The origins of sex A history of the first sexual revolution

Review by Choice Review

In this lively and massively researched book, historian Dabhoiwala (Exeter College, Oxford) makes a convincing case that modern attitudes to sex in Britain derive from the changes in thought and sensibility that constituted the European Enlightenment. The thesis is not wholly original; others have provided fragmentary support for it. What distinguishes this book is its grand sweep. Its chronology ranges from the Middle Ages--when popular opinion reinforced the efforts of religious and secular authorities to regulate sexual discipline--to the 21st century and the struggle to extend the benefits of sexual liberation beyond the heterosexual majority. The key changes, according to Dabhoiwala, came in the long 18th century. Despite some frantic efforts to revive it, the policing of sexual activity receded, and prostitutes became objects of philanthropy rather than persecution. Dabhoiwala recognizes that the early beneficiaries of the sexual revolution were upper-class men, but he understates the extent to which Enlightenment thought, with its emphasis on the "natural," had some ominous implications for homosexuals. He is aware, however, that the sexual revolution was a mixed blessing that brought with it new forms of sexual exploitation. Endnotes; no bibliography. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries. J. Sainsbury Brock University

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.

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Review by Library Journal Review

Dabhoiwala (modern history, Exeter Coll., Oxford Univ.) here argues for the importance of what he calls the first sexual revolution. He locates an apex of civil and religious enforcement against sexual behavior in 16th-century England, where adultery was a capital crime. He works meticulously through the historical records of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries to show how English culture evolved intellectually, politically, and socially to arrive at modern ideas of sexual liberty, gender equality, and the privatization of sex-ideas that continued to evolve and transform culture during the 20th century. VERDICT While no consideration is given to non-English history (e.g., developments in France and Holland, though surely there was a cross-fertilization of ideas), this book is highly recommended to readers interested in English history and the history of sexuality. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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