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Straight: The Surprisingly Short History Of Heterosexuality (2012)

by Hanne Blank(Favorite Author)

3.71 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0807044431 (ISBN13: 9780807044438)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Beacon Press

review 1: Straight: The Surprisingly Short History of Heterosexuality, is written in a pithy, humorous yet well researched and informative way. This is one of the few books I have encountered where it manages to straddle the line between history and amusing commentary. Blank explains in multiple ways the fallacy of heterosexuality, and how the term itself is a newer creation. It's also interesting to think of how what is acceptable in heterosexual practice has shifted throughout history. The piece of the book I found the most interesting is the conversations about "doxa." Doxa is explained as "stuff everybody knows" or things that are so ingrained in cultures that we do not believe they are important to examine or unpack. Doxa provides a new way for me to understand cultural encapsu... morelation, and challenges me to look at the areas in my life where I am blind to certain assumptions.
review 2: Historical social critique that helps put our current moment in perspective. Some of the chapters felt digressive and intended only to fill space (and I certainly could have done without the personal anecdotes), but there is some important insight here. Unfortunately, the ideas seem better suited for a short article, which might be more potent and more digestible. This was safe, careerist, reaching, but is still important and worth checking out. less

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