Rethinking Sexual Citizenship

256 Pages·2016·1.484 MB·English

by  Jyl J. Josephson

Rethinking Sexual Citizenship
SUNY series in Queer Politics and Cultures
—————
Cynthia Burack and Jyl J. Josephson, editors
Rethinking Sexual Citizenship
JYL J. JOSEPHSON
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2016 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system
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permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Production, Eileen Nizer
Marketing, Michael Campochiaro
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Josephson, Jyl J., 1960–
Rethinking sexual citizenship / Jyl J. Josephson.
pages cm. — (SUNY series in queer politics and cultures)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4384-6047-5 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4384-6049-9 (e-book)
1. Sex role—Political aspects—United States. 2. Gender identity—Political
aspects—United States. 3. United States—Politics and government. I. Title.
HQ1075.5.U6J67 2015
305.30973—dc23 2015019478
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
List of Tables vii
Acknowledgments ix
Chapter One
Sexual Citizenship 1
Chapter Two
Welfare Policy and the Politics of Sexual Deviance 39
Chapter Three
The Politics of Sexual Shaming: Abstinence-Only Sex Education 79
Chapter Four
Defense of Marriage Acts and the Politics of Sexual Regulation 117
Chapter Five
Sexual Citizenship after the White Hegemonic
Heteronormative Family 155
Notes 183
Bibliography 217
Index 239

List of Tables
Table 1.1 Social Constructions and Political Power in
Sexual Regulatory Policy 33
Table 3.1 Federal Definition of Abstinence-Only Sex Education 85
Table 4.1 Text of the Federal Defense of Marriage Act 123
Table 4.2 Arguments Used in Support of Federal DOMA and
of Proposition 8 127
vii

Acknowledgments
Writing a book is a collaborative activity, filled with conversations and
professional and personal relationships. It is a great pleasure to acknowl-
edge the ways that this book has been shaped and nurtured.
Conversations with many colleagues over the time that I have been
working on this project have shaped my ideas in both subtle and obvious
ways. Janie Leatherman and Julie Webber provided an early audience for
some of the ideas that became chapter 2. Cynthia Burack provided con-
stant encouragement even when I doubted the project was worth pursu-
ing. Our conversations over many years and many different projects, in
addition to being a great intellectual and personal pleasure, have shaped
my thinking in many ways. Collaboration with Cynthia, and with Diana
Zoelle helped to shape the arguments here. Other friends and colleagues
have provided encouragement, including Sue Tolleson-Rinehart, Stacy
VanDeveer, and Michael Harding.
Many colleagues have provided opportunities to present this
work while it was in progress, including Sally McWilliams at Montclair
University and Mary Hawkesworth at Rutgers University–New Brunswick.
Participation in the Rutgers University Institute for Research on Women
seminar, facilitated by Nancy Hewitt and Beth Hutchison, and by Yolanda
Martínez-San Miguel and Sarah Tobias, helped me to flesh out some of
the arguments that became chapters 1 and 5. Parts of this book were pre-
sented in many different forms at a number of political science association
meetings, and the helpful comments and suggestions from numerous col-
leagues have contributed to enriching the ideas here. Joan Tronto was par-
ticularly helpful in commenting on these arguments as they appeared in
a conference paper at the Western Political Science Association (WPSA)
meeting. An opportunity to present some of this material at the feminist
theory workshop at the WPSA, organized by Kathleen Jones and Janni
Aragon, provided a supportive forum to try out some of this material.
ix