Sex and Sexuality: [3 volumes]

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Description

An unprecedented source of information about sex and sexuality at the start of the 21st century, these volumes include research, current events and new developments in subjects ranging from hypersexuality, sex for the aged, and sex therapy, to orgasmic disorders, sexual fetishism and sadism. Controversial subjects such as pornography, nude dancing and prostitution are explored, as are dysfunctions, from lack of sexual desire to gender identity disorder. Pedophilia and other crimes are also addressed. The remarkable team of contributing authors includes psychologists, sociologists, psychiatrists, medical doctors and public health officials. They provide fresh insights on sex in America today, on sexual development in childhood, midlife and the senior years, and on the influence of media and the family in the social construction of sex and sexuality. The books also offer insights into the psychology of sexual arousal and the effects medication can have on sexual function, and they shed light on such little-heralded studies as those on sex and race, and sex and religion.

Reviews

Written by authors with established expertise in their areas, this sophisticated three-volume overview and summary of research data on a wide variety of sexual topics attempts to review what is known about human sexuality and how we know it. Volume 1 covers such topics as sex behavior in the US, sexual orientation, and commercial sex. Volume 2 looks at love, sexual-arousal disorders, and sex therapy. Volume 3 deals with such topics as rape and pedophilia and the treatment of those who commit these acts. McAnulty and Burnette assured a broad audience in insisting that the contributors adhere to (and present) the facts and write in a manner accessible to interested laypersons. Throughout, philosophical differences in understanding sexual behavior--e.g., the evolutionary and the sociocultural approaches--are highlighted. Redundancy in material covered is unavoidable but not distracting; the chapter references are copious and valuable. Essential. All readers; all levels. * Choice *
Writing for a general audience, the contributing psychologists, sociologists, medical doctors and public health officials work from the idea that human sexual function is affected by many factors, including those that are biological, sociocultural and psychological. However, caution the editors, readers must also understand they may be approaching this material with strong beliefs about sex and sexuality based on cultural prohibitions. * Reference & Research Book News *

Author Bio

Richard D. McAnulty is a practicing clinical psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He has co-authored two textbooks on sexuality and authored or co-authored articles published in Archives of Sexual Behavior, Journal of Sex Research, Psychological Reports, and International Journal of Addictions. M. Michele Burnette is a licensed psychologist and the co-author of two textbooks on sexuality.