The terms defined span the disciplines of sociology, biology, medicine, and the humanities. To be found among the more than 6000 entries are theories and observations about sex from Greek philosophers, Freud, and Masters and Johnson. Library Journal
The editors of this dictionary have gathered terms and theories from glossaries in college textbooks on human sexuality, consulted medical dictionaries, and utilized concepts developed by psychologist John Money. The terms defined span the disciplines of sociology, biology, medicine, and the humanities. To be found among the more than 6000 entries are theories and observations about sex from Greek philosophers, Freud, and Masters and Johnson. Numerous entries include bibliographic information. Appendixes list philias and paraphilias; phobias and sexual anxieties; biographical sketches; and U.S. Supreme Court decisions relating to sexual behavior. Library Journal
The field of sexuality spans a wide range of academic disciplines in the biological sciences, social sciences, and humanities, many of which do not share a common vocabulary. The diversity of expertise combined with a recent explosion of sexological research and knowledge has created confusion and inaccuracy in the cross-disciplinary use of language. By bringing together clear, succinct explanations of the terms and concepts used in each discipline, the authors of this descriptive dictionary have created a standard basis for communication throughout the field.
This work provides more than six thousand entries. It defines the terms and theories that are essential to an understanding of the field and documents important contributions to sexology--ranging from the observations of Greek philosophers to findings of sexual researchers from Kraftt-Ebing and Margaret Mead to Masters and Johnson. A substantial number of entries reflect the work of Dr. John Money, who significantly enriched the language of sexology and was responsible for such pivotal concepts as gender role and gender identity. Bibliographical information in provided for each topic and additional information is offered in the appendix. Researchers, professionals, and students working on any aspect of sex or sexuality will find this dictionary comprehensive and easy to use.
Reviews
The history of sexology encompasses ideas and language from such diverse realms as biology, religion, psychology, philosophy, art, anthropology, sociology, and poetry; thus, a severe problem arises in the precise usage of sexual terminology. This dictionary provides a common basis for communication, bringing together terms and definitions from all disciplines. More than 4,500 definitions, excluding slang and jargon, were complied from dictionaries and textbooks of sexuality, psychology, medicine, feminism, and other fields. Most terms are technical/medical in tone, though many commonplace words appear: love, matriarchy, chocolate. Entries range from a sentence to several pages in length. The only illustrations are a few drab drawings in an appendix called Atlas of Human Sexuality. Other appendixes list names and descriptions of sexual phobias and philias; names of the 57 persons with a biographical sketch appearing in the dictionary; and decisions of the US Supreme Court (through 1990) relating to sexual behavior. Francoeur, a widely published authority on sexuality, has produced an ambitious work which displays sensitivity to problems of negative or value-laden connotations of many sexual terms. Would be improved by eliminating the q.v. symbol used for the copious cross-references found in every definition. For professional and academic libraries at all levels.—Choice
In classic understatement, the preface notes that `sexuality has always interested humans.' This dictionary demonstrates how that interest has evolved into an academic discipline with its own extremely sophisticated lexicon. Among the many and varied fields that have contributed to that lexicon are anatomy, psychology, folklore, medicine, sociology, law, religion, and popular culture. A-to-Z, the entries explain the terms' origins and meanings in clear language, as free of jargon as possible. When a term defined in its own right appears in another term's entry, it is cross-referenced. See also references at the end of articles further expand the network of meanings. Entries range from several words (e.g., those about `licentiousness' and `sexual norms') to a full page (e.g., ones on `mens liberation' and `proceptivity'). Only a professional sexologist will be aware of all of the `philias' and `paraphilias' listed in the appendix. The atlas portion of the book, covering fewer than twenty pages, covers psychosexual development, male and female anatomy, and clinical models of sexual response. As familiar as this territory is to most adults, much of it is unknown. This fine dictionary, scholarly with being abstruse, will help a wide audience increase its knowledge of this topic that understandably `has always interested humans.'—Wilson Library Bulletin
