Sex In England Research Articles

Breast symptomatic service: Referral numbers and cancer diagnoses by age and sex in England 2019/20

Breast symptomatic service: Referral numbers and cancer diagnoses by age and sex in England 2019/20

Rethinking rapes: men’s sex lives and feminist critiques

ABSTRACT The last quarter of the twentieth century saw significant innovations in theorisation and politicisation of sexual violence. This article examines the impact of feminist work on rape and male sexuality in Britain, witnessed through the ‘sex lives’ of male supporters of the women’s movement. I draw on oral histories, life writing and anti-sexist men’s magazines to investigate moments of disclosure and re-evaluation of men’s sexual encounters. The article investigates how men interpreted and acted on feminist ideas, noting their strategies of defensive intellectualism, laddishness and experiments with queering gender and sexuality. I argue that men found it hard to reconfigure their personal ‘sex lives’ and develop activist resources that would challenge gender-based violence, particularly in the context of rape becoming a key feminist concept. Nonetheless, men’s sexual experiences were shared with other men as a site of social and political scrutiny, offering historical insight into very intimate realms that are usually absent from historical archives.

Communist daughters

Abstract This article explores communists’ attitudes towards gender roles and sexuality in Britain and the Netherlands during the Cold War (ca. 1948‐1970). It looks at the changing roles of women in the communist movement in the public sphere, as well as the changes in practices of gender relations in the communist home—that is, the private sphere. This article, which is based on interviews with Dutch and British individuals raised in communist families, argues that communist children who were taught progressive theories while simultaneously witnessing traditional practices in the home were spurred to feminist thinking and so joined the movement in its early stages. In light of these findings, this article makes the case for the inclusion of communists in the vanguard of feminism in Britain and the Netherlands.

Trends in life expectancy and age-specific mortality in England and Wales, 1970–2016, in comparison with a set of 22 high-income countries: an analysis of vital statistics data

Since 2010, the rate of improvement in life expectancy in the UK has slowed. We aimed to put this trend in the context of changes over the long term and in relation to a group of other high-income countries. We compared sex-specific trends in life expectancy since 1970 and age-specific mortality in England and Wales with median values for 22 high-income countries (in western Europe, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, and the USA). We used annual mortality data (1970-2016) from the Human Mortality Database. Until 2011-16, male life expectancy in England and Wales followed the median life expectancy of the comparator group. By contrast, female life expectancy was below the median and is among the lowest of the countries considered. In 2011-16, the rate of improvement in life expectancy slowed sharply for both sexes in England and Wales, and slowed more moderately in the comparator group because of negative trends in all adult age groups. This deceleration resulted in a widening gap between England and Wales and the comparators from 2011 onwards. Since the mid-2000s, for the first time, mortality rates in England and Wales among people aged 25-50 years were appreciably higher than in the comparator group. Although many countries have seen slower increases in life expectancy since 2011, trends in England and Wales are among the worst. The poor performance of female life expectancy over the long-term is in part driven by the relative timing of the smoking epidemic across countries. The previously overlooked higher mortality among young working-age adults in England and Wales relative to other countries deserves urgent attention. None.

Changes in, and factors associated with, frequency of sex in Britain: evidence from three National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal)

ObjectivesTo examine changes over time in the reported frequency of occurrence of sex and associations between sexual frequency and selected variables.DesignRepeat, cross sectional, population based National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes...

Carnal Knowledge: Regulating Sex in England, 1470–1600. Martin Ingram.

<i>Carnal Knowledge: Regulating Sex in England, 1470–1600</i>. Martin Ingram.

Carnal Knowledge: Regulating Sex in England, 1470–1600, by Martin Ingram

Carnal Knowledge: Regulating Sex in England, 1470–1600, by Martin Ingram

Book Review: Carnal Knowledge: Regulating Sex in England, 1470–1600

Book Review: Carnal Knowledge: Regulating Sex in England, 1470–1600

Carnal Knowledge: Regulating Sex in England, 1470-1600 (by Martin Ingram)

<i>Carnal Knowledge: Regulating Sex in England, 1470-1600 </i>(by Martin Ingram)

Carnal Knowledge: Regulating Sex in England, 1470–1600. By Martin Ingram

As Martin Ingram writes, “All societies regulate sexual behavior and sexual expression, though how they do so, and to what degree, varies enormously” (5). In Carnal Knowledge, Ingram considers attempts to control sexual conduct in one specific society: England south of the Humber from the mid-fifteenth century to about 1600. If one of the distinguishing features of the emergence of “modern” sexuality was the decline of state regulation in consensual heterosexual relations—adultery, for instance, became a moral but not a criminal matter—by contrast, in premodern English culture, sexual relationships were very much the business of governing authorities. Over the century and a half Ingram considers, adultery, fornication, and the fostering of sexual misbehavior were prosecuted, with varying degrees of intensity, in tribunals local and regional, secular and ecclesiastical. The regulation of sexuality has been extensively researched for the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods, but the time frame Ingram considers, bridging the scholarly chasm between medieval and early modern, brings both the first full investigation of the subject for the period between 1450 and 1560, and a substantially different perspective on the Elizabethan period and beyond. Carnal Knowledge is a magisterial work based on deep immersion in archival sources of many kinds, harnessed in clear and cogent analysis. It will be required reading for scholars working in gender, sexuality, law, and politics in the premodern world.

The criminalisation of paying for sex in England and Wales: how gender and power are implicated in the making of policy

AbstractThis article considers how gender and power are implicated in how prostitution policy is translated from initial proposal to enactment in law. The analysis brings together Freeman’s proposal for “policy translation” (2009) and Connell’s work on “hegemonic masculinity” (1987 with Messerschmidt 2005) to examine Hansard and other United Kingdom Parliament documents relating to Clause 13/14 of the Policing and Crime Bill 2008–2009, a proposal to criminalise the purchase of sex in England and Wales. It is argued here that hegemonic masculinity is implicated in how “responsibility” and “exploitation” in relation to sex purchase are disputed and defined within the Parliamentary debates on Clause 13/14, and this in turn informed the version of criminalisation that emerged as authoritative. This article reflects finally on how far mapping the translation of policy can elucidate the operation of gender and power within the policy process.

Review of 'Carnal Knowledge: Regulating Sex in England, 1470–1600'

Review of 'Carnal Knowledge: Regulating Sex in England, 1470–1600'

Medicated sex in Britain: evidence from the third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles

ObjectivesTo describe the prevalence of medication use to assist sexual performance in Britain and to identify associated factors.MethodsCross-sectional probability sample, undertaken in 2010–2012, of 15 162 people aged 16–74 years,...

“Wantoning with the Thighs”: The Socialization of Thigh Sex in England, 1590–1730

“Wantoning with the Thighs”: The Socialization of Thigh Sex in England, 1590–1730

Mothers, daughters and sex: the negotiation of young women’s sexuality in Britain and Hong Kong

In Western sociology, much has been made of the impact of rapid social change on sexual lives over the last half century, represented as a consequence of modernity and often as a story of progress, or, in Weeks’s (2007) words, ‘the world we have won’. The ‘world’, however, generally means the Western world. This article is based on comparative qualitative research in Britain and Hong Kong, and explores how the sexuality of young women is managed and negotiated within families, particularly between mothers and daughters. In outlining similarities and differences between Britain and Hong Kong, we argue that these are not simple outcomes of the progress of modernity, or of cultural differences alone, but are related to the material conditions of life in each locale. In making this argument we hope to contribute to moving debates on sexuality and modernity beyond their currently Eurocentric focus.

Lifetime prevalence, associated factors, and circumstances of non-volitional sex in women and men in Britain: findings from the third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-3)

SummaryBackgroundSexual violence is increasingly recognised as a public health issue. Information about prevalence, associated factors, and consequences for health in the population of Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) is scarce. The third National Survey of Sexual Health Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-3) is the first of the Natsal surveys to include questions about sexual violence and the first population-based survey in Britain to explore the issue outside the context of crime.MethodsBetween Sept 6, 2010, and Aug 31, 2012, we did a probability sample survey of women and men aged 16–74 years living in Britain. We asked participants about their experience of sex against their will since age 13 years and the circumstances surrounding the most recent occurrence. We explored associations between ever experiencing non-volitional sex and a range of sociodemographic, health, and behavioural factors. We used logistic regression to estimate age-adjusted odds ratios to analyse factors associated with the occurrence of completed non-volitional sex in women and men.FindingsWe interviewed 15 162 people. Completed non-volitional sex was reported by 9·8% (95% CI 9·0–10·5) of women and 1·4% (1·1–1·7) of men. Median age (interdecile range) at most recent occurrence was 18 years (14–32) for women and 16 years (13–30) for men. Completed non-volitional sex varied by family structure and, in women, by age, education, and area-level deprivation. It was associated with poor health, longstanding illness or disability, and treatment for mental health conditions, smoking, and use of non-prescription drugs in the past year in both sexes, and with binge drinking in women. Completed non-volitional sex was also associated with reporting of first heterosexual intercourse before 16 years of age, same-sex experience, more lifetime sexual partners, ever being diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection, and low sexual function in both sexes, and, in women, with abortion and pregnancy outcome before 18 years of age. In most cases, the person responsible was known to the individual, although the nature of the relationship differed by age at most recent occurrence. Participants who were younger at interview were more likely to have told someone about the event and to have reported it to the police than were older participants.InterpretationThese data provide the first population prevalence estimates of non-volitional sex in Britain. We showed it to be mainly an experience of young age and strongly associated with a range of adverse health outcomes in both women and men.FundingGrants from the UK Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust, with support from the Economic and Social Research Council and the Department of Health.

Postsecular Sex? Secularisation and Religious Change in the History of Sexuality in Britain

AbstractHistories of 20th century British religion and sexuality, and that work which connects the two, have, until recently, been structured by the secularisation thesis, the assumption that politically and culturally Christianity's influence has steadily declined in the modern era. In the history of sexuality, it is commonly assumed that from the end of the Victorian era religious categories of sexual activity were replaced by scientific categories of sexual identity. This paper examines recent developments in the history and sociology of religion around the idea of the postsecular. Analysing religious developments in secularised societies in terms of religious change rather than a teleology of decline is starting to raise new questions in the history of sexuality. Postsecular analyses in the history of sexuality help us to understand the ways in which religion has continued to influence and shape understandings of sexual desire and identity in the 20th century.

Patrice Corriveau: Judging homosexuals: a history of gay persecution in Quebec and France

In this book, translated and updated from the French language original, Patrice Corriveau compares the changing state response to same-sex sexuality in France and Quebec, from Antiquity to the present day. Corriveau’s book focuses primarily on the regulation of gay man in these jurisdictions using criminal prohibitions. This is by far the most interesting and useful aspect of the book’s discussion. However, the last few sections also consider recent shifts in both countries towards the legal recognition of same-sex partnerships (in the form of equal marriage in Canada and the PACS system in France). In general, the book is a valuable addition to the social–historical literature on gay male sexuality and should be of considerable interest to scholars working in the field of gay male historiography. It will be especially useful to those with an interest in the French-speaking world. It also complements and contextualises those studies which have focused specifically on English-speaking nations, such as Jeffrey Weeks’ magisterial work on the regulation of same-sex sexuality in Britain. The criminal regulation of homosexuality in both France and Quebec follows a trajectory that will be largely familiar to scholars in other jurisdictions in the Western English-speaking world. For example Corriveau compares the relative cultural acceptance of sex between men in ancient Greece and Rome—at least under certain conditions of class and conduct—with the increasingly punitive response to homosexual behaviours in the European Middle Ages. In France as elsewhere this change seems to reflect the growing influence of early Christianity and its preoccupation with the sinfulness of non-procreative sexuality. Like Britain and other European countries state-sponsored persecution was exported subsequently to France’s overseas possessions from the seventeenth century, including the North American colony of New France.

Regulation of Sex in England and Wales

Traditionally, prostitution has not been criminalized in England and Wales, regarded as a private transaction conducted between two consenting adults. However, there are many pieces of legislation that seek to regulate and punish a wide variety of acts associated with prostitution in the interests of public health, social well-being and moral order. As such, soliciting and kerb-crawling in public or quasi-public spaces are currently illegal and there are several laws which allow for the prosecution of those who are seen to benefit from the prostitution of others, such as ‘pimps’, procurers and brothel owners. Off street working is legal, though where there is more than one person present in a premise – even if the second person is not selling sex – that person may be deemed to be living off immoral earnings and that premise defined as a brothel. Advertising of sexual services in public spaces is also prohibited.

Suicide epidemics: the impact of newly emerging methods on overall suicide rates - a time trends study

BackgroundThe impact of newly emerging, popular suicide methods on overall rates of suicide has not previously been investigated systematically. Understanding these effects may have important implications for public health surveillance. We examine the emergence of three novel methods of suicide by gassing in the 20th and 21st centuries and determine the impact of emerging methods on overall suicide rates.MethodsWe studied the epidemic rises in domestic coal gas (1919-1935, England and Wales), motor vehicle exhaust gas (1975-1992, England and Wales) and barbecue charcoal gas (1999-2006, Taiwan) suicide using Poisson and joinpoint regression models. Joinpoint regression uses contiguous linear segments and join points (points at which trends change) to describe trends in incidence.ResultsEpidemic increases in the use of new methods of suicide were generally associated with rises in overall suicide rates of between 23% and 71%. The recent epidemic of barbecue charcoal suicides in Taiwan was associated with the largest rise in overall rates (40-50% annual rise), whereas the smallest rise was seen for car exhaust gassing in England and Wales (7% annual rise). Joinpoint analyses were only feasible for car exhaust and charcoal burning suicides; these suggested an impact of the emergence of car exhaust suicides on overall suicide rates in both sexes in England and Wales. However there was no statistical evidence of a change in the already increasing overall suicide trends when charcoal burning suicides emerged in Taiwan, possibly due to the concurrent economic recession.ConclusionsRapid rises in the use of new sources of gas for suicide were generally associated with increases in overall suicide rates. Suicide prevention strategies should include strengthening local and national surveillance for early detection of novel suicide methods and implementation of effective media guidelines and other appropriate interventions to limit the spread of new methods.