The Invention of Heterosexuality by Jonathan Ned Katz

The Invention of Heterosexuality

Jonathan Ned Katz

“Heterosexuality,” assumed to denote a universal sexual and cultural norm, has been largely exempt from critical scrutiny. In this boldly original work, Jonathan Ned Katz challenges the common notion that the distinction between heterosexuality and homosexuality has been a timeless one.  Building on the history of medical terminology, he reveals that as late as 1923, the term “heterosexuality” referred to a ‘morbid sexual passion,’ and that its current usage emerged to legitimate men and women having sex for pleasure. Drawing on the works of Sigmund Freud, James Baldwin, Betty Friedan, and Michel Foucault, The Invention of Heterosexuality considers the effects of heterosexuality’s recently forged primacy on both scientific literature and popular culture. 

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Details

ISBN 9780226426013
Genre LGBT Studies/Social Sciences
Publication Date 15-Jun-07
Publisher University of Chicago Press
Format Paperback
No. of Pages 305
LoC Classification HQ23 .K315 2007
Language English
Rating NotRated
Subject Heterosexuality; Heterosexuality – History; Heterosexuality/ History; Homosexuality – History; Homosexuality/ History
BookID 15649

Author: LFWBooks