An edition of The Invention of Heterosexuality (1995)

The invention of heterosexuality

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Last edited by Erraticonteuse
July 7, 2023 | History
An edition of The Invention of Heterosexuality (1995)

The invention of heterosexuality

  • 2.0 (1 rating) ·
  • 18 Want to read
  • 2 Have read

This boldly original work reexamines our society's basic heterosexual/homosexual distinction - focusing on the evolution of the term heterosexual, which, as this study demonstrates, only entered our language a little more than a hundred years ago, ushering in a new way of dividing up and judging sexuality and people.

Exploring the startling history of the heterosexual concept, Jonathan Ned Katz reveals that as late as the 1920s, heterosexuality was still defined in a major American dictionary as "morbid sexual passion for one of the opposite sex." It was only through a slow process that heterosexuality became this society's dominant norm.

Analyzing the work of such pioneering students of sexuality as Sigmund Freud and Richard von Krafft-Ebing, Katz considers the effects of their ideas about the sacred primacy of heterosexuality on both scientific literature and popular culture. He also examines the varied commentaries on heterosexuality by such contemporary writers as James Baldwin, Betty Friedan, Adrienne Rich, Kate Millett, and Michel Foucault.

Publish Date
Publisher
Dutton
Language
English
Pages
291

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Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: The Invention of Heterosexuality
The Invention of Heterosexuality
June 15, 2007, University of Chicago Press
Paperback in English - New ed.
Cover of: The invention of heterosexuality
The invention of heterosexuality: with a new preface
2007, University of Chicago Press
in English - University of Chicago Press ed.
Cover of: The invention of heterosexuality
The invention of heterosexuality
1996, Plume
in English
Cover of: The invention of heterosexuality.
The invention of heterosexuality.
1996, Plume
in English
Cover of: The invention of heterosexuality
The invention of heterosexuality
1995, Dutton
in English
Cover of: The invention of heterosexuality
The invention of heterosexuality
1995, Dutton
in English

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Book Details


Edition Notes

Includes bibliographical references (p. [247]-281) and index.

Published in
New York

Classifications

Dewey Decimal Class
306.76/4
Library of Congress
HQ23 .K315 1995, HQ23.K315 1995

The Physical Object

Pagination
xi, 291 p. ;
Number of pages
291

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL1107385M
Internet Archive
inventionofheter00katzrich
ISBN 10
0525938451
LCCN
94032650
OCLC/WorldCat
31132802
Library Thing
107834
Goodreads
1326384

Work Description

“Heterosexuality,” assumed to denote a universal sexual and cultural norm, has been largely exempt from critical scrutiny. In this boldly original work, Jonathan Ned Katz challenges the common notion that the distinction between heterosexuality and homosexuality has been a timeless one.

Building on the history of medical terminology, he reveals that as late as 1923, the term “heterosexuality” referred to a "morbid sexual passion," and that its current usage emerged to legitimate men and women having sex for pleasure. Drawing on the works of Sigmund Freud, James Baldwin, Betty Friedan, and Michel Foucault, The Invention of Heterosexuality considers the effects of heterosexuality’s recently forged primacy on both scientific literature and popular culture.

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History

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July 7, 2023 Edited by Erraticonteuse Edited without comment.
November 5, 2021 Edited by Jenner Update covers
August 6, 2021 Edited by New York Times Bestsellers Bot Add NYT review links
July 5, 2021 Edited by Jenner merge authors
December 9, 2009 Created by WorkBot add works page