Book Review: Surveillance, Closed Circuit Television and Social Control
| Author | Roy Coleman |
| Date | 01 March 2000 |
| DOI | 10.1177/096466390000900112 |
| Published date | 01 March 2000 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
BOOK REVIEWS
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effective way for gay and lesbian activists to proceed in order to gain human respect,
or ‘citizenship’. The strategy of measuring gay and lesbian rights against those of
heterosexuals, these writers claim, does nothing to challenge the concept of hetero-
sexuality (and patriarchy) itself. And as Stevi Jackson points out in Chapter 6, these
questions of sexual politics have just as much to do with gender as they do with sexu-
ality. The second section on the other hand looks more at the development of theories
around sexuality, from Weber, Freud and Foucault to the more current ideas of the
queer theorist Judith Butler and French feminist Luce Irigaray. Brief explanations of
each theorist’s contribution to the debate are given, and it is possible, therefore, to see
a variety of theoretical approaches to and ideas on sexuality over the last century.
Finally, the third section encompasses international empirical work on women’s
bodies and sexualities from as far apart as the Netherlands, Spain, Israel and Australia.
This includes examination of issues such as the Catholic church’s influence on con-
traception and abortion; prostitution and the trafficking of women; and the culture-
specific construction of sexual harassment at work. These issues are set in their own
national contexts, again asking questions about identity and citizenship as well as
sexuality.
This is an interesting collection, which draws together a wide variety of work in
and around questions of sexuality and sexual politics. However, because the essays
are so short, sometimes the writers do not do justice to the theoretical framework
informing their work. Complex ideas feel rushed – for example, in Chapter 3 on
‘Sexuality and the Law’, Gibbins makes use of many different theories, but the result
is that much important work, such as that of Foucault, Derrida and Lacan, is glossed
over. This may be because this is a collection of conference papers: so many short
papers covering a wide range of issues within the diverse area of ‘sexuality’ cannot
really hope to give an in-depth discussion of any one area. Sexuality itself is never
defined, or even addressed as a concept requiring definition, and so there are some
essays, for example the Finlayson piece on gender discourses in Ireland, which do not
seem to fit with the others, and which do not really seem to be about ‘sexuality’ (or
desire) at all. There is also only a brief mention of issues such as bisexuality or trans-
sexuality.
The editors have produced an eclectic collection that contains very interesting
work, particularly some of the empirical essays (for example, Celia Valiente’s chapter
on sexual harassment in Spain). It also provides an overview of historical and con-
temporary ideas and theories on sexuality. If aimed at people who are interested in
but do not know a huge amount about the area, this book is useful. However, because
it is eclectic, this means that some essays do not sit easily with others. And due to the
lack of depth, researchers will be left wanting more case...
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