A variation on the nature/nurture debate that comes down forcefully on the side of nurture to challenge the assumption that sex is natural. An adamant supporter of social constructionism as a theoretical basis for understanding the world, Tiefer (Urology and Psychiatry/Albert Einstein College of Medicine) critically analyzes the history of the study of sexuality, or sexology, in these essays reprinted from various popular and professional journals. Tiefer notes a dearth of good research, concluding that what exists has been hindered by definitional problems and persistent ``biological determinism.'' The author further claims that prefeminist investigations of sexuality served men's needs by focusing on physical senses while ignoring emotions. Throughout the essays, she weaves a sharp critique of Masters and Johnson, who based their pioneering study of sexuality on a biological model, which rendered their research methodologically flawed, in Tiefer's view. Repeatedly, Tiefer tries to debunk the idea that sex is a natural act. Her argument is strong, using analogies, for instance, that compare learning to have sex to learning to ride a bike: It requires instruction, guidance, and practice. Several of the essays serve to flesh out the old debate within feminism of ``sameness versus difference,'' which attempts to determine whether men and women are essentially the same or different, since sexual theory evolves differently depending upon the presupposition. For Tiefer, the project facing sexologists is ``to define and locate sexuality in personal, relational, and cultural, rather than physical, terms.'' Given this emphasis on culture, rather than biology, however, the fact that she waits until the concluding chapter to admit her neglect of race and class in considerations of sexuality is a serious shortcoming. Despite a few too many chapters and a few too many repetitions, Tiefer handles her challenge to the study of sexuality with poise.
Pub Date: Feb. 6, 1995
ISBN: 0-8133-1658-8
Page Count: 225
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1994
A heartfelt if somewhat unsurprising view of old age by the former president. Carter (Living Faith, 1996, etc.) succinctly evaluates the evolution and current status of federal policies concerning the elderly (including a balanced appraisal of the difficulties facing the Social Security system). He also meditates, while drawing heavily on autobiographical anecdotes, on the possibilities for exploration and intellectual and spiritual growth in old age. There are few lightning bolts to dazzle in his prescriptions (cultivate family ties; pursue the restorative pleasures of hobbies and socially minded activities). Yet the warmth and frankness of Carter’s remarks prove disarming. Given its brevity, the work is more of a call to senior citizens to reconsider how best to live life than it is a guide to any of the details involved.
Pub Date: Oct. 26, 1998
ISBN: 0-345-42592-8
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1998
A clear and candid contribution to an essential conversation.
Straight talk to blacks and whites about the realities of racism.
In her feisty debut book, Oluo, essayist, blogger, and editor at large at the Establishment magazine, writes from the perspective of a black, queer, middle-class, college-educated woman living in a “white supremacist country.” The daughter of a white single mother, brought up in largely white Seattle, she sees race as “one of the most defining forces” in her life. Throughout the book, Oluo responds to questions that she has often been asked, and others that she wishes were asked, about racism “in our workplace, our government, our homes, and ourselves.” “Is it really about race?” she is asked by whites who insist that class is a greater source of oppression. “Is police brutality really about race?” “What is cultural appropriation?” and “What is the model minority myth?” Her sharp, no-nonsense answers include talking points for both blacks and whites. She explains, for example, “when somebody asks you to ‘check your privilege’ they are asking you to pause and consider how the advantages you’ve had in life are contributing to your opinions and actions, and how the lack of disadvantages in certain areas is keeping you from fully understanding the struggles others are facing.” She unpacks the complicated term “intersectionality”: the idea that social justice must consider “a myriad of identities—our gender, class, race, sexuality, and so much more—that inform our experiences in life.” She asks whites to realize that when people of color talk about systemic racism, “they are opening up all of that pain and fear and anger to you” and are asking that they be heard. After devoting most of the book to talking, Oluo finishes with a chapter on action and its urgency. Action includes pressing for reform in schools, unions, and local governments; boycotting businesses that exploit people of color; contributing money to social justice organizations; and, most of all, voting for candidates who make “diversity, inclusion and racial justice a priority.”
A clear and candid contribution to an essential conversation.Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-58005-677-9
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Seal Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 8, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2017
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