the surprisingly short history of heterosexuality

When we do this kind of digging, we find out where the ideas we have and use to build our lives with came from, which helps us in the effort to decide what kind of ideas we want to be building our lives with, and whether the ones we've inherited are good enough for the lives and cultures we want for the future.'Blank's digging for Straight uncovered not only the origin of heterosexuality, but also the origin of many assumptions about 'appropriate' sexual behavior that are still accepted as true today. It helps show us the differences between the things we believe and things we actually do know.

I asked Blank why she thought this was important, and she replied, 'Questioning assumptions is an effort to understand ourselves. the stuff that 'goes without saying,' the assumptions and presumptions and 'common sense' ideas we have about our world and how it works.'Blank's previous book, Virgin: The Untouched History, as well as Straight, both take on the task of questioning doxa-'everyone knows' what a virgin is 'everyone knows' what a heterosexual is. Much of the book focuses on the concept of doxa, which Blank defines as 'the understanding we absorb from our native culture that we use to make sense of the world. Straight challenges this assumption, showing that the idea of heterosexuality is only 150 or so years old, has no basis in scientific research and is constantly changing-in fact, it may be on its way out the door in the not-too-distant future. The book is an engrossing read that will not only equip you with lots of interesting trivia for your next cocktail party, but also probably challenge your personal beliefs.Most of us believe that heterosexuality is a stable concept that can be easily described in both scientific and social terms. Yes, this is indeed what sex nerds do for fun and relaxation.

I have spent this week lying on the beach reading Hanne Blank's new book, Straight: The Surprisingly Short History of Heterosexuality.

The surprisingly short history of heterosexuality