America's War On Sex ─ The Continuing Attack on Law, Lust, and Liberty

In the second edition of his thought-provoking book originally published during the Bush administration, Klein attempts to unravel just what it is about sex that places it at the core of American politics and the debate about civil liberties. He discusses the obvious battleground issues including abortion, contraception, and pornography while focusing on the struggle between groups on the religious right and civil liberties organizations like the ACLU over the meaning of constitutional rights and how they should be upheld. The book summarizes the historical perspective in which Americans have tried to balance the needs of individual freedom and community responsibility; however, the argument remains that this balance is being upset by fundamentalist political and social forces. Klein argues that these organizations have declared a "war on sex" as they attempt to control behaviors by using fear, a narrative of sin, protecting children, supporting marriage, preventing disease, and a long list of psychic arguments in an attempt to present sex as a clear danger to society. The current political debate is being shaped by these issues, particularly in terms of women's rights and specifically the right of a woman to terminate her pregnancy. Nadine Strossen, president of the ACLU, provides a moving foreword. Annotation Ac2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Marty Klein, PhD, has been a certified sex therapist and licensed marriage and family therapist for over 30 years.