Gayle Rubin,Deviations: A Gayle Rubin Reader

Gayle Rubin, Deviations: A Gayle Rubin Reader, Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2011; 484 pp. ISBN 978 0 8223 4986 0, £18.99.

The scholarly writing of Gayle Rubin has had a tremendous impact on the study of sexualities over the past 30 years. Dedicating her academic career to understanding sexuality as a mode of power in society, Rubin’s work has been as influential as it has sometimes been difficult to access, with much of it published in book chapter form. This is one reason why Deviations: A Gayle Rubin Reader is such a welcome addition to the literature, as it brings together the rich diversity of her work into one accessible tome.

Deviations adopts a broadly chronological approach, with an extended introduction by Rubin that serves as an insightful and entertaining history of her own position in the feminist and academic movements of the past 40 years. Here, Rubin foreshadows several of the key themes of the book, which include the importance of the personal, the necessity of social theory, the value of empirical research and the centrality of sexuality to understanding society.

The chronological approach showcases the diversity of interests that Rubin maintains. While never losing a resolute focus on sexuality as an overarching mode of power, the reader is taken from histories of lesbian writing to sadomasochism and gay rights, from reflections on social theory to the intersections of lesbianism and the politics of butch. The appeal of individual chapters will depend on the interests of the reader, but they are all characterized by accessible writing and innovative thinking.

In addition to highlighting her tremendous skills as a writer, Deviations reveals a certain chameleonic nature in Rubin’s prose. Rubin can write searing polemic, as evident in Misguided, Dangerous and Wrong and The Leather Menace, yet she is just as skilled in writing classic ethnography, as in The Catacombs. Her theoretical writing is equally powerful, most notably in Thinking Sex, but also in her other writing, including the multiple reflections on the influence of Thinking Sex on sexuality theory.

Deviations demonstrates that Rubin’s work is of great relevance to contemporary society. I found my thinking enhanced and challenged throughout the book. For example, her writing in Chapter 2 on the creation of moral panics, and the way by which ‘individuals, constituencies, and assorted claims makers … establish a social problem or mobilize action to address it’ (pp. 77–78) is scintillating and readily applicable to contemporary issues. Similarly, Rubin’s discussion of the exclusion of S&M from mainstream lesbian and gay political groups of the 1970s and 1980s troubles the utility of identity politics while avoiding the individualism of many anti-assimilationist political frameworks—demanding that we re-examine our own perspectives on this issue.

While the reader can enjoy the polymorphous nature and continued relevance of Deviations, the book begets questions about whether there is a method of thinking unique to Rubin – something that could be called Rubinian, if such a phrase had more phonetic grace. The answer is clear: Rubin’s central tenet is that sexuality is a fundamental mode of power in society and needs a theoretical framework beyond that provided by gender theories. Starting with her notion of a sex/gender system, and drawing heavily on notions of moral panic, her framework is best explicated in Thinking Sex. Here, the combination of real-life examples and brilliant theoretical analysis led to a chapter that is rightly hailed as a classic in the study of sexuality.

Rubin offers a defence of drawing on contemporary events in her work, yet this is hardly necessary. The continued relevance of chapters such as Thinking Sex and Misguided, Dangerous and Wrong is, sadly, obvious, and it is easy for the reader to substitute current events into her period examples. Most importantly, though, Rubin still has the ability to shock the reader with the power of example. She does this at the end of her introduction, where she demonstrates again the importance of the regulation of sexuality within society. She writes:

If Rubin’s body of work has been concerned with demonstrating the centrality of sexuality in the unequal stratification of society, Deviations is convincing evidence for her position. For this reason, as well as for the quality of writing, it is essential reading for all those interested in sexualities.