Sexual Justice: Democratic Citizenship and the Politics of Desire

by Morris B. Kaplan

Overview

Sexual Justice defends a robust a robust conception of lesbian and gay rights, emphasizing protection against discrimination and recognition of queer relationships and families. Synthesizing materials from law, philosophy, psychoanalysis and literature, Kaplan argues that sexual desire is central to the pursuit of happiness: equal citizenship requires individual freedom to shape oneself through a variety of intimate associations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415905145
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	04/08/1997
Pages:	302
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 2.00(d)

About the Author

Morris B. Kaplan teaches philosophy at Purchase College, State University of New York. He has served as a trial attorney with the Legal Aid Society of New York and as inaugural Rockefeller Fellow in Legal Humanities, Stanford Humanities Center, 1993-94. He has published in Praxis International, Virginia Law Review, GLQ, The Philosophical Forum, Metaphilosophy, and The Journal of the History of Sexuality.

Table of Contents

introduction Democracy, Difference, and Desire; Part 1 Principles; Chapter 1 Theorizing Lesbian and Gay Rights; Chapter 2 Historicizing Sexuality; Part 2 Psyches; Chapter 3 Eros Unbound; Chapter 4 Psychoanalyzing the “Third Sex”; Part 3 Politics; Chapter 5 Refiguring the Jewish Question; Chapter 6 Queer Citizenship, Don Gifford; Chapter 7 Intimacy and Equality, Ed Stein;

Editorial Reviews

"In a brilliant contribution to contemporary social and political thought, and to the growing field of 'queer theory,' Morris Kaplan argues that democratic equality entails for all citizens, of whatever sexual persuasion and orientation, the ability to participate on the same terms as other in collectively shaping the conditions of common life ... [A]n impassioned plea for equal sexual citizenship." — Seyla Benhabib, Harvard University
"Morris Kaplan's book brings queer studies into the realm of political theory in unprecedented ways. His lively and singular readings will surely provoke discussion and debate across the disciplines." — Judith Butler, University of California, Berkeley
"... thoughtful and stimulating ..." — Ethics

From the Publisher