Diane Richardson

Sexuality and Citizenship

The tradition of thinking behind the idea of citizenship, which has become a key concept of modern social theory, has given insufficient attention to either gender or sexuality. In this paper it is argued that claims to citizenship status, at least in the West, are closely associated with the institutionalisation of hetero-sexual, as well as male, privilege. This is demonstrated when the association of certain forms of citizenship status with heterosexuality, national identity for example, is threatened or challenged. In discussing the relationship between sexuality and citizenship, attention is focused on the implications for the social inclusion and exclusion of lesbians and gay men. The analysis shows how sexualised notions of citizenship are connected to the public/private divide at both institutional and personal levels. Finally, the paper raises wider questions about the implications of the discussion for theorising citizenship.

Locating Sexualities: From Here to Normality:

Lesbian and gay movements are increasingly demanding equal rights of citizenship on the grounds of being the ‘same’ as most heterosexuals. Citizenship is the central concept appealed to in calls for inclusion, and it is through claims to normalcy that social integration is justified. Moreover, it would appear that access to this new citizenship status is located primarily through being in a publicly recognized normative (good gay) couple relationship. This integration of lesbians and gay men into social and political life as ‘normal citizens’ represents a significant shift with important implications for (a) understandings of sexual citizenship, (b) the meanings and importance attached to sexual identities and (c) the public/private binary. This article will develop and extend previous theoretical work on sexuality and citizenship by considering these issues.

Women, motherhood and childrearing

Introduction - The Experience of Motherhood - A Word of Advice: Childrearing Manuals from the 1870 to the 1950s - Mother Knows Best: Theories of Childrearing since the Second World War - Motherhood: What Choice Do We Have? - Women and the New Reproductive Technologies - Feminism and Motherhood - Daughters and Sons: What is Non-Sexist Childrearing? - Conclusion - Index

Sexuality, Equality and Diversity

From individual experiences of prejudice to international political debate around equal rights, social attitudes towards sexuality and transgender equalities are evolving. This timely text traces shifts at personal, national and international levels to fully assess the landscape of policy and theory today. Bringing together critical perspectives and original research, Sexuality, Equality and Diversity clearly outlines contested terms and key debates in the field. It explains how equality policy is developed and put into practice, examining what has been achieved by legislation so far and highlighting the challenges to overcome. Exploring the multiple identities and different agendas of various LGBT communities, this thought-provoking book draws on a range of rich examples to shed new light on sexual citizenship today. This is an invaluable guide through the complex terrain of equality and diversity, and is invaluable reading for students of sociology, social policy, gender studies and politics.

Patterned Fluidities: (Re)Imagining the Relationship between Gender and Sexuality

This ar ticle examines the question of how the relationship between gender and sexuality has been theorized. Five strands of argument, which draw on different epistemological concerns, are identified.These have structured the study of gender and sexuality, providing a contested understanding of both the meaning of these categories and their relationship. A challenge for future work is to elaborate frameworks that allow more complex analyses of the dynamic, historically and socially specific relationship between sexuality and gender, as well as the gendered and sexualized nature of their interconnections. To achieve this we need to consider the question of the relationship of gender and sexuality at a number of levels of social analysis.These issues are explored by drawing on three areas of research: on transsexuality/transgender, homosexuality and heterosexuality. Finally, a new metaphor for (re)imagining how we think about the interconnections between gender and sexuality is proposed.

Deserving victims? : sexual status and the social construction of violence

Theoretical understanding of the meaning of the term violence is underdeveloped. This paper examines the question of how violence to the person is socially defined, and in particular how understandings of violence are both gendered and sexualised. It highlights how victim characteristics, as well as the social and interactional contexts in which violence occurs, influence interpretative frameworks, with specific reference to the binary distinction between the public and private and to notions of culpability and victimisation. This entails a consideration of the social meanings which constitute notions of a ‘person’ with a ‘right to life’ and occupation of ‘public space.’ The importance of the victim/perpetrator dichotomy in theorising violence is also considered. These themes and issues are examined in relation to a relatively new area of study; the case example of public violence towards lesbians and gay men.

Intersections between feminist and queer theory

Acknowledgements Notes on Contributors Introduction: At the Intersections of Feminist and Queer Debates J.McLaughlin, M.E.Casey & D.Richardson Bordering Theory D.Richardson Heterosexuality, Sexuality and Gender: Re-thinking the Intersections S.Jackson The Return of the Material: Cycles of Theoretical Fashion in Lesbian, Gay and Queer Studies J.McLaughlin On the Evolution of Queer Studies: Lesbian Feminism, Queer Theory and Globalization L.Garber Boys will be bois? Or Transgender Feminism and the Forgetful Fish J.Halberstam The Value of a Second Skin R.Hennessy Refiguring the Family: Toward a Post-Queer Politics of Gay and Lesbian Marriage C.Meeks & A.Stein Practically between Post-Menopause and Post-Modern A.R.Wilson References Index

Sexual trafficking in Nepal: constructing citizenship and livelihoods.

Sexual trafficking is a priority issue for many governments and has increasingly become a focus for debate within the academy. Despite this, many aspects of sexual trafficking remain poorly understood. In this article we focus on an area that has received scant attention in the literature: the situation of trafficked women when they return home and, specifically, the livelihood opportunities available to them as they experience differing notions of citizenship. In addition to the fact that there has been very little attempt to document poverty alleviation strategies post-trafficking, within the mainstream development literature little attention has also been given to questions of sexuality and how they relate to development and poverty reduction strategies. The aim of this article, therefore, is to seek to highlight a new research agenda and to develop an interdisciplinary framework to understand what we have termed ‘the sexual politics of poverty’. Bringing together distinct literatures on sexual citizenship and sustainable livelihoods we develop our analysis of these themes through a focus on the livelihood opportunities and strategies of returnee trafficked women in South Asia, drawing on policy analysis at national and regional levels and qualitative research carried out in Nepal. In particular, the Nepal case study highlights problems with skills training for returnee women and examines the relationship between marriage and sustainable livelihood opportunities.

Intersectionality and Sexuality: The Case of Sexuality and Transgender Equalities Work in UK Local Government

The last 25 years has seen the introduction and expansion of studies concerning intersectionality (see for instance Crenshaw, 1989; Hill Collins, 1990). Intersectionality is claimed by some authors as a central aspect of feminist thinking, one which has transformed the conceptualisation of gender in research (Shields, 2008). As is well rehearsed, intersectionality theory grew out of a critique of models of inequality which framed social forces as operating in layered or additive ways. Intersectionality can be used as ‘a method for interrogating the institutional reproduction of inequality, whether at the level of the state, the family, or of legal structures more generally’ (Grabham et al., 2009: 2). This more structural form of intersectionality thinking moves analysis away from the individualising approaches that have been criticised by authors such as Conaghan (2009). Such an approach would have purchase in developing understandings of inequality, identity and difference in the area of sexuality; an area which has been relatively neglected within the field of intersectionality studies.

Public Duty and Private Prejudice: Sexualities, Equalities and Local Government

Rather than critiquing social institutions and practices that have historically excluded lesbians and gay men, as did earlier social movements in the 1960s and 1970s, since the 1990s the politics of sexuality has increasingly been about demanding equal rights of citizenship. These citizenship demands have, at least to a degree, been answered via a raft of recent legislation in the UK including the Adoption and Children Act 2002, Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003, Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the Civil Partnership Act 2004, and by associated changes in policy making and practice that emphasize ‘Equality and Diversity’. In this article we consider how the implementation of sexualities equalities policies is related to processes of privatization and individualization. This is illustrated by using sexualities equalities work in local government as a case study to indicate how processes of change and resistance are aided by these processes. The article draws on findings from a study of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equalities initiatives in local government in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which examined the views of those who now have a public duty to implement recent legislative and policy shifts and are obliged to develop equalities initiatives concerning ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender reassignment’.