Overview

Law's Desire provides a critical examination of the relationship of law and sexual orientation in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. Law is one of the primary means through which lesbian and gay male sexuality is constructed, monitored and controlled (albeit not necessarily successfully). Carl Stychin exposes the connection through an exploration of key questions of current interest and controversy. He examines the motivations behind legal restrictions and their impact both upon sexual subcultures and dominant society. The book tackles the major areas of controversy that have erupted in the 1980s and the 1990s: public funding restrictions on ""homoerotic art""; sodomy laws; the regulation of safe sex educational materials; gay pornography and feminist theory; lesbians and gay men in the American military; sadomasochism and the law; and legal restrictions on the ""promotion"" of homosexuality. The author concludes with an examination of the challenges posed by the newly emerging queer identities and the likely direction of future struggles. Carl F. Stychin is a Lecturer in Law at Keele University. He has written extensively in the areas of Law and sexuality and Legal history and theory, Educated in Canada and the United States, he served as a law clerk to the Chief Justice of Canada. He is co-editor (with Didi Herman) of Legal Inversions: Lesbians, Gay Men and the Politics of Law. Readership: Gay and Lesbian Studies; Law; Gender Studies.

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9780415111270

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Reviews

Stychin's book is important because it is . . . the first single-authored book length volume that explains in detail the import of queer theory for legal theory. It is well done because it raises difficult and important political and legal questions without trying to resolve them in a facile manner. <br>- The Law and Politics Book Review <br> Stychin argues that law is a primary means through which sexuality is constructed, monitored, and controlled, and examines the relationship of law and sexual orientation in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. He analyzes the motivations behind legal restrictions and their impact on sexual subcultures in dominant society and concludes that law remains a powerful tool in the constitution and regulation of identities, as well as in their oppression. <br>- Law & Socal Inquiry <br>

Stychin's book is important because it is . . . the first single-authored book length volume that explains in detail the import of queer theory for legal theory. It is well done because it raises difficult and important political and legal questions without trying to resolve them in a facile manner. - The Law and Politics Book Review Stychin argues that law is a primary means through which sexuality is constructed, monitored, and controlled, and examines the relationship of law and sexual orientation in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. He analyzes the motivations behind legal restrictions and their impact on sexual subcultures in dominant society and concludes that law remains a powerful tool in the constitution and regulation of identities, as well as in their oppression. - Law & Socal Inquiry

Author Information

Carl F. Stychin is Lecturer in Law at Keele University. He has written extensively in the areas of law and sexuality and legal theory. Educated in Canada and the United States, he served as a law clerk to the Chief Justice of Canada. He is co-editor (with Didi Herman) of Legal Inversions: Lesbians, Gay Men, and the Politics of Law.

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