The Closet and the Cul-de-Sac: The Politics of Sexual Privacy in Northern California

Author:   Clayton Howard
Publisher:   University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN:  

9781512824742


Pages:   392
Publication Date:   17 March 2023
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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The Closet and the Cul-de-Sac: The Politics of Sexual Privacy in Northern California


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Author:   Clayton Howard
Publisher:   University of Pennsylvania Press
Imprint:   University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN:  

9781512824742


ISBN 10:   1512824747
Pages:   392
Publication Date:   17 March 2023
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

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Reviews

"""In this elegantly argued, deeply researched book, Clayton Howard charts the history of the politics of the so-called right to privacy in American society since World War Two...[A] superb book, a major piece of scholarship that will change how we think about the history of modern sexuality and political economy in the United States since 1945. At a time when concepts of personal 'privacy' are once again politically fraught, this book helps us understand why popular opinion on the matter has long been considerably more complicated than the polarized binaries of much contemporary political and legal discourse. "" * Journal of the History of Sexuality * ""[A]n ambitious, well-researched, and important study. Howard weaves together an impressive range of sources that map connections between postwar federal housing policies, debates about urban reform, ordinary suburbanites’ sex lives, and early homophile activism...At a moment when calls for political consensus and moderation are widespread, Howard’s analysis of 'moderation’s small-‘c’ conservative tendencies' and its potential to hamper struggles for social justice is sorely needed."" * History: Review of New Books * ""[A]n original and ambitious study of postwar sexual politics in San Francisco and its suburbs..Bridging diverse subjects is Howard's attention to the question of sexual privacy, or, more specifically, the burgeoning assumption that nonnormative sexual practices and identities could be countenanced if they were relegated to the private sphere. . . . Howard's insights into the politics of sexual privacy and moderation are powerful and worthy of attention."" * Journal of American History * ""[A] wide-reaching, deeply researched work that is truly interdisciplinary in both its themes and archive...[I]t explores the interconnections among the history of sexuality, political history, urban history, the history of domesticity, architectural and design history, and legal history, putting all of these areas into productive conversation, not to mention into intellectual and social history writ large. It should serve as a model for other historians who wish to think about history outside of extreme, or at least firmly avowed ideological positions, and explore the analytical possibilities of ambivalence."" * American Historical Review * ""The Closet and the Cul-de-Sac is a fascinating book that brings together in revelatory ways the political economy of metropolitan development and the history of sexuality, offering new interpretations of postwar political culture. Through a rigorous investigation of housing and neighborhood development, it makes logical what first appears to be a paradox: the triumph of a 'tolerate but not endorse' politics around non-normative sexuality in the second half of the twentieth century. Clayton Howard makes a convincing case for a 'metropolitan' approach to political economy and social life and weighs the implications for sexual politics more thoroughly and creatively than I have seen anywhere else."" * Sarah Igo, author of <i>The Known Citizen: A History of Privacy in Modern America</i> * ""Clayton Howard has written an important, provocative, and path-breaking book centered on a wide-ranging, eye-opening, and nuanced discussion of the right to privacy and its role in conversations about public and domestic spaces, sexual rights and freedoms, and the proper place of queer and straight people in the body politic. No one has identified the varied threads of privacy embedded throughout the social fabrics of modern cities and suburbs like this before."" * Bryant Simon, Temple University *"


[A]n ambitious, well-researched, and important study. Howard weaves together an impressive range of sources that map connections between postwar federal housing policies, debates about urban reform, ordinary suburbanites' sex lives, and early homophile activism...At a moment when calls for political consensus and moderation are widespread, Howard's analysis of 'moderation's small-'c' conservative tendencies' and its potential to hamper struggles for social justice is sorely needed. * History: Review of New Books * [A]n original and ambitious study of postwar sexual politics in San Francisco and its suburbs..Bridging diverse subjects is Howard's attention to the question of sexual privacy, or, more specifically, the burgeoning assumption that nonnormative sexual practices and identities could be countenanced if they were relegated to the private sphere. . . . Howard's insights into the politics of sexual privacy and moderation are powerful and worthy of attention. * Journal of American History * [A] wide-reaching, deeply researched work that is truly interdisciplinary in both its themes and archive...[I]t explores the interconnections among the history of sexuality, political history, urban history, the history of domesticity, architectural and design history, and legal history, putting all of these areas into productive conversation, not to mention into intellectual and social history writ large. It should serve as a model for other historians who wish to think about history outside of extreme, or at least firmly avowed ideological positions, and explore the analytical possibilities of ambivalence. * American Historical Review * The Closet and the Cul-de-Sac is a fascinating book that brings together in revelatory ways the political economy of metropolitan development and the history of sexuality, offering new interpretations of postwar political culture. Through a rigorous investigation of housing and neighborhood development, it makes logical what first appears to be a paradox: the triumph of a 'tolerate but not endorse' politics around non-normative sexuality in the second half of the twentieth century. Clayton Howard makes a convincing case for a 'metropolitan' approach to political economy and social life and weighs the implications for sexual politics more thoroughly and creatively than I have seen anywhere else. * Sarah Igo, author of <i>The Known Citizen: A History of Privacy in Modern America</i> * Clayton Howard has written an important, provocative, and path-breaking book centered on a wide-ranging, eye-opening, and nuanced discussion of the right to privacy and its role in conversations about public and domestic spaces, sexual rights and freedoms, and the proper place of queer and straight people in the body politic. No one has identified the varied threads of privacy embedded throughout the social fabrics of modern cities and suburbs like this before. * Bryant Simon, Temple University *


[A]n ambitious, well-researched, and important study. Howard weaves together an impressive range of sources that map connections between postwar federal housing policies, debates about urban reform, ordinary suburbanites' sex lives, and early homophile activism...At a moment when calls for political consensus and moderation are widespread, Howard's analysis of 'moderation's small-'c' conservative tendencies' and its potential to hamper struggles for social justice is sorely needed. * History: Review of New Books * [A]n original and ambitious study of postwar sexual politics in San Francisco and its suburbs..Bridging diverse subjects is Howard's attention to the question of sexual privacy, or, more specifically, the burgeoning assumption that nonnormative sexual practices and identities could be countenanced if they were relegated to the private sphere. . . . Howard's insights into the politics of sexual privacy and moderation are powerful and worthy of attention. * Journal of American History * [A] wide-reaching, deeply researched work that is truly interdisciplinary in both its themes and archive...[I]t explores the interconnections among the history of sexuality, political history, urban history, the history of domesticity, architectural and design history, and legal history, putting all of these areas into productive conversation, not to mention into intellectual and social history writ large. It should serve as a model for other historians who wish to think about history outside of extreme, or at least firmly avowed ideological positions, and explore the analytical possibilities of ambivalence. * American Historical Review * The Closet and the Cul-de-Sac is a fascinating book that brings together in revelatory ways the political economy of metropolitan development and the history of sexuality, offering new interpretations of postwar political culture. Through a rigorous investigation of housing and neighborhood development, it makes logical what first appears to be a paradox: the triumph of a 'tolerate but not endorse' politics around non-normative sexuality in the second half of the twentieth century. Clayton Howard makes a convincing case for a 'metropolitan' approach to political economy and social life and weighs the implications for sexual politics more thoroughly and creatively than I have seen anywhere else. * Sarah Igo, author of <i>The Known Citizen: A History of Privacy in Modern America</i> * Clayton Howard has written an important, provocative, and path-breaking book centered on a wide-ranging, eye-opening, and nuanced discussion of the right to privacy and its role in conversations about public and domestic spaces, sexual rights and freedoms, and the proper place of queer and straight people in the body politic. No one has identified the varied threads of privacy embedded throughout the social fabrics of modern cities and suburbs like this before. * Bryant Simon, Temple University *


""In this elegantly argued, deeply researched book, Clayton Howard charts the history of the politics of the so-called right to privacy in American society since World War Two...[A] superb book, a major piece of scholarship that will change how we think about the history of modern sexuality and political economy in the United States since 1945. At a time when concepts of personal 'privacy' are once again politically fraught, this book helps us understand why popular opinion on the matter has long been considerably more complicated than the polarized binaries of much contemporary political and legal discourse. "" * Journal of the History of Sexuality * ""[A]n ambitious, well-researched, and important study. Howard weaves together an impressive range of sources that map connections between postwar federal housing policies, debates about urban reform, ordinary suburbanites’ sex lives, and early homophile activism...At a moment when calls for political consensus and moderation are widespread, Howard’s analysis of 'moderation’s small-‘c’ conservative tendencies' and its potential to hamper struggles for social justice is sorely needed."" * History: Review of New Books * ""[A]n original and ambitious study of postwar sexual politics in San Francisco and its suburbs..Bridging diverse subjects is Howard's attention to the question of sexual privacy, or, more specifically, the burgeoning assumption that nonnormative sexual practices and identities could be countenanced if they were relegated to the private sphere. . . . Howard's insights into the politics of sexual privacy and moderation are powerful and worthy of attention."" * Journal of American History * ""[A] wide-reaching, deeply researched work that is truly interdisciplinary in both its themes and archive...[I]t explores the interconnections among the history of sexuality, political history, urban history, the history of domesticity, architectural and design history, and legal history, putting all of these areas into productive conversation, not to mention into intellectual and social history writ large. It should serve as a model for other historians who wish to think about history outside of extreme, or at least firmly avowed ideological positions, and explore the analytical possibilities of ambivalence."" * American Historical Review * ""The Closet and the Cul-de-Sac is a fascinating book that brings together in revelatory ways the political economy of metropolitan development and the history of sexuality, offering new interpretations of postwar political culture. Through a rigorous investigation of housing and neighborhood development, it makes logical what first appears to be a paradox: the triumph of a 'tolerate but not endorse' politics around non-normative sexuality in the second half of the twentieth century. Clayton Howard makes a convincing case for a 'metropolitan' approach to political economy and social life and weighs the implications for sexual politics more thoroughly and creatively than I have seen anywhere else."" * Sarah Igo, author of <i>The Known Citizen: A History of Privacy in Modern America</i> * ""Clayton Howard has written an important, provocative, and path-breaking book centered on a wide-ranging, eye-opening, and nuanced discussion of the right to privacy and its role in conversations about public and domestic spaces, sexual rights and freedoms, and the proper place of queer and straight people in the body politic. No one has identified the varied threads of privacy embedded throughout the social fabrics of modern cities and suburbs like this before."" * Bryant Simon, Temple University *


Author Information

Clayton Howard is Associate Professor of History at the Ohio State University.

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