Abstract
This book is located in the widely acknowledged and highly problematized polarisation that categorises psychological and socio-historical approaches to sexuality. It is this polarisation which not only informs the production of ‘polarised knowledge’ of sexuality, but also of often divisive approaches to the interrogation of sexuality and the sexual experience in personal and political contexts. Boldly labelled as a manifesto, the book seeks to suggest a set of theoretical and discursive approaches with which to negotiate or confront this polarisation. This is accomplished by the author who provides a comprehensive analysis of a diverse range of approaches to sexuality, including psychology and the psychosexual; biology, neuroscience and the ‘gay gene’; social-constructionism; queer studies and post structuralism.
The book itself is divided into seven chapters, with chapter one devoted to a discussion of the two ‘“poles” of polarisation’ (p. 13). Identifying psychology as the first pole and the starting point for the discussion, chapter two is focused on the major engagements with sexuality that have emerged from within this discipline. The counter position in the polarisation is discussed in chapter three in the form of the social-constructionist theories of sexuality. Chapter four draws on queer theory, reconsidering particularly the work of Judith Butler and Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick from a psychosocial perspective in order to highlight its capacity to address the impasse that has occurred as a result of the polarised discussions of sexuality. Chapter five takes the discussion of queer theory further and applies it to a critical reading of two examples of popular culture, in an attempt at elaborating on the relationship between queer subjectivities and the transition from pride to shame, as they relate to, amongst others, ‘discourses of mental health and epidemiological accounts of LGBT “suicidal risk”’ (p. 15). Post structuralism is examined in chapter six, along with the potential to transform queer subjectivities through ‘affective activism’ (p. 15). The final chapter draws together all the salient points raised in the preceding discussion in order to conceptualise the psychosocial model for the understanding of sexuality.
The book highlights the work of several theorists and Johnson pays special attention to the first volume of Michel Foucault’s History of Sexuality, particularly in light of the immeasurable influence this seminal collection of work has had on social-constructionist conceptualisations of sexuality. Johnson notes that Foucault succeeded in demonstrating ‘how subjects become produced through discourses’ thereby highlighting ‘the complex relationship that power has to knowledge’ (p. 74). Johnson also highlights feminist criticism of Foucault’s work which, while acknowledging the relevance of the discussion of power, remains critical of the notable absence of an engagement with the relationship between gender and sexuality, particularly in terms of its capacity to interrogate and transform gender oppression. Citing the work of Stevi Jackson and Sue Scott, Johnson notes that proponents of this critique advocate for the use of an ‘interactionist approach’ in order to consider the ‘everyday doing of sexuality in interaction’ (p. 76). In keeping with the psychosocial approach advocated in the study, Johnson ultimately demonstrates that, despite its relevance, Foucault’s theorisation of sexuality and sexual subjectivities remains limited due to its dismissal of biological and psychological approaches to sexuality.
Johnson also considers the significant contribution made by the work of Judith Butler and Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick to the field of queer studies. Clearly a fan of their work, she focuses on the capacity of queer theory to serve as a tool for psychosocial engagement with sexuality. In her analysis, she identifies especially the ability of Butler’s work to generate a ‘deep suspicion of all social norms and a drive to radically separate sexuality from identity’ (p. 93). Similarly, she identifies the defining feature of Sedgwick’s work as its active confrontation and interrogation of the ‘entrenched impasses’ generated by a polarised conceptualisation of sexuality, in order to ‘increase the possibility of political transformation as a means to challenge oppression’ (p. 119).
In dealing with queer theory it is obvious that Johnson’s selection of theorists is comprised solely of white Western personalities, which would clearly make for a biased and limited analysis. In her defence, she does, however, acknowledge this. Johnson’s language is lucid and she is able to make undeniably complex theoretical material accessible. This will be of particular benefit to students who are not familiar with all the disciplines covered in the study and who require an uncomplicated introduction to gender and sexuality studies. While clearly not a manifesto in the true sense of the word, the author succeeds in proposing a model or framework for the study of sexuality which is multi-, inter- and trans-disciplinary in nature; one which ultimately ‘generates new ways of seeing, feeling and knowing’ sexuality (p. 4).