Sexual Deviance and Society

Book excerpt: In a society where sexualized media has become background noise, we are frequently discouraged from frank and open discussions about sex and offered few tools for understanding sexual behaviors and sexualities that are perceived as being out of the norm. This book encourages readers to establish new ways of thinking about stigmatized peoples and behaviors, and to think critically about gender, sex, sexuality and sex crimes. Sexual Deviance and Society uses sociological theories of crime, deviance, gender and sexuality to construct a framework for understanding sexual deviance. This book is divided into four units: Unit I, Sociology of Deviance and Sexuality, lays the foundation for understanding sex and sexuality through sociological frameworks of deviance. Unit II, Sexual Deviance, provides an in depth dialogue to its readers about the sociological constructions of sexual deviance with a critical focus on contemporary and historical conceptualizations. Unit III, Deviant Sexual Acts, explores a variety of deviant sexual acts in detail, including sex in public, fetishes, and sex work. Unit IV, Sex Crimes and Criminals, examines rape and sexual assault, sex crimes against children, and societal responses to sex offenders and their treatment within the criminal justice system. Utilizing an integrative approach that creates a dialogue between the subjects of gender, criminology and deviance, this book is a key resource for students interested in crime and deviance, gender and sexuality, and the sociology of deviance.