Policing Sexuality Sex, Society and the State

Policing Sexuality explores the regulation of sexual behaviour and identity by nation states, and questions how and why states have sought to influence and control the sexuality of its citizens.Julian C. H. Lee presents both theoretical and ethnographic literature, distilling common themes and causes and presenting factors that contribute towards a state's desire to control both the sexual behaviour and sexual identity of its citizens, such as the influence of colonialism, class, religion and national identity. Featuring five crucial case studies from India, Britain, the USA, Malaysia and Turkey, this fascinating comparative account challenges the coercive control state authority worldwide exert over the sexuality of its citizens.

Julian C. H. Lee is a Lecturer in the School of Arts and Social Sciences, Monash University. He previously held an Economic and Social Research Council postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Kent. As well as numerous articles in journals and other publications, he is the author of Islamization and Activism in Malaysia (2010) and the editor of The Malaysian Way of Life (2010). He is also involved in organizations that advocate for sexuality rights and women’s rights in Malaysia.

1. What is Sexuality? What is Policing? What is sexuality? - Theory of the State, policing and sexuality - International trends towards sexual and gender conservativism - Conflicts between policing sexuality and human rights norms 2. From Societal Regulation (why societies regulate sexuality) Gender cosmologies - Paternal certainty - Marriage and hypergamy - Women as group identity markers vs as men's property 3. To the StatePopulation management - Saving the nation from moral degeneracy within - Saving the nation from 'Others' - Controlling women's movement - The role of religion: As a political idiom - The role of religion: More than just an idiom - The impact of urbanization and modernization 4. Case study 1: India The severe punishments for sexual transgression - The impact of a caste society - The impact of hypergamy     Sherry B. Ortner's 'Virgin and the State' thesis 5. Case study 2: Britain Victorian laws and ideologies for controlling women - The role of class - The case of Oscar Wilde - Policing the family and sexuality under Margaret Thatcher 6. Case study 3: The USA Sodomy laws - Gay marriage debate - Abortion/pro-choice debate - Sex-education and abstention programs - The impact of religion and politics 7. Case study 4: Malaysia (chapter provided with proposal) Historical background - Colonization and the bureaucratization of Malaysian life - The impact of economic and technological modernization - International politics and globalization 8. Case study 5: Turkey (chapter provided with proposal) Turkish gender cosmology: Honour, shame and women - Virginity testing - Honour-killings - The image of the contemporary Turkish woman 9. Case study comparisons The impact of religion - The impact of modernity and urbanization - The impact of class and ethnic politics - The impact of colonization - The impact of national identity construction and Othering - The deployment of the law and State infrastructure 10. Resistance: Local and Transnational