The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States (Paperback)

~ Edward O. Laumann (Author), John H. Gagnon (Author), Robert T. Michael (Author), Stuart Michaels (Author) "Human sexual behavior is a diverse phenomenon..." (more)
Key Phrases: master status variables, last sexual event, libertarian cluster, Men Women, United States, Tests of Independence (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Based on the National Health and Social Life Survey, a 1992 nationwide survey of 3432 American men and women between the ages of 18 and 59, this is one of two books reporting on the findings. This book is intended for professional social scientists, counselors, and health professionals, while Robert T. Michael and others' Sex in America, just published by Little, Brown, anticipates a more general audience. Beginning with the theoretical foundations, rationale for, and design of the methodology, the authors put the work in historical context as they assert its accuracy and generalizations, urging caution about interpretation and implications of their sometimes surprising findings. Though the study was designed largely to "fill significant gaps in our knowledge of sexual behavior associated with the acquisition of the AIDS virus," this book achieves a refreshingly readable examination of masturbation, sexually transmitted infections, cohabitation and marriage, fertility, and homosexuality. The text throughout is buttressed by graphs, charts, tables, diagrams, appendixes, bibliographic references, and author and subject indexes (not seen). For academic collections.
James E. Van Buskirk, San Francisco P.L.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the Year

The Social Organization of Sexuality reports the complete results of the nation's most comprehensive representative survey of sexual practices in the general adult population of the United States. This highly detailed portrait of sex in America and its social context and implications has established a new and original scientific orientation to the study of sexual behavior.

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Product Details Paperback: 750 pages Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (December 15, 2000) Language: English ISBN-10: 0226470202 ISBN-13: 978-0226470207 Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.6 inches Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #587,357 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
Human sexual behavior is a diverse phenomenon. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
master status variables, last sexual event, libertarian cluster, cohabitational partner, last sex event, most recent sexual event, partner nonmonogamous, heterophilous relationships, little autoerotic activity, sex with this partner, whose first union, active oral sex, row percentages sum, odds ratio point estimates, cohabitational relationships, first sexual involvement, master status characteristics, secondary sex partner, first vaginal intercourse, sex before age eighteen, partnered sex, whole adult lifetime, secondary partner, more other partners, cohabitational union

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Men Women, United States, Tests of Independence, General Social Survey, Native American, Protestant Church, Black Catholic Type, Roman Catholic, Age Age, Never Some Always, New England, Kinsey Institute, Secondary Partner Status, National Survey of Family Growth, Satisfied Loved, Women Traditional, World War, Bureau of the Census, Christopher Browning, Conservative Pro-choice Relational, Current Population Survey, National Survey of Men, Pacific Islander, Rarely Never, Religious Conventional Contemporary

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Citations (learn more)

100 books cite this book:

• Hard Bargains: The Politics of Sex by Linda R. Hirshman on page 203, page 243, and page 297
• How to Talk with Teens About Love, Relationships, & S-E-X: A Guide for Parents by Charles D. Miron Ph.D. in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
• Sexualities in Context: A Social Perspective by Rebecca F. Plante in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
• '...And Then I Became Gay': Young Men's Stories by Ritch C. Savin-Williams in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
• Same sex Marriage: Putting Every Household At Risk by Mathew D. Staver in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)

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Books on Related Topics (learn more)

Family Transformed by Steven M. Tipton

Discusses:

• secondary sex partner
• sex before age eighteen
• partnered sex

Handbook of Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health by Gina M. Wingood

Discusses:

• last sexual event
• libertarian cluster
• cohabitational partner

Sex in America by Edward Laumann

Discusses:

• active oral sex
• first vaginal intercourse
• General Social Survey

Sex, Love, and Health in America by Edward O. Laumann

Discusses:

• most recent sexual event
• active oral sex
• master status characteristics

The Handbook of Sexuality in Close Relationships by John H. Harvey

Discusses:

• last sex event
• first sexual involvement
• first vaginal intercourse

Network Epidemiology by Martina Morris

Discusses:

• cohabitational partner
• last sex event
• sex with this partner

Family Transformed by Steven M. Tipton Discusses: secondary sex partner sex before age eighteen partnered sex Handbook of Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health by Gina M. Wingood Discusses: last sexual event libertarian cluster cohabitational partner Sex in America by Edward Laumann Discusses: active oral sex first vaginal intercourse General Social Survey Sex, Love, and Health in America by Edward O. Laumann Discusses: most recent sexual event active oral sex master status characteristics Loading...

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	76% buy the item featured on this page: The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States 3.5 out of 5 stars (4) $32.40
	19% buy Sex in America 3.5 out of 5 stars (6) $16.19
	2% buy The History of Sexuality, Vol. 1: An Introduction 3.7 out of 5 stars (31) $9.80
	2% buy The Sexual Organization of the City 3.0 out of 5 stars (2) $23.00

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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews 5 star:  (1) 4 star:  (2) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:  (1)           Average Customer Review 3.5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 19 of 22 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Most Comprehensive Book on Sexuality, February 13, 2000 By  S. M Marson (Lumberton, NC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States (Hardcover) We have adopted this title as a textbook for our Social Aspect of Human Sexuality course. In addition to our sexuality course, I use data from The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States for my courses in Social Statistics and Research Methods. I note the importance of employing random sampling by contrasting this data to data collected found in Shere Hite's The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality (#06963). The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States is clearly a scholarly book. The authors also published a volume for the general public entitled: Sex in America: A Definitive Survey. This title includes nearly the same information. However, it is much more readable, but doesn't included all the scholarly details. At this point in time, it is not likely that readers can find a more comprehensive study on human sexuality. 10 of 11 people found the following review helpful: 1.0 out of 5 stars Dig for the Truth, December 22, 2007 By  Jack Little - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    I am not a sexual scientist nor a professional survey taker, but I am very comfortable with statistics, data gathering and analysis as used in statistical process and machinery control. I purchased S. O. S. for use as an unbiased source of statistics on male/female couples sexual practices, preferences and fantasies. Unfortunately this survey and report are not that unbiased source. Throughout this book the authors make reference to the political opposition to this survey. Those politicians and others opposed fear that if the survey shows that a certain sexual act is common (and it's something they personally feel is wrong) then that will encourage others to do it. I have come to realize the extent and far reaching effects of this pressure. My first hint of something wrong was the use of entirely bogus figures to calculate the preference match of receiving and giving oral sex (page 166). Their calculations showed only 9% of couples where both partners liked giving and receiving oral sex. The calculation using the real statistics (taken from their own tables on page 162) shows a 60% agreement mutually enjoying oral sex. When I found more things like this, missing data, unreported group statistics, unlabeled graphs not described in text, and some unbelievable statistics, I finally went to the questionnaire in the appendix. WOW, I could not believe my eyes. They were not guaranteeing confidentiality. In fact, they were taking personal information to positively identify not only the test taker, but the NAMES of all sexual partners, ALL. I don't know about you, but that would inhibit my responses. Privacy, confidentiality and security are easily accomplished and absolutely necessary for a survey of this kind of sensitive subject. While cruising the questionnaire I realized that much of the missing data had actually been asked, just not reported in the tables and text of the book. Since I was having to check and double check any statistic that I wanted to use, I came across another very dishonest method to deceive. If you want to prove something that really isn't true, you can make your false statement then use something different as proof passing it off as the same thing. Example: page 135 - Table stating only 2% of women use a vibrator. The question asked to prove this was - "Have you purchased a vibrator in the last 12 months?" Aunt Girdie who purchased her Hitachi Super-O vibrator 20 some years ago and used it every day would not be counted. Hmmmm! The discrepancies I found involved oral sex, masturbation, anal sex, and sex under 18 years of age. There could be problems in the other stuff, but I got tired of looking. Conclusion: There were some good people involved in this survey (the data to prove most of these faults were buried but still in the data). The censorship of the Adolf Hitlers of our country showed throughout. The weak willed university management and project directors sold their souls (probably to obtain further monies in future contracts). I expected so much more. This survey infuriates me since it could (and should) be so much more. If you believe that more than half of the men and three fourths of the women in the U. S. do not like RECEIVING oral sex, then this book is for you (page 166). 4.0 out of 5 stars The First Word On American Sexuality, April 30, 2008 By  J. Jantzer "tydigame" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This book is a must-have for any social scientist interested in sexual behavior in the U.S. The writing is clear, and until enough research is published using some of the other more recent samples (i.e. the Add Health), there are literally no other researchers with data of this quality. However, there are some problems. With a sample of only 4,000 or so, there are many smaller groups which are featured in chapters of their own, but for which there were only a few hundred participants. Specifically, the chapter about homosexuality must be taken with a grain of salt. Additionally, the analytical techniques used were often rather simple, rarely more complex than a cross-tab, and more advanced approaches may have been suitable in some circumstances. Despite these shortcomings, this is a remarkably useful text, and extremely easy to read for research of its level of complexity.		Most Recent Customer Reviews 4.0 out of 5 stars Warts and All it ain't that bad I am not a person of scientific stature or training. I am a relatively skeptical person. The writers of this piece of work describe the problems that ran with the initial setting... Read more Published 14 months ago by David Champion Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 750 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (December 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226470202
• ISBN-13: 978-0226470207
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #587,357 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most Comprehensive Book on Sexuality, February 13, 2000

By	S. M Marson (Lumberton, NC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States (Hardcover)

We have adopted this title as a textbook for our Social Aspect of Human Sexuality course. In addition to our sexuality course, I use data from The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States for my courses in Social Statistics and Research Methods. I note the importance of employing random sampling by contrasting this data to data collected found in Shere Hite's The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality (#06963).

The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States is clearly a scholarly book. The authors also published a volume for the general public entitled: Sex in America: A Definitive Survey. This title includes nearly the same information. However, it is much more readable, but doesn't included all the scholarly details.

At this point in time, it is not likely that readers can find a more comprehensive study on human sexuality.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Dig for the Truth, December 22, 2007

By	Jack Little - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am not a sexual scientist nor a professional survey taker, but I am very comfortable with statistics, data gathering and analysis as used in statistical process and machinery control. I purchased S. O. S. for use as an unbiased source of statistics on male/female couples sexual practices, preferences and fantasies. Unfortunately this survey and report are not that unbiased source.
Throughout this book the authors make reference to the political opposition to this survey. Those politicians and others opposed fear that if the survey shows that a certain sexual act is common (and it's something they personally feel is wrong) then that will encourage others to do it. I have come to realize the extent and far reaching effects of this pressure.
My first hint of something wrong was the use of entirely bogus figures to calculate the preference match of receiving and giving oral sex (page 166). Their calculations showed only 9% of couples where both partners liked giving and receiving oral sex. The calculation using the real statistics (taken from their own tables on page 162) shows a 60% agreement mutually enjoying oral sex.
When I found more things like this, missing data, unreported group statistics, unlabeled graphs not described in text, and some unbelievable statistics, I finally went to the questionnaire in the appendix. WOW, I could not believe my eyes. They were not guaranteeing confidentiality. In fact, they were taking personal information to positively identify not only the test taker, but the NAMES of all sexual partners, ALL. I don't know about you, but that would inhibit my responses. Privacy, confidentiality and security are easily accomplished and absolutely necessary for a survey of this kind of sensitive subject.
While cruising the questionnaire I realized that much of the missing data had actually been asked, just not reported in the tables and text of the book. Since I was having to check and double check any statistic that I wanted to use, I came across another very dishonest method to deceive. If you want to prove something that really isn't true, you can make your false statement then use something different as proof passing it off as the same thing. Example: page 135 - Table stating only 2% of women use a vibrator. The question asked to prove this was - "Have you purchased a vibrator in the last 12 months?" Aunt Girdie who purchased her Hitachi Super-O vibrator 20 some years ago and used it every day would not be counted. Hmmmm!
The discrepancies I found involved oral sex, masturbation, anal sex, and sex under 18 years of age. There could be problems in the other stuff, but I got tired of looking.
Conclusion: There were some good people involved in this survey (the data to prove most of these faults were buried but still in the data). The censorship of the Adolf Hitlers of our country showed throughout. The weak willed university management and project directors sold their souls (probably to obtain further monies in future contracts). I expected so much more. This survey infuriates me since it could (and should) be so much more.
If you believe that more than half of the men and three fourths of the women in the U. S. do not like RECEIVING oral sex, then this book is for you (page 166).

4.0 out of 5 stars The First Word On American Sexuality, April 30, 2008

By	J. Jantzer "tydigame" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is a must-have for any social scientist interested in sexual behavior in the U.S. The writing is clear, and until enough research is published using some of the other more recent samples (i.e. the Add Health), there are literally no other researchers with data of this quality.

However, there are some problems. With a sample of only 4,000 or so, there are many smaller groups which are featured in chapters of their own, but for which there were only a few hundred participants. Specifically, the chapter about homosexuality must be taken with a grain of salt. Additionally, the analytical techniques used were often rather simple, rarely more complex than a cross-tab, and more advanced approaches may have been suitable in some circumstances.

Despite these shortcomings, this is a remarkably useful text, and extremely easy to read for research of its level of complexity.