Table Of ContentTh is exciting new book is essential for understanding sexuality and gender
in the 21st century. Topics range widely, from sexting to sexual assault. Many
chapters are deeply personal, but with broader social i mplications. Th is book
will stimulate animated conversation and deep thinking; it is one of the most
important books on gender and sexuality in the past thirty years.
Tom Digby, Professor of Philosophy, Springfield College, and author of
Love and War: How Militarism Shapes Sexuality and Romance
Th is sparkling book challenges us to pursue fresh critical thinking on feminist
issues of exploitation and empowerment, pointing out how we can use con-
structive dissent rather than destructive disagreement—a great addition to the
canon.
Loretta Ross, Former National Coordinator,
SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective
In our insanely fast-paced, Twitter-trigger world, discussion of sexuality and
gender too often consists solely of snarky knee-jerk statements that do noth-
ing to contest dominant thinking. Th ese essays, on the other hand, invite us to
think and rethink about power, and for the best reason of all: so that we can
equalize it. If you care about gender, sex, and politics, this book is for you.
Leora Tanenbaum, author of I Am Not a Slut:
Slut-Shaming in the Age of the Internet
Th is is a must-read for the academic and practical alike and should be in every
college sociology and psychology course. Th e fi rst chapter “ Hollaback!” is an
eye-opener and makes me want to join the movement. Th e book goes on to
unveil many truths we must all face.
Kristin Beck, former US Navy SEAL, and Candidate for
US Congress 2016
Forty years after the sex wars fi rst captured popular imagination, Shira Tarrant
makes it brilliantly clear that sex wars matter anew. In this edgy collection of
truth-tellers, contributors invite readers to open their minds, hearts, and con-
versations. Th ey redefi ne sexual literacy and challenge the very notion of taboo.
Bridging theory, practice, and competing perspectives, the book unsettles and
entices. As with the best in gender studies, it’s sure to hit a nerve.
Deborah Siegel, PhD, author of Sisterhood, Interrupted:
From Radical Women to Grrls Gone Wild
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GENDER, SEX, AND POLITICS
Gender, Sex, and Politics: In the Streets and Between the Sheets in the 21st Century
includes twenty-seven chapters organized into fi ve parts: Gender, Sexuality,
and Social Control; Pornography; Sex and Social Media; Dating, Desire, and
the Politics of Hooking Up; and Issues in Sexual Pleasure and Safety. Th is
anthology presents these topics using a point-counterpoint-diff erent point
framework. Its arguments and perspectives do not pit writers against each
other in a binary pro/con debate format. Instead, a variety of views are juxta-
posed to encourage critical thinking and robust conversation. Th is framework
enables readers to assess the strengths and shortcomings of confl icting ideas.
Th e chapters are organized in a way that will challenge cherished beliefs and
hone both academic and personal insight. G ender, Sex, and Politics is ideal for
sparking debates in introduction to women’s and gender studies, sexuality, and
gender courses.
Shira Tarrant , PhD, is Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
at California State University, Long Beach. She has written and edited sev-
eral books including Men and Feminism (Seal Press), When Sex Became Gender
(Routledge), and M en Speak Out: Views on Gender, Sex, and Power (Routledge).
Read more at http://shiratarrant.com.
Titles of Related Interest from Routledge
Men Speak Out: Views on Gender, Sex, and Power, Second Edition
Edited by Shira Tarrant
Women, Science, and Technology: A Reader in Feminist Science Studies,
Th ird Edition
Edited by Mary Wyer, Mary Barbercheck, Donna Cookmeyer, Hatice Ozturk, and
Marta Wayne
Reproduction and Society: Interdisciplinary Readings
Edited by Carole Joff e and Jennifer Reich
Gender Circuits: Bodies and Identities in a Technological Age,
Second Edition
By Eve Shapiro
Pursuing Intersectionality, Unsettling Dominant Imaginaries
By Vivian M. May
Th reshold Concepts in Women’s and Gender Studies: Ways of Seeing,
Th inking, and Knowing
By Christie Launius, and Holly Hassel
GENDER, SEX, AND
POLITICS
In the Streets and Between the Sheets in
the 21st Century
Edited by Shira Tarrant
First published 2016
by Routledge
711 Th ird Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2016 Taylor & Francis
Th e right of the editor to be identifi ed as the author of the editorial
material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted
in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation
without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Gender, sex, and politics : in the streets and between the sheets in the
21st century / edited by Shira Tarrant.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Sex—United States. 2. Social control—United States. 3. Social
media—United States. 4. Feminism—United States. I. Tarrant, Shira,
1963–
HQ18.U5G463 2015
306.70973—dc23
2015002725
ISBN: 978-0-415-73783-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-73784-5 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-81779-8 (ebk)
Typeset in Adobe Caslon
by ApexCoVantage, LLC
CONTENTS
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
PART I: GENDER, SEXUALITY, AND SOCIAL CONTROL 7
Th e Debates
1 Hollaback! You Have the Power to End Street Harassment 11
Emily May and Samuel Carter
2 “But Look at What She Was Wearing!”: Victim Blaming
and Street Harassment 22
Kimberly Fairchild
3 SlutWalk: A Stroll Th rough White Supremacy 33
Aura Bogado
4 Th e Body Wars: Sexuality, Social Control, and What Texas
Can Teach Us 38
Carrie Tilton-Jones
5 Th e Abortion Debate: How Do We Talk With Each Other
When We Disagree? 54
Caroline Heldman
CONTENTS vii
6 Sex and the Body: A 21st-Century Understanding of
Trans People 67
Noah E. Lewis
PART II: PORNOGRAPHY 81
Th e Debates
7 “You’re Taking a Class on What?!”: Studying Pornography
in College 85
Lynn Comella
8 Th e Porn Pandemic: What Can We Do? 97
Craig Gross
9 Just a John? Pornography and Men’s Choices 107
Robert Jensen
10 Male and Queer in the Porn Industry 113
Ned Henry
PART III: SEX AND SOCIAL MEDIA 121
Th e Debates
11 Slut-Shaming and the Sex Police: Social Media,
Sex, and Free Speech 125
Soraya Chemaly
12 Th e Revolutionary Possibilities of Online Trans and
Queer Communities 141
Jamie J. Hagen
13 Digital Indiscretions: Infi delity in the Age of Technology 155
Ebony A. Utley
14 Consensual Sexting and Child Pornography: Legal and
Cultural Controversies 169
Lara Karaian
15 Social Media and Sexual Safety: Quit Facebook, Don’t
Sext, and Other Futile Attempts to Protect Youth 185
Rena Bivens and Jordan Fairbairn
vviiiiii CONTENTS
16 Bye Felipe: Online Harassment and Straight Dating 199
Alexandra Tweten
PART IV: DATING, DESIRE, AND THE POLITICS OF
HOOKING UP 211
Th e Debates
17 Can Disabled People Have Sex? And Other Questions
You Probably Shouldn’t Ask Me If We Just Met 215
Jennifer Scott
18 Big Girls Need Love, Too: Dating While Fat (and Feminist) 222
Brittney Cooper
19 Are Women Bad at Orgasms? Understanding
the Gender Gap 227
Lisa Wade
20 Why We Hook Up: Searching for Sex or Looking for Love? 238
Justin R. Garcia and Helen E. Fisher
21 Everybody’s Not Hooking Up: Asexuality on
Campus and Beyond 251
Mark Carrigan interviews David Jay
PART V: ISSUES IN SEXUAL PLEASURE AND SAFETY 259
Th e Debates
22 Pleasure, Pain, and the Feminist Politics of Rough Sex 263
Marjorie Jolles
23 True Love Waits—Do Teens? Th e Importance of
Sexual Honesty 275
Janet Rosenbaum
24 Campus Sexual Assault: Myths, Facts, and Controversies 289
Nina M. Flores
25 Kiss and Sell: When Young Lady Authors Write
About Our Sex Lives 307
Allison McCarthy
CONTENTS iixx
