Sex-Life: A Critical Commentary on the History of Sexuality

Is sexuality innate or socially determined? How has the history of sexuality been constructed? What are the contributions to notions of sex and sexuality of feminists, lesbians and gays? And in what ways have the Right sought to synthesize biology and society in their desire for order? Don Milligan's survey introduces the literature and perspectives of writers from Freud to Scruton and provides a critical commentary along with explanation of the issues involved. Locating the history of sexuality at the intersection of philosophical, psychoanalytical, sociological, anthropological and demographic practice, he explores post-modern and deconstructionist approaches and the tensions between the essentialism of biology and the pluralism of social construction.