Book contents
- The Cambridge World History of Sexualities
- The Cambridge World History of Sexualities
- The Cambridge World History of Sexualities
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures in Volume II
- Contributors to Volume II
- Editors’ Preface to the Series
- 1 Human Sexuality: The Evolutionary Legacy of Mating, Parenting, and Family Formation
- 2 Sexuality in Ancient Egypt: Pleasures, Desires, Norms, and Representations
- 3 Sexuality in the Systems of Thought and Belief of the Ancient Near East
- 4 Sexuality in Traditional South Asian Systems of Thought and Belief
- 5 Discourses of Desire in Ancient Greece and Rome
- 6 Writing a History of Sexuality for Pre-Modern China
- 7 Sexuality in Traditional Systems of Thought and Belief in Pre-modern Japan
- 8 African Traditions of Sexualities
- 9 Sexuality in the Traditional Systems of Thought and Belief of the Americas
- 10 Oceanic Sexualities: Persistence, Change, Resistance
- 11 Sexuality in Buddhist Traditions
- 12 Sexuality in Jewish Traditions
- 13 Sexuality in Christian Traditions
- 14 Sexuality in Islamic Traditions
- 15 Scientific Sex in the Modern World
- 16 Sexuality in Marxism and Socialism
- 17 Feminism and Modern Sexuality
- 18 Post-Colonialism and Sexuality
- Index
- Contents to Volumes I, III, and IV
- References
15 - Scientific Sex in the Modern World
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 April 2024
Book contents
- The Cambridge World History of Sexualities
- The Cambridge World History of Sexualities
- The Cambridge World History of Sexualities
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures in Volume II
- Contributors to Volume II
- Editors’ Preface to the Series
- 1 Human Sexuality: The Evolutionary Legacy of Mating, Parenting, and Family Formation
- 2 Sexuality in Ancient Egypt: Pleasures, Desires, Norms, and Representations
- 3 Sexuality in the Systems of Thought and Belief of the Ancient Near East
- 4 Sexuality in Traditional South Asian Systems of Thought and Belief
- 5 Discourses of Desire in Ancient Greece and Rome
- 6 Writing a History of Sexuality for Pre-Modern China
- 7 Sexuality in Traditional Systems of Thought and Belief in Pre-modern Japan
- 8 African Traditions of Sexualities
- 9 Sexuality in the Traditional Systems of Thought and Belief of the Americas
- 10 Oceanic Sexualities: Persistence, Change, Resistance
- 11 Sexuality in Buddhist Traditions
- 12 Sexuality in Jewish Traditions
- 13 Sexuality in Christian Traditions
- 14 Sexuality in Islamic Traditions
- 15 Scientific Sex in the Modern World
- 16 Sexuality in Marxism and Socialism
- 17 Feminism and Modern Sexuality
- 18 Post-Colonialism and Sexuality
- Index
- Contents to Volumes I, III, and IV
- References
Summary
This chapter examines the origins and legacy of sexology – the scientific study of sexuality – in the modern world. First consolidated into a coherent programme in the late nineteenth century, sexology has its roots in the re-organization of knowledge about nature in the frameworks of taxonomy, evolutionism, and race. A pervasive preoccupation with heredity gave rise to powerful eugenics movements around the world. The interest in controlling variability and unlocking the secrets of the soul generated parallel developments in biomedicine, especially psychoanalysis and endocrinology. Sex experts worldwide converged in diagnosing cultural signs of homosexuality for the purpose of national modernization. As the centre of gravity in sexual science began to shift from Europe to North America, researchers gave growing support to the sex/gender distinction and redefined the meanings of normality. In the waning days of hereditarian theories, the rise of cultural anthropology coupled with a renewed scientific investment of colonial powers to reverse hierarchical templates of sexual practices and norms emanating from the metropoles. A public health crisis (HIV/AIDS), social movements (gender and sexual minority rights), and the systematization of research protocols (bioethics) shaped a comeback of biological sexology in the closing decades of the twentieth century.
Keywords
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge World History of Sexualities , pp. 314 - 339Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024
References
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