The War on Sex

"Recent events just keep confirming, all too dismally, that the issues this collection takes up—from sex offender registries and sex trafficking to HIV in public health—link together as a major front of struggle in our time, often far from public view. Questioning some of the narratives of progress that are so widely echoed in the media and popular consciousness, The War on Sex will immediately meet the needs of academics and activists alike." - Michael Warner, author of Publics and Counterpublics

"Containing essays from some of the most insightful scholars and activists working on the front lines, The War on Sex is a vital tool for understanding how the regulation and criminalization of sex relate to our vital struggles in racial, economic, gender, and disability justice. Full of thoughtful, carefully researched essays, The War on Sex will support readers in classrooms and social movements to understand and strategize about the relationships among sex, criminalization, poverty, disability, and contemporary politics. We need this book right now." - Dean Spade, author of Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics, and the Limits of Law

"Interdisciplinary in scope and inclusive of activist voices from outside the academy, the book is an essential introduction to a struggle for self-determination and sexual self-assertion that has been occurring behind mainstream social movements’ focus on dignity and respectability.... [A]n urgent, well-argued agenda...." - Ben Miller, Lambda Literary Review

"This is an illuminating, often disturbing book, handling some extremely touchy subjects...." - Perry Brass, Huffington Post

"[A]n ambitious and provocative collection of essays.... The political credentials of many contributors to this volume show that much can be achieved in the face of overwhelming odds, and serve as a model for blending scholarship with civic engagement." - Dan Udy, TLS

"The editors have done a valuable service putting together these 17 rigorous pieces that, collectively, paint a grim picture of the nation’s sexual culture.... It’s a valuable book meant for an academic audience, a useful resource for one’s bookcase to draw upon when considering a truly troubling dimension of sex and contemporary life: the criminalization of sex." - David Rosen, New York Journal of Books

"At a moment when Queer Studies in the United States has turned its attention away from sex to matters considered more pressing, The War on Sex appears as a welcome reminder of the urgent work that remains to be done. . . . A thoroughly researched, expertly edited collection of substantial scholarly contributions . . . With meticulous documentation and persuasive argumentation, the various chapters of The War on Sex combine to tell a powerful story." - Tim Dean, European Journal of American Culture

"The War on Sex ultimately throws down a resounding gauntlet for scholars of sexuality, demanding we attend to. . . emerging twenty-first century regulatory frameworks."  - Whitney Strub, Journal of the History of Sexuality

"This book should be required reading for prosecutors, judges, therapists, social workers, and anyone who cares about criminal justice reform." - William A. Percy Foundation for Social & Historical Studies