SOCIOLOGY M167: CONTESTED SEXUALITIES

SYLLABUS

UCLA, Winter 1999
Class Website: http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/99W/socm167-1

Lecture: TR, Hershey 1609, 11:00-12:15

Instructor: John Horton, e-mail: jhorton@ucla.edu; 825-3425; -3425 (messages).
Hershey 2143, Office hours: Tuesdays 12:15-1:15, and by appointment.

Teaching Assistant, Ben Frymer, e-mail: bfrymer@ucla.edu

Discussion Sections:

  •          ID 347692201   1A   T   3:00-3:50, Dodd 178
  •          ID 347692202   1B   R   8:00-8:50, Hershey 1628
  •          ID 347692203   1C   R   3:00-3:50  Hershey 1628

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    Field Studies Component Coordinator: Gina Masequesmay, e-mail: mychi@ucla.edu
    Office Hours: W 1-2, and by appointment.
    Field Studies Class: R 4-5:30 PM, Powell 307, CLICC Classroom A.

    Course Themes and Topics

    This class explores the premise that sexuality and sexual identities---homosexual, bisexual, heterosexual, or whatever--- are
    socially constructed. Our focus will be on sociological concepts, research methods, and findings as they relate to the social construction, control, and resistance of lesbians and gay males---sexual minorities whose very existence and legitimacy have been regularly contested within the dominant normative framework of heterosexuality.  Attention will also be given to bisexuals and transgendered persons and their ambiguous status in a society that conventionally assumes that gender and sexuality can be categorized unambiguously as male or female, heterosexual or homosexual. Other topics include the development of sexual identities and communities and the intersection of gender, race, class, and sexual orientation in everyday life.
     

    Course Project: Creating a Web Site on Contested Sexualities

    As a special project, students will search for and analyze web sites that contest and sites that proclaim the legitimacy of sexualities that do not fit the dominant normative order. From a critical perspective, we ask what kind of people and thinking contest the legitimacy of alternative sexualities and how should we respond intellectually and politically to their arguments?  The results of our research will be posted on our own website along with our class discussions and an evaluation of our instructional experiment in the field of the worldwide web.
     

     Required Texts

  • Barry D. Adam, The Rise of a Gay and Lesbian Movement. New York: Twayne, 1995.
  • Peter M. Nardi and Beth E. Schneider (Eds.). 1998. Social Perspectives on Lesbian and Gay Studies: A Reader. New York: Routledge.
  • John Horton, 1999. Sociology 167 Reader: Contested Sexualities. (Available at Quinx, 1148  Westwood Blvd., 824-1441)

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    College Library Reserve for Sociology M167

  • Henry Abelove, Michele Aina Barale, David M. Halperin. 1993.  The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader. NY: Routledge.
  • Barry D. Adam. 1987. The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Movement. Boston, Mass.: Twayne Publishers.
  • Mark Blasius and Sane Phelan, eds. 1997. We Are Everywhere: A Historical Sourcebook of Gay and Lesbian Politics. New York: Routledge.
  • Martin Duberman, Martha Vicinus, and George Chauncey, Jr., eds. 1990. Hidden From History: Reclaiming Gay & Lesbian Past. NY: Penquin.
  • Erving Goffman. 1963. Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
  • Horton, John. 1999. Sociology 167 Reader: Contested Sexualities.
  • Nardi, Peter M., and Beth E. Schneider (Eds.). 1998. Social Perspectives on Lesbian and Gay Studies: A Reader. New York: Routledge.
  • Pfohl, Stephen J. 1994.  Images of Deviance and Social Control: A Sociological History. New York:  McGraw-Hill.

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    Exams

  • 30%--Midterm, Tuesday, February 16, 1999
  • 30%--Final, Friday, March 26, 8-11 am.
  • 10%--Section/Class Participation
  • 30%-- Two papers based on class material and field research:

    •     1. Investigating Anti and Pro-LGBT Web Sites. 20%
            a. Week II.:  Begin search of Web Sites.
            b. Week III. In sections, pool list of interesting sites to evaluate as a group project.
                Establish project groups and research schedule.
            c. Week VIII. Papers due.
            d. Weeks IX & X. Posting of research and discussion of results.
        2. Sexualizing Conversation 10%
            a. Week IV.  Use Van Leuven article as a guide for making observations about the
                sexualization of conversation at public entertainment, school, or work sites.
            b. Week VII. Turn in papers, discuss, and post results on class web site.
     

    Field Studies Option for Extra Credit

    We will be able to offer a limited number of students the opportunity to become involved in a Field Studies Internship for two extra credits. In this Sociology 199I class, we will define our "field" as the worldwide web. Field Study students will receive special training to help them navigate the web and facilitate the construction of our course web site on "Contested Sexualities." The field study component of the class will be graded as follows:
     
  • 10% Attendance/Participation in the field study section
  • 75% Field Study Projects
  • 15% Class Presentation of Findings

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    Weekly Assignments for Sociology M167

    Wk I.  January 12, 14:

    The Stonewall Riot of 1969: A Defining Moment in the History of Queer Oppression & Resistance
     
  • Film, "Out Rage 69"

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    Required Readings
    Nardi/Schneider:

  • Nancy Achilles. 1967. "The Development of the Homosexual Bar as an Institution,"  175.
  • Barry D. Adam. 1995.  The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Movement.  Prefaces, Ch. 1, "Origins of a Homosexual People," Ch. 4, "The Homophiles Start Over," and Ch. 5, "Gay Liberation and Lesbian Feminism."

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    Recommended:

  • Barry D, Adam, Chs. 2 & 3, The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Movement.
  • Martin Duberman. 1994. Stonewall, New York: Plume. (College Reserve)

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    Wk II.  January 19, 21:

    "Cultural Wars": The Right Wing  Backlash v. Critical Perspectives on Sex, Sexuality, & Gender.

    NOTE: Lots of reading! Stress those readings marked "*" for this week. The other articles are intended as resources for your research paper on anti-queer and queer  thought.  They should be read selectively.

    Required
    The Right: Documents and Analysis:

  •     *Adam, Ch. 6, "The Rise of the New Right."

    •     Nardi:
  •     *Peter M. Nardi and Ralph Bolton. 1991. "Gay-Bashing: Violence and Aggression Against Gay Men and Lesbians,"  412.

    •     Horton Reader:
  •     *John Horton, "Class Struggle and the American Dream" 80.
  •     Claudia Brenner, "Survivor's Story: Eight Bullets" 97.
  •     Wallace Swan, "Religion in American Politics." 62.
  •     *Ex-Gay Ministry,  "We're standing for the truth that homosexuals can change." 70.
  •     Family Research Institute, Inc., "What Homosexuals Do." 73.
  •     Newspaper headlines, "Research Points Toward a 'Gay' Gene." 77, 78.

    • Critical, Power-Reflexive Perspectives
        Horton:
  •     *Stephen J. Phofl. 1994.  Ch. 1, "Images of Deviance and Control: An Introduction," from Images of Deviance and Social Control : A Sociological History. 15, 24.

    • *Select one or two of the following as examples of a critical analysis of sexuality and gender:
        Nardi:
  •     Dennis Altman. 1997. "The End of the Homosexual," 306.

    •     Horton:
  •     Monique Wittig, "One is not Born a Woman." 32.
  •     Michael Silverstein. 1972. "The History of a Short Unsuccessful Academic Career." 40.
  •     Barbara Smith. 1993. "Homophobia. Why Bring it Up?"  57.

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    Recommended:

  •     Barry D. Adam. 1994. "Anatomy of a Panic: State Voyeurism, Gender Politics, and the Cult of Americanism," p. 467.

    • College Library:
  •     Pfohl, Stephen J. 1994.  Images of Deviance and Social Control: A Sociological History. New York:  McGraw-Hill, Chs. 9, 10, and 12 on "Societal Reaction" and "Critical Perspectives" on "deviant" behavior.
  •     Mark Blasius and Sane Phelan, eds. 1997. We Are Everywhere: A Historical Sourcebook of Gay and Lesbian Politics. New York: Routledge.

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    Wk III.  January 26, 28:

    Theorizing Homosexualities: The Constructionist Debate
     
  • Film:  "The Life and Times of Harvey Milk"

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    Required
    Overview
        Horton:

  •      C.Wright Mills. 1959. "The Promise," from The Sociological Imagination.  2.
  •      Steven Seidman, 1996. "Introduction: "Sociology and the Study of Homosexual Desire," in  Queer Theory/Sociology. 8.

    •     Nardi:
  •     Introductions," xi-xii; 3-4.

    • "The Constructionist Debate":
        Nardi:
  •     Mary McIntosh. 1968. "The Homosexual Role," 68.
  •     Frederick L. Whitam. 1977.  "The Homosexual Role: A Reconsideration," 77.
  •     Carole S. Vance. 1989. "Social Construction Theory: Problems in the History of Sexuality," 160.

    •     Horton: (read the first article at least as an example supporting social constructionism)
  •     *Anne Fausto-Sterling. 1997. "How to Build a Man." 117.
  •     David F. Greenberg. 1997. "Transformations of Homosexuality-Based Classifications" 122.
  •     Alfred Kinsey et al. 1948. Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. 101.
  •     Alfred Kinsey et al. 1953. Sexual Behavior in the Human Female.

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    Recommended
    Nardi:

  • Kenneth Plummer. 1981."Homosexual Categories: Some Research Problems in the Labelling Perspective."  84.
  • William Simon and John H. Gagnon. 1967. "Homosexuality: The Formulation of a Sociological Perspective." 59.

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    Wk IV.  February 2, 4:

    Coming Out and Acting Out Sexual Identities
     
  • "Coming Out" Panel  (Volunteers needed!)

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    Required Readings:
    Nardi:

  • "Introduction to Looking In - Identities and Communities, 173.
  • Richard Troiden. 1988. "A Model of Homosexual Identity Formation," p. 261.
  • Gilbert Herdt. 1989. "Gay and lesbian Youth, Emergent Identities, and Cultural Scenes at Home and Abroad," p. 279.

    • Horton:
  • Linda Van Leuven, "I Need a Screw": Workplace Sexualization as an Interactional Achievement."  138.

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    Recommended from Nardi: (These articles are summarized by Troiden.)

  • Barry Dank. 1971. "Coming Out in the Gay World," 230.
  • Barbara Ponse. 1978. "The Social Construction of Identity and Its Meanings within the Lesbian Community," 246.

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    Week V., February 9, 11.

    Researching Covert Sexual Networks and Overt Identity Communities

    Required:
    Nardi:

  • "Introduction," p. xii
  • Part I, "Introduction," p. 4
  • Barry D. Adam. 1985. "Structural Foundations of the Gay World," 220.
  • Albert J. Reiss, Jr. 1961. "The Social Integration of Queers and Peers," 12.
  • Laud Humphreys. 1970. "The Breastplate of Righteousness,"  29.
  • Stephen O. Murray. 1979. "The Institutional Elaboration of a Quasi-Ethnic Community,"  207.
  • Susan Kreiger. 1983. "An Identity Community," 215.

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    Recommended:

  • Maurice Leznoff and William A. Westley (1956), "The Homosexual Community," p.5.
  • Esther Newton. 1972. "The Queens," p. 38.
  • Alan P. Bell and Martin S. Weinberg. 1978.  "Homosexualities," p. 51.
  • Carol Warren. 1974. "Space and Time," p. 183.
  • Martin P. Levine. 1979. "Gay Ghetto," p. 194.

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    Wk VI.  February 16, 18:

    Addressing the Intersection of Racial, National, and Sexual Identities.
     
  • Film: "Brincando el Charco: Portrait of a Puerto Rican"

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    Required  (Skim through the readings and concentrate on several that allow you to make comparisons within or between ethnic and gender groups.)
    Nardi:

  • "Introduction" to Part Four,  479.
  • Gloria Anzaldua. 1990. "Bridge, Drawbridge, Sandbar or Island: Lesbians-of-Color Hacienda Alianzas," 527.
  • Tomas Almaguer. 1993. "Chicano Men: A Cartography of Homosexual Identity and Behavior," 537.

    • Horton:
  • Cathy J. Cohen. 1996. "Contested Membership: Black Gay Identities and the Politics of AIDS." 152.
  • Dana Y. Takagi. 1996. "Maiden Voyage: Excursion into Sexuality and Identity Politics in Asian America." 173.
  • Carla Trujillo. 1991. "Chicana Lesbians: Fear and Loathing in the Chicano Community." 183.

    • Recommended (Nardi)
  • Nayan Shah. 1993. "Sexuality, Identity, and the Uses of History,"  481.
  • The Combahee River Collective. 1979. "A Black Feminist Statement," 521.
  • (Horton): Eric C. Wat. 1994. "Preserving the Paradox: Stories from a gay-loh." 189.

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    Wk VII.  February 23, 25:

    Where do Bisexuals and Transexual People Fit into The Homosexual/Heterosexual Binary?
     
  • Guest speaker on the transsexual experience

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    Required (Horton):
    Bisexuality:

  • Kamini Chaudary, "Some Thoughts on Bisexuality." 197.
  • Paula C. Rust. 1996. "Sexual Identity and Bisexual Identities: The Struggle for Self-Description in a Changing Sexual Landscape."  201.

    • Transsexuality:
  • Mark Rees. 1996. "Becoming a Man: The Personal Account of a Female-to-Male Transsexual." 213  OR
  • David Ekins. 1996. "The Career Path of the Male Femaler." 219.
  • Dwight B. Billings and Thomas Urban. "The Socio-Medical Construction of Transsexualism: An Interpretation and Critique." 225.

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    Wk VIII.  March 2, 4:

    Experiencing and Challenging  Institutional Heterosexism
    (two major themes: electoral politics and heterosexism in the schools)

    Required

  • Adam: Ch. 7, "Civil Rights and Electoral Politics."

    • Nardi:
  • Introduction to "Looking Out-Institutions and Social Change", 303.
  • Janice M. Irvine. 1994. "A Place in the Rainbow: Theorizing Lesbian and Gay Culture," . 573.

    • Horton:
  • John D'Emilio. 1990. "The Campus Environment for Gay and Lesbian Life," 253.
  • Susan Krieger. 1996. "Lesbian in Academe," 259.
  • Annie Johnston, "Out Front: an 'out' high school teacher discusses what schools can do to fight the pervasive problem of homophobia," Rethinking Schools, Winter 1998/1999. 267.
  • Michael Silverstein, "A Short, Unsuccessful Academic Career" 40 (review from Wk. II)

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    Recommended

  • Nardi:
  • Steven C. Dubin, "Gay Images and the Social Construction of Acceptability," 434.
  • Beth E. Schneider. 1984. "Peril and Promise: Lesbians'Workplace Participation,"  377.
  • Kath Weston. 1991. "Families We Choose," p. 390.

    • Horton:
  • William B. Rubenstein. 1993. "Introduction," Lesbians, Gay Men, and the Law.
  • Thomas B. Stoddard and Paula L. Ettelbrick, "Should Gay People Fight for the Right to Marry?"

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    Wk  IX.  March 9, 11:

    Queer Politics
     
  • Required
  • Adam, Ch. 8, "Queer Politics"

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    Read from one of the following topics:

    1. Challenges to Gay and Lesbian Identity Politics: Diversity within the queer community.
    Nardi:

  • Gayle S. Rubin. 1984. "Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality," 100. OR
  • Jeffrey Weeks. 1985. "The Meaning of Diversity." 312.
  • Verta Taylor and Nancy E. Whittier. 1992. "Collective Identity in Social Movement Communities: Lesbian Feminist Mobilization." 349.
  • Arlene Stein. 1992. "Sisters and Queers: The Decentering of Lesbian Feminism," 553.

    • Horton:
  • Diana  Fuss, "Lesbian and Gay Theory: The Question of Identity Politics." 271.

    • Recommended (Nardi):
  • Steven Epstein. 1987. "Gay Politics, Ethnic Identity: The Limits of Social Constructionism," 134.
  • Joshua Gamson, "Must Identity Movements Self-destruct?" 589.

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    2. AIDs and the Rise of Queer Activism
    Nardi:

  • Joshua Gamson. 1989. "Silence, Death, and the Invisible Enemy: AIDS
  • Activism and Social Movement 'Newness,'"  334.
  • Nancy E. Stoller. 1995. "Lesbian Involvement in the AIDS Epidemic: Changing Roles and Generational Differences," 366
  • Dennis Altman. 1994. "The Emergence of a Non-government Response to AIDs," 506.

    • Horton:
  • Cheryl L. Cole. 1996. "Containing AIDS: Magic Johnson and Post [Reagan] America." 236.

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    Wk X.   March 16, 18:

    The Future: Queering Sociology and Sexuality?
     
  • Student Panel and Discussion on the "Cultural Wars" and How to Respond to them

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    Required
    Nardi:

  • Lisa Duggan. 1994. "Queering the State," 564.
  • Kenneth Plummer, "The Past, Present, and Futures of the Sociology of Same-sex Relations," 605.

    • Horton:
  • Jonathan Ned Katz. 1998. "The Invention of Heterosexuality," 266.

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