Overview
Women experience considerable changes in their bodies, lives, and identity between the ages of twenty and seventy, including marriage, motherhood, the dissolution of relationships, and menopause, all of which often impact sexuality. In Deserving Desire, Beth Montemurro takes a wide-ranging look at the evolution of women’s sexuality over time, with a specific focus on the development of sexual subjectivity-that is sexual confidence, agency, and a sense of entitlement to sexual desire. Detailed stories of the ninety-five women in this study explore how they become more comfortable with their bodies, when most begin to enjoy sex, feel confident and positive about engaging in it, and how they become sexual subjects in control of their bodies. Deserving Desire explores the complex multi-stage process in which sexual subjectivity evolves over a woman’s lifetime. As girls, they learn about sex and how those around them-parents, peers, religion and media-regard sex. Physical and emotional transitions such as having a baby or ending a relationship further affect women’s sexual confidence and desire. Montemurro emphasizes that sexual subjectivity is about feeling in control of sexual decision making and acting purposefully and confidently. Though adolescent sexuality has been a major focus of sociological research, few studies have examined, as Montemurro does here, the development of sexuality through women’s lives and the events that change the way women feel about themselves, their bodies, and their relationships.
Full Product Details
Author: Beth Montemurro
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Imprint: Rutgers University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 1.80cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.355kg
ISBN: 9780813564395
ISBN 10: 0813564395
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 01 September 2014
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
The sexual subjectivity of women has been a black box, glimpsed into, yet never fully opened up for examination. With Deserving Desire , Beth Montemurro joins a small group of excellent writers who help us understand what a complex subject sexuality is for women. The honest and in-depth interviews in this book encourage women to think about why sex has been considered shameful, and they illustrate how women can create good sexual lives on their own terms. Montemurro is to be congratulated for the quality and sensitivity of her work. --Pepper Schwartz author of The Normal Bar: The Surprising Secrets of Happy Couples (04/22/2014)
The sexual subjectivity of women has been a black box, glimpsed into, yet never fully opened up for examination. With Deserving Desire, Beth Montemurro joins a small group of excellent writers who help us understand what a complex subject sexuality is for women. The honest and in-depth interviews in this book encourage women to think about why sex has been considered shameful, and they illustrate how women can create good sexual lives on their own terms. Montemurro is to be congratulated for the quality and sensitivity of her work. --Pepper Schwartz author of The Normal Bar: The Surprising Secrets of Happy Couples (04/22/2014)
Author Information
BETH MONTEMURRO is an associate professor of sociology at Penn State University, Abington. She is the author of Something Old, Something Bold: Bridal Showers and Bachelorette Parties (Rutgers University Press).
