When Sex Goes to School: Warring Views on Sex--And Sex Education--Since the Sixties

by Kristin Luker

Book Overview

"The drama of this book comes from watching the exceptionally thoughtful Luker try to figure sex education] out" (Judith Shulevitz, New York Times Book Review). In doing so, Luker also traces the origins of sex education from the turn-of-the-century hygienist movement to the marriage-obsessed 1950s and the sexual and gender upheavals of the 1960s. Her unexpected conclusions make it impossible to look at the intersections of the private and the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393329968
• ISBN13: 9780393329964
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.6" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Interesting & Fair Discussion of Hot-Button Issue

I was pleasantly surprised by the generally fair presentation by Dr. Luker in "When Sex Goes to School". Given that she is a feminist sociologist at UC Berkeley, I had expected a very biased treatment of those holding traditional views of sexuality. However, she demonstrated a real understanding of the issues, particularly in how conservatives are not "anti-sex" (the typical liberal claim) but in actuality value sex very highly as something sacred. The whole battle stems from the two sides holding fundamentally different views of sexuality: something "natural" vs. something sacred. The one thing that annoyed me about the book was Dr. Luker's stereotypes about conservative women. She portrays them all as less interested in education & career and believers in patriarchy. We may be traditional in certain areas, but that doesn't mean we're traditional in *everything*. We may be bright & ambitious, feel that men & women are equal (although not identical), and still hold that the proper place for sex is between a husband & wife.

Great writing from a great sociologist

This was an engaging book to read and it was also well researched. I had Kristen Luker as a professor and true to form, she is fair in her research and portrays both sides of an issue so that each makes sense to the reader. She is a very talented sociologist and unlike some sociologists, she's also manages to write an interesting book. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the debate over sex education.