| The Sexual Organization of the City Contributor(s): Laumann, Edward O. (Editor), Ellingson, Stephen (Editor), Mahay, Jenna (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0226468976 ISBN-13: 9780226468976 Publisher: University of Chicago Press OUR PRICE: $36.63 Product Type: Paperback Published: November 2005 Annotation: We think of the city as a place where anything goes. Take the sensational fantasies and lurid antics of single women on "Sex in the City" or young men on "Queer as Folk," and you might imagine the city as some kind of sexual playground--a place where you can have any kind of sex you want, with whomever you like, anytime or anywhere you choose. But in "The Sexual Organization of the City," Edward Laumann and company argue that this idea is a myth. Drawing on extensive surveys and interviews with Chicago adults, they show that the city is--to the contrary--a place where sexual choices and options are constrained. From Wicker Park and Boys Town to the South Side and Pilsen, they observe that sexual behavior and partnering are significantly limited by such factors as which neighborhood you live in, your ethnicity, what your sexual preference might be, or the circle of friends to which you belong. In other words, the social and institutional "networks" that city dwellers occupy potentially limit their sexual options by making different types of sexual activities, relationships, or meeting places less accessible. To explain this idea of sex in the city, the editors of this work develop a theory of sexual marketplaces--the places where people look for sexual partners. They then use this theory to consider a variety of questions about sexuality: Why do sexual partnerships rarely cross racial and ethnic lines, even in neighborhoods where relatively few same-ethnicity partners are available? Why do gay men and lesbians have few public meeting spots in some neighborhoods, but a wide variety in others? Why are African Americans less likely to marry than whites? Does having a lot of friendsmake you less likely to get a sexually transmitted disease? And why do public health campaigns promoting safe sex seem to change the behaviors of some, but not others? Considering vital questions such as these, and shedding new light on the city of Chicago, this work will profoundly recast our ideas about human sexual behavior. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Sociology - Urban - Psychology | Human Sexuality (see Also Social Science - Human Sexuality) |
| Dewey: 306.709 |
| Physical Information: 0.91" H x 6.1" W x 9.02" (1.29 lbs) 435 pages |
| Themes: - Demographic Orientation - Urban |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Drawing on extensive surveys and interviews with Chicago adults, Edward O. Laumann and his colleagues show that the city is, in the face of pop culture evidence to the contrary, a place where sexual choices and options are constrained. From Wicker Park and Boys Town to the South Side and Pilsen, the editors observe that sexual behavior and partnering are significantly limited by such factors as the neighborhood you live in, your ethnicity, your sexual preference, and the circle of friends to which you belong. In other words, the social and institutional networks that city dwellers occupy potentially limit their sexual options by making different types of sexual activities, relationships, or meeting places less accessible. The Sexual Organization of the City is billed as a sort of academic 'Sex in the City'--though one that examines a more diverse slice of metropolitan life. Over three years, sociologist Edward O. Laumann and his colleagues questioned 2,114 people in four Chicago neighborhoods on everything from how many partners they'd had in their lives and where they met them to whether they were cheating. . . . The result is yet another glimpse of American sexual paradoxes.--Christopher Shea, Boston Globe |
Contributor Bio(s): Ellingson, Stephen: - Stephen Ellingson is associate professor of sociology at Hamilton College. He is the author of The Megachurch and the Mainline, also published by the University of Chicago Press. |
