For the love of love: neoliberal governmentality, neoliberal melancholy, critical intersectionality, and the advent of solidarity with the other mormons

This article performs critical intellectual labor for social and political change against neoliberalism in three ways. First, it explores and connects neoliberal governmentality and neoliberal melancholy, two anchor experiences in our twenty-first century political quotidian. Second, it engages in the sense making of Proposition 8 (a California voter initiative to ban same-sex marriage, which was narrowly passed in 2008) as a case study of religious organizations (the Mormon Church and their religious allies) and their complicity with neoliberal states to foster subjection and subjectivation through critical intersectionality that goes beyond the identity trinity of race, class, and gender. Finally, the article suggests two technologies as a new hand to outplay the excess of neoliberalism for the triumph of our common humanity: 1) mourning over the devastation brought about by neoliberalism and 2) loving our love for those with whom we usually do not form affinity connections, such as the other Mormons, those who are othered because of their departure from church orthodoxy.     

Hirschfeld to Hooker to Herek to High Schools: A Study of the History and Development of GLBT Empirical Research,Institutional Policies,and the Relationship Between the Two

Empirical gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) research has passed through three stages. Transitions between stages have been caused by an interaction of empirical research and institutional policies. The first period is from the late 1800s up to 1972, when research focused on categorizing homosexuality as a disease, treatments for homosexuality, and then research refuting the disease model. The second period ran from 1972 to approximately 1990, when researchers began to apply the disease model not to GLBT persons, but rather to those having negative attitudes toward homosexuality (homophobia), and researchers began to look at what it was like to be a GLBT person from GLBT persons' perspectives. The third period began in the early 1990s and continues today, when researchers focus on institutions, particularly action research aimed at changing institutions.     

Xena and the Warrior Poets: Audre Lorde,Monique Wittig,and the myths of lesbian origins

This paper explores the connections between the television show Xena: Warrior Princess, and the myths of lesbian origins which were created by a loose collection of writers known as warrior poets. It argues that the show contains significant components of those myths as imagined by Audre Lorde and Monique Wittig. In particular, both show and myths share the presence of irresponsible gods; ideas of destiny; and women-centredness, which includes parthenogenesis, love, desire, and rivalry between women. The paper suggests that the transformative power of the show comes largely from the erotic connection between women that is at the core of these lesbian origin myths.     

The Commission on Population Growth and the American Future: its origins,operations, and aftermath

The origins, organization, and operation of the Commission on Population Growth and the American Future and the response to its report are described. The origins of the Commission are traced to a concern with the consequences of U.S. population growth on the part of such key individuals as John D. Rockefeller 3rd and Paul Ehrlich. Because the Commission was a statutory creation of Congress, its membership included 4 Congressmen in addition to 20 distinguished citizens representing a spectrum of groups and views. The evaluation of the consequences of growth, as opposed to the means of reducing fertility, became the major concern of the research effort. Several issues led to differences within the Commission: 1) A narrow versus a broad definition of the scope of the report; 2) differing perceptions of the population problem as manifested by the ecological view, the "unwanted fertility" school, and the social justice view. The social science work contracted by the Commission had a significant impact on the final report's substance: 1) the demographic work on population projections was crucial to the analysis of the consequences of growth; 2) evaluating the demographic capability of national "growth center strategy" had an influence; and 3) the need to eliminate unwanted fertility was confirmed as a necessary priority. The basic thrust of the Commission's report was to recomment slowing growth in order to maximize the quality of life.     

Masculinity, femininity, and homosexuality: on the anthropological interpretation of sexual meanings in Brazil

This essay examines the anthropological interpretation of sexual meanings in Brazil as presented in the recent work of Peter Fry. Following Fry's lead, it places central emphasis on the study of male homosexuality and sexual ideology, suggesting that these cultural domains can be fully understood only when situated within the wider context of sexual meanings in Brazil. With this in mind, it traces the historical development of a series of analytically distinct, though practically interrelated, systems of sexual classification which structure the constitution of meaningful sexual identities in Brazilian life.     

Youth, identity, and homosexuality: the changing shape of sexual life in contemporary Brazil

This essay examines the relationship between homosexuality and adolescence in contemporary Brazil, focusing on a distinction between two rather different systems of sexual meanings that have structured the experience of same-sex relations: a traditional model of the sexual universe that continues to dominate sexual life in rural areas, and a more modern set of notions that has become increasingly important in the cities. It examines the ways in which these rather different systems have affected the experience of same-sex desires and practices during youth or adolescence, and suggests some of the ways in which the emergence of a gay subculture in urban Brazil has transformed the range of sexual possibilities and choices currently available to young men and women.     

The pattern of sexual politics: feminism, homosexuality and pedophilia

Until recently sex and gender issues were thought to be biological or natural rather than political. The feminist movement largely changed perceptions of gender, and the gay and lesbian movements significantly altered conceptions of sex, so that what were once seen as permanent moral standards are now viewed as historical and political constructions. As views of these groups have moved towards social constructionism, perceptions of child sexuality have become more absolutist. Current attitudes towards child sexuality and representations of it resemble historical attitudes towards women and homosexuals. This article argues that there is a two-phase pattern of sexual politics. The first is a battle to prevent the battle, to keep the issue from being seen as political and negotiable. Psychological and moral categories are used to justify ridicule and preclude any discussions of the issue, and standard Constitutional guarantees are seen as irrelevant. The second phase more closely resembles traditional politics as different groups argue over rights and privileges. Feminist and gay/lesbian politics have recently entered the second phase, while pedophilia is in the first.     

For the love of the children: the coming out process for lesbian and gay parents and stepparents

This research investigated the coming out decision and process for 23 lesbian and gay custodial stepfamilies. We argue that lesbian and gay stepfamilies represent a unique type of family, distinct from heterosexual stepfamilies and from lesbian and gay families who have children within the context of a lesbian or gay relationship. The coming out process is one developmental challenge that distinguishes lesbian and gay stepfamilies from these other types. Through interviews with both lesbian and gay parents and stepparents we explored their coming out process to significant others: the children, families of origin and ex-spouses. We discuss those factors influencing the decision and the consequences that developed in light of these decisions. Findings show that the coming out process for lesbian and gay co-parents is a flexible and familial one, primarily influenced by and centered around the needs of the children.     

Out of the mainstream: sexual minorities and the mass media.

In a society dominated by centralized sources of information and imagery, in which economic imperatives and pervasive sources of values promote the search for large, common-denominator audiences, it is useful to look at the fate of those who, for one reason or another, find themselves outside of the mainstream. This paper addresses the general questions of minority perspectives in the context of the study of mass media content and effects. More specific attention is paid to the situation of lesbian women and gay men as members of the mass media audience.     

Queer criticism and sexual normativity: the case of Pee-wee Herman

One of the most useful aspects of queer theory is the critical force that the perspective provides scholars. The tenets of queer theory provide scholars with a model to interrogate how sexuality and other differences play a fundamental role in rhetorical practice. Focusing on differences rather than similarities, queer critics seek to dismantle hierarchies by blurring the definitions of specific identity categories. A framework for queer rhetorical criticism is described and illustrated with a variety of examples from popular culture. The model is further illustrated through an examination of the body of work of Pee-wee Herman.     

The queer periphery: sexual deviancy and the cultural understanding of space

The association of normative sexuality with the geographical center and sexual deviancy with the geographical periphery represents a pattern of thinking that has stayed with us in different guises throughout history. The article traces this pattern and some of its complex ramifications from the ancient Greeks to the present.     

The relation of gender and sexual orientation to measures of masculinity, femininity, and androgyny: a further analysis

Data from a survey of 58 gay men and 58 lesbians are compared to college men and women on Spence and Helmreich's (1978) Personality Attributes Questionnaire measures of masculinity, femininity, and androgyny. Lesbians had higher M scores than college women, and gay men had lower M scores than college men, with F scores being similar across sexual orientation groups, within gender. Androgyny measures differed only by gender, not by sexual orientation. Further analysis shows that lesbians' high M scores come largely from their high self-ratings as independent, while college men's high M scores reflect strong competitiveness. Questions are raised about the validity of these measures for comparing these groups.     

Component analysis and modelling of the movement process: Analysis of simple tracks

Summary The construction of a general model of animal movement using the ‘experimental components' approach ofC. S. Holling is proposed. The process of ‘movement’ is interpreted very generally as any displacement of the whole organism in space. The rationale for modelling such processes rests upon the idea that there is a basic “canonical” pattern of movement characteristic of a species moving in a homogeneous environment, which pattern is overlaid by the various directional stimuli present in more usual heterogeneous environments. The ‘canonical movement model’ is a necessary first step in construction of more realistic representations. We suggest it can be made using six components viz. the initial heading of the animal, the mean and variance of the angular displacements made by the animal as it moves, the mean and variance of the speed of the animal, and a term for the continuity of the movement. We have measured all these components in the field for the two-dimensional movement of the inter-tidal snail,Polinices incei and these results are presented here. Difficulties inherent in the measure ment of angular displacement in particular are discussed and means of resolving them proposed. The shortcomings involved in the measurements and techniques for their more detailed representation and the next steps in the proposed modelling sequence are discussed.     

Age at first sexual intercourse, genes, and social context: Evidence from twins and the dopamine D4 receptor gene

We carried out two distinct types of genetic analysis with data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The first was a non-DNA twin analysis using monozygotic (identical) and same-sex dizygotic (fraternal) twins. The second analysis investigates the association between age at first sexual intercourse and the 48-bp repeat polymorphism in the dopamine receptor D4 gene (DRD4). The twin analysis shows that MZ twins correlate their timing of first sex to a much greater extent than do the same-sex DZ twins. Our analysis of the polymorphisms in DRD4 indicates that those with an any-3R genotype experienced a risk of first sexual intercourse 23% (p = .016), 233% (p = .0001), 28% (p = .012), and 69% (p = .006) higher than those with an other/other (or any-4R) genotype in the all-ethnicities (n = 2,552), Asian, white, and Hispanic samples, respectively. The risk of first sex does not differ between the two genotypes in the African American sample. These results were obtained after adjusting the standard socioeconomic covariates, including gender, parental education, family structure, and community poverty in the regression model. Evidence from both twin and genetic-variant analyses points to a role of genes in the timing of first sexual intercourse.     

Early origins of the gradient: the relationship between socioeconomic status and infant mortality in the United States

Although relationships between social conditions and health have been documented for centuries, the past few decades have witnessed the emergence of socioeconomic gradients in health and mortality in most developed countries. These gradients indicate that health improves, although decreasingly so, at higher levels of socioeconomic status. To minimize problems with reverse causality, I tested competing hypotheses for observed socioeconomic gradients for infant mortality outcomes. I found no support for the income-inequality hypothesis and negligible support for the occupational-grade hypothesis. The results indicate that absolute material conditions are the most important determinants of socioeconomic effects on the risk of infant mortality and that while poverty has the most pronounced effect on risk, income is decreasingly salutary across the majority of the mortality gradient.