Same Sex: Debating the Ethics, Science, and Culture of Homosexuality / Edition 1

by John Corvino, Daryl J. Bem, John Boswell, David Bradshaw, William Byne

Overview

...attempts to substitute reason and scholarship for diatribe.—The Washington Post Are gay rights equal rights or special rights? Is homosexuality immoral? While contributors to Same Sex, including the late John Boswell, David M. Halperin, and George Chauncey, often clash in opinion, they share a fundamental commintment to careful, rational discussion. Essential reading for anyone looking towards a better understanding of gays, lesbians, and the issues that surround them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780847684830
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	01/01/1999
Series:	Studies in Social, Political, and Legal Philosophy
Pages:	422
Product dimensions:	6.06(w) x 9.07(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

John Corvino teaches philosophy at Wayne State University. His articles on the subject have appeared in The Harvard Gay and Lesbian Review and in the anthology Do We Need Minority Rights? Conceptual Issues. He resides in Austin, Texas.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Acknowledgments

I. Morality and Religion
1 Why Shouldn't Tommy and Jim Have Sex? A Defense of Homosexuality
2 A Reply to Corvino
3 Law, Morality, and "Sexual Orientation"
4 Homosexual Conduct: A Reply to the New Natural Lawyers
5 The Homosexual Movement
6 A Reply to the Ramsey Colloquium
7 The Bible on Homosexuality: Ethically Neutral
8 Romans 1:26-27 and Biblical Sexuality

II. Science and Identity
9 The Origins of Sexual Orientation: Possible Biological Contributions
10 The Exotic-Becomes-Erotic Theory of Sexual Orientation
11 The Ethical Relevance of Scientific Research on Sexual Orientation
12 Diversity and Variability in Women's Sexual Identities
13 Explaining Homosexuality: Who Cares Anyhow?

III. Identity and History
14 Aristophanes' Speech from the Symposium Plato
15 Revolutions, Universals, and Sexual Categories
16 Sex Before Sexuality: Pederasty, Politics, and Power in Classical Athens
17 The Reproduction of Butch-Fem Roles: A Social Constructionist Approach
18 Christian Brotherhood or Sexual Perversion? Homosexual Identities and the Construction of Sexual Boundaries in the World War I Era
19 Strangers at Home: Bisexuals in the Queer Movement

IV. Public Policy
20 Make Love, Not War: The Pentagon's Ban is Wise and Just
21 Dry-cleaning the Troops and Other Matters: A Critique of Don't Ask. Don't Tell
22 The Case for Outing
23 Outing, Ethics, and Politics: A Reply to Mohr
24 How Domestic Partnerships and "Gay Marriage" Threaten the Family
25 Who Needs Marriage?
26 Against Marriage
27 A Gay and Straight Agenda

Notes
Index
About the Contributors

Editorial Reviews

This is a thoughtful book, one that provides plenty of space for reflection and drawing one's own conclusions—or seeking further information.

National Catholic Reporter

One welcomes with enthusiasm, therefore, Same Sex, a series of twenty-seven essays which gives space to arguments on both, or more, sides of many of the issues surrounding homosexuality, and genuinely seeks to engage in intellectual debate.

Times Literary Supplement

This series of essays and responses makes for a calm, measured debate on the morality of homosexuality and of society's treatment of homosexuals. .. [and] attempts to substitute reason and scholarship for diatribe.

The Instrumentalist

Exceptionally comprehensive, admirably balanced, endlessly thought-provoking."

Bruce Bawer

This series of essays and responses makes for a calm, measured debate on the morality of homosexuality and of society's treatment of homosexuals . . . [and] attempts to substitute reason and scholarship for diatribe.

Washington Post Book World

One welcomes with enthusiasm, therefore, Same Sex, a series of twenty-seven essays which gives space to arguments on both, or more, sides of many of the issues surrounding homosexuality, and genuinely seeks to engage in intellectual debate.

Times Literary Supplement (UK)

[An] extremely useful collection of original pieces and recent classics.

Chesire Calhoun

.. . lucidly distinguishes among nature/nurture, essentialist/constructionist, and determinist/voluntarist. . .

Susan Henking