History of Sexuality

Gender studies have become an area of great interest in many disciplines. Here, Nye examines the evolving definitions of masculinity in France since the eighteenth century…

The discovery of the fascinating and richly documented story of Sister Benedetta Carlini, Abbess of the Convent of the Mother of God, by Judith C. Brown was an event of major historical importance.

Gender studies have become an area of great interest in many disciplines. Here, Nye examines the evolving definitions of masculinity in France since the eighteenth century.

Why has there been such an explosion of discussion about sex in the West since the 17th century? Here, one of France's greatest intellectuals explores the evolving social, economic, and political forces that have shaped our attitudes toward sex. In a book that is at once controversial and seductive, Michel Foucault describes how we are in the process of making a science of sex which is devoted to the analysis of desire, rather than the increase of pleasure.

"This is a superb work of scholarship, impossible to overpraise…. It marks a milestone in the 20-year rise of gay and lesbian studies."–Martin Duberman, The Advocate
The men of Renaissance Florence were so renowned for sodomy that "Florenzer" in German meant "sodomite." In the late fifteenth century, as many as one in two Florentine men had come to the attention of the authorities for sodomy…