Product Description

In the current, fast-paced information age, implicit and explicit images and messages relating to sex and sexuality abound. But sex and sexuality often are misconstrued and misunderstood by those who perceive them through the narrow lens of their own place and time. Middleton's fundamentally anthropological treatment explores universal human sexuality in conjunction with its local manifestations in specific cultural contexts. He distributes many case studies throughout to illustrate the exploration of such topics as the body, patterns of sexuality, sexual behavior, romantic passion, marriage, and kinship, among others. This lively, authoritative text fills unrealized gaps in knowledge by taking readers to new realms in understanding themselves and "others."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #608746 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

From the Publisher
Also by DeWight Middleton and available from Waveland Press: The Challenge of Human Diversity: Mirrors, Bridges, and Chasms, Second Edition (ISBN 9781577662495).

Customer Reviews

textbook review
As a former student of Dr. Middleton's, we used this textbook for our Human Sexuality anthropology course. The text is very concise, and filled with information. Students and general readers alike may find that reading it multiple times will bring more insight and information.

It's a good reference in general, and is much cheaper and lighter than most textbooks out there!

Thought provoking but uneven
This is the only book I have been able to find that covers such a wide range of sexual topics and different societies so in that sense it makes a unique and valuable contribution. However, it has a gross mistake on page 16 where it misdefines a zero corelation by calling it a negative correlation. A plus is the point that sex is embedded in culture so to understand sex practices you have to understand the specific culture's viewpoint. Given that, it still seems his discussion of effective AIDS prevention strategies undervalues condom use. It also has some eccentric choices of topics to develop, but overall you will learn more from this book than from many two or three times the size and it is very reasonably priced too.