SEXUAL DEVIANCE AND SEXUAL DEVIANTS

An anthology of essays -- some previously published -- devoted to establishing, in the editors' words, that ""deviance is in the eye of the beholder,"" and ""we have not even begun to imagine the limits of our sexual potential, let alone practice them."" The two beginning articles -- one on the free habits in Polynesia, the other on severe repression in Ireland -- illustrates the full range of existing possibilities. The pieces are grouped into six categories: pornography, prostitution, male homosexuality, lesbianism, rape and ""kinky"" sex. Gail Sheehy writes of the ""real profiteers"" in whoredom; Christina and Richard Milner portray black pimping as a response to racism; Richard Troiden observes homosexual encounters in a highway rest stop; Denise M. Cronin argues that lesbians are rarely ""promiscuous""; Susan Griffin exposes the pervasiveness of rape; and Parker Rossman examines the practice of pederasty. There are many other contributions -- from first-hand confessionals to government reports. The most salient feature that emerges is the difficulty of definition -- how do we conceptually differentiate deviance from normality? Goode and Troiden offer a provocative point of view, but these essays do not refute the claims of Freudians and ethologists -- as they purport to. A more thoroughgoing dissection will have to be awaited.