CONFIDENTIAL TO AMERICA by David Gudelunas ( 9781412806886 ) - Books & Audio Books at Pickabook.co.uk

Item Details

Title:

CONFIDENTIAL TO AMERICA
NEWSPAPER ADVICE COLUMNS AND SEXUAL EDUCATION

By:

David Gudelunas

Format:

Hardback

List price:

£135.00

Our price:

£121.50

Discount:

10% off

You save:

£13.50

ISBN 10:

1412806887

ISBN 13:

9781412806886

Availability:

Reprinting. This item may be subject to delays or cancellation.

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Stock:

Currently 0 available

Publisher:

TAYLOR & FRANCIS INC

Pub. date:

15 December, 2007

Pages:

234

Description:

Demonstrates that while formal discussions of sexuality are strictly regulated, the informal curriculum of sexuality, particularly in the American mass media, is more vocal on the topic of sex. This work shows how, since the 1950s, advice columns have been one of the few consistent, mainstream, public forums for the discussion such topics.

Synopsis:

In modern-day America, newspaper advice columns have become public forums for the discussion of human sexuality. Although questions posed to newspaper advice columnists ranges from matters of etiquette to intimacy, as they have for decades, increasingly most of the limited space in these newspaper features address issues that fall under a broader heading of sexuality. Questions about marital fidelity, dating and relationships, sexual practices, gender roles, and sexual taboos have all become "hot button" topics within the morally conservative mainstream press. In "Confidential to America", David Gudelunas shows how, since the 1950s, advice columns have been one of the few consistent, mainstream, and widely available public forums for the discussion of topics severely restricted in other places. Newspaper advice columns serve as sites of discussion about sexuality within a larger culture that is severely divided on questions of how, when, and to what extent one may formally speak about sexuality. Even now, at the turn of the twenty-first century, high schools remain hesitant to devote more than a semester or two to formal discussions of sexuality.When they do, under current governmental policy and pressure, these discussions are often restricted to abstinence-only programs or what might be described as "non-discussions" of sexuality. Community-based sexual education programs are similarly restricted in their reach, funding, and, more often than not, effectiveness. In America in the twenty-first century, talking about sex in educational contexts is perceived to be almost as risky as having sex. Gudelunas demonstrates that while formal discussions of sexuality are strictly regulated and often thwarted, the informal curriculum of sexuality, particularly in the American mass media, has become ever more vocal on the topic of sex. From depictions conveyed through fictional and reality-based popular culture, to discussions taking place in the cafeteria (if not the classroom) and in Internet chat rooms, sexuality dominates our collective conscience.

Publication:

Imprint:

Transaction Publishers

Returns:

Returnable

Some other items by this author:

CONFESSIONS OF A SECULAR JEW (PB)

CONFIDENTIAL TO AMERICA

RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE AND THE SHIFTING VISIBILITY OF DRAG CULTURE (HB)