuse attempts at being ordered.

Edward Stein is a brilliant philosopher and writer in the best traditions of philosophy: he tries to help us make sense of our most deeply held values and interests. On every page of this book I found something to challenge and provoke my thinking. I predict that it will take some time for the controversial hypotheses and arguments about sexual orientation to become fully assimilated in our collective thinking about these topics, but once they do, they will forever change the terms of our conversations about innateness, choice, identity, sexuality, and value. The world needs more books like this.

Stein's book is an extremely well-written piece of literature. He manages to discuss issues that are normally excruciatingly difficult to put together logically and does so in layman's terms. Beyond just his ability to speak about the topics of coming out and questioning why we as a society question homosexuality, he really forces the reader to question personal beliefs. Do I understand what it means to come out? Do I believe that homosexuality is essential or constructed? Why? Can I fight the counter arguments? The whole time you don't really no where he stands either. It is a very good overview for the person who is trying to discover what it all means. It will drive you to question yourself and teach you how to argue for what you believe. Anyone who has any questions about homosexuality or what it means to society should read this book. Even if you don't agree with everything he says at least you will think about it first. Also, I really loved the chapter about Zomnia. How silly are own constructions are!

It's too bad that the reviewer from Seattle found Stein's book less inspiring than she'd hoped. If she found it tough going, it's because the issues themselves are complex and difficult. Stein writes with exceptional clarity. A chief strength of the book is Stein's analysis of contending scientific theories of sexual orientation. Overall the book is comprehensive, critical, and illuminating.

THE MISMEASURE OF DESIRE is a scholarly work examining the current trends in research on the origins of sexual orientation and the ethics of using the information we glean from such research. Edward Stein, a professor of philosophy, tackles the complicated issues of what is homosexuality, how we study it and research it, and the underlying assumptions and desires of science and the public in the search for causes. His discussions and the parallels to gender and religious freedom are described clearly. You don't need a Ph.D. in philosophy to read this book! His emphasis on respect for differences and a call for being aware of the limits of our current knowledge are refreshing and hopeful. I especially liked his questioning our whole concept of "homosexuality" as a natural or social kind.

~~Joan Mazza, author of Dream Back Your Life; Dreaming Your Real Self; Things That Tick Me Off; and Exploring Your Sexual Self.

I found this to be a dry read but very interesting nonetheless. A great insight into theories reasoning why we are sexually oriented the way we are. Id recommend this to people that are good at staying focused. It took me a while!!

Stein's examination of how we define sexuality, deal with desire and how we examine and study human sexuality all come under the microscope of this amazing, smart and well-written book. I often recommend it to anyone who is questioning their sexuality, their desires or confused by why the taxonomy at times seems so ridiculous.

Many people can avoid a lot of pain and anguish by looking at Stein's work. Any discussion on sexuality must include this book. Although it is scholarly, it is not a difficult read, but some thoughts can be very eye-opening and deserve some time to simmer.

Excellent Book!

Stein claims that by applying philosophy to the study of sexual orientation, he has shed light on the subject, but it seems rather that he has muddled the issue by introducing metaphysical categories and distinctions, such as "natural kind," which are not meaningful or useful in science. After rehashing criticism of the work of such people as Simon LeVay and Dean Hamer, Stein proposes his own theory, which amounts to no more than the suggestion that it might be possible that we might perhaps create our own sexual orientation indirectly by means of choices that we make. Of course, Stein doesn't know what these choices are, or how they might cause a person to become gay, heterosexual, or bisexual. Nor does he present any scientific evidence to support his theory. After rejecting a direct genetic basis for sexual orientation, Stein spends several chapters expressing "worries" that scientists might actually discover a genetic cause for homosexuality, thereby enabling parents to choose the orientation of their child. Stein seems to realize his contradiction, but tries to extricate himself from it by claiming that people might believe that there is a genetic basis for sexual orientation, even if there isn't. He thereby implies that scientists are so deceitful and unethical that they would take advantage of public gullibility and claim that they had discovered a method to select a child's orientation, even if they knew that they hadn't, and that this deceit would somehow go undetected. Stein even explicitly makes the chilling suggestion that truth should be suppressed, if it might be harmful. Using this reasoning, there is no end to the truths that we could justifiably suppress. There are other problems with Stein's book. His discussion of homosexual behavior in animals is sorely deficient and could have been enriched by reading Bruce Bagemihl's book Biological Exuberance. Stein also does not discuss the role that religion has played, and still plays, in shaping attitudes about homosexality, or how his approach can overcomes this problem without the aid of science. Stein's book sounds as if it were written by a graduate student eagerly trying to impress his professors, but I can find little wisdom here.