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socraticgadfly's review against another edition
5.0
Great overview of how sexuality issues, religious beliefs and law (primarily federal law discussed in the book) have intersected over the decades and centuries, with the focus being on how the intersection of the first and second have shaped the third. The obvious cases are here, like Roe and others on reproductive choice, as well as various gay rights ones, but the book goes well beyond that.
And, starts well before that. Stone notes that before the Second Great Awakening, many sexual matters were considered private and not subject to legal purview. That includes women getting reproductive counseling, including for abortion, from midwives. (American Medical Association bluenoses seeking to expand professionalism went hand in hand with the likes of Anthony Comstock on one hand, and early Progressive-type reformers on the other, to undercut this and to criminalize abortion.)
And, starts well before that. Stone notes that before the Second Great Awakening, many sexual matters were considered private and not subject to legal purview. That includes women getting reproductive counseling, including for abortion, from midwives. (American Medical Association bluenoses seeking to expand professionalism went hand in hand with the likes of Anthony Comstock on one hand, and early Progressive-type reformers on the other, to undercut this and to criminalize abortion.)
matibell's review against another edition
2.0
Stone’s text traces the relationship between law, religion, and sex in American history, offering a look at how ancient and Enlightenment ideals shaped the country’s founding through the present. While much of this work gives an overview on the subject, Stone prefaces and concludes the text arguing that America is currently at a turning point: although historically, religious groups (particularly the forms Protestant Christianity that came to prominence during the Second Great Awakening) successfully turned their vision of morality into law, today those same groups are on the defensive, arguing against Supreme Court decisions such as Roe and Obergefell that aim to preserve and enlarge the separation between church and state.
A critical blindspot of Stone’s text, however, is that in 550 pages of American legal history, “race,” “African Americans,” and “eugenics” are not given enough attention to warrant an index entry; “slavery” is discussed on two pages and “miscegenation/interracial marriage” occurs only alongside brief references to the Hays Code Loving v. Virginia. While Stone’s text otherwise offers a broad, engaging, and thoughtful look at the history of law, religion, and sexuality in America, this blindspot is truly troubling.
A critical blindspot of Stone’s text, however, is that in 550 pages of American legal history, “race,” “African Americans,” and “eugenics” are not given enough attention to warrant an index entry; “slavery” is discussed on two pages and “miscegenation/interracial marriage” occurs only alongside brief references to the Hays Code Loving v. Virginia. While Stone’s text otherwise offers a broad, engaging, and thoughtful look at the history of law, religion, and sexuality in America, this blindspot is truly troubling.
dappledlight's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent read that covers all aspect of sex and sex-related laws spanning from the modern day all the way back to ancient Greece. Geoffrey objectively discusses each of the problems faced by the government and its people concerning a plethora of matters including but not limited to abortion rights, use of contraceptive, interpretations of the bible, and same-sex marriage. Amazing, well researched book!
booksaremyjam's review against another edition
5.0
Don't read this right now.
Give it... a couple of years? For the wound of what happened yesterday to scab over.
...But what if it gets worse?
You know what? Eff it. Read this book. Right now. Get angry.
Sex and the Constitution, a book about our laws and how they've been interpreted to both oppress and liberate us, was published in early 2017.
That was before Kavanaugh.
That was before Coney Barrett.
That was before September 1, 2021, when Texas effectively banned all abortions.
Geoffrey Stone worked incredibly hard to pull together a book like this. One that begins in Ancient Greece and Rome, and then hovers over the 1970s - present day. He's here to tell us how we got where we're going; how fragile our rights are. He backs up his opinions in the few places where his opinions come through (he's a lawyer through-and-through, after all), then backs up those sources with more sources. He talks us through laws on obscenity, women's rights, sodomy, abortion rights, and LGBTQ+ rights.
I devoured this book, and I didn't think I would. I figured some of it would be dull/outside my scope of interest. I was wrong. I also, shockingly, cried when I finished reading it last night. Why? Because we've taken so many steps backwards since this book was published 4 very long years ago. Stone was tentatively hopeful that we wouldn't land where we are today.
So get angry.
Get up.
Fight for your rights.
EAT THE RICH.
(I've decided all of my book reviews are going to end like this. Why? BECAUSE IT'S NECESSARY. AND YOU'RE NOT READING ANYWAY. AND THE FRENCH HAD IT RIGHT. AND I'M NOT YELLING YOU'RE YELLING).
Give it... a couple of years? For the wound of what happened yesterday to scab over.
...But what if it gets worse?
You know what? Eff it. Read this book. Right now. Get angry.
Sex and the Constitution, a book about our laws and how they've been interpreted to both oppress and liberate us, was published in early 2017.
That was before Kavanaugh.
That was before Coney Barrett.
That was before September 1, 2021, when Texas effectively banned all abortions.
Geoffrey Stone worked incredibly hard to pull together a book like this. One that begins in Ancient Greece and Rome, and then hovers over the 1970s - present day. He's here to tell us how we got where we're going; how fragile our rights are. He backs up his opinions in the few places where his opinions come through (he's a lawyer through-and-through, after all), then backs up those sources with more sources. He talks us through laws on obscenity, women's rights, sodomy, abortion rights, and LGBTQ+ rights.
I devoured this book, and I didn't think I would. I figured some of it would be dull/outside my scope of interest. I was wrong. I also, shockingly, cried when I finished reading it last night. Why? Because we've taken so many steps backwards since this book was published 4 very long years ago. Stone was tentatively hopeful that we wouldn't land where we are today.
So get angry.
Get up.
Fight for your rights.
EAT THE RICH.
(I've decided all of my book reviews are going to end like this. Why? BECAUSE IT'S NECESSARY. AND YOU'RE NOT READING ANYWAY. AND THE FRENCH HAD IT RIGHT. AND I'M NOT YELLING YOU'RE YELLING).
maggil's review against another edition
5.0
I laughed a little (did you know in the 20s, gay men said YMCA stood for, "why I'm so gay") but mostly I got really angry at literally everyone. But this book is a compelling and detailed journey into the legal side of sex and everything it entails.
smortnerd's review against another edition
5.0
The core issue that came out of this, for me, is the issue that I have longed believe to be at the root of many of the mostly hotly debated political issues of the last one hundred years/all of time: the connection of religion and politics. We have a wall, constitutionally provided, between church and state, and yet we consistently ignore it and facetiously find secular reasons for laws that are clearly religiously based. Those secular reasons are often a stretch of the imagination, and thus unjust laws are occasionally and correctly struck down.
That's my main takeaway: the problem with America is religion, specifically Christian religion, more specifically evangelical Christian religion. For me, right and wrong seems fairly clear cut, but then again I don't allow centuries of dogmatic conditioning to cloud my judgment. So this book was both enlightening and incredibly frustrating. The level of anger I experienced at certain points meant I had to put the book aside and read something else for a day or I was going to explode in a way I was going to regret. There are also certain people I didn't realize were heroes that I learned more about (Justice Kennedy) and people I had always been taught were heroes who turned out to be ruled by their religion more than by principle (Justice Scalia).
For those who stand on the conservative side of the issues at hand here, they will say the author is clearly a liberal and biased. I would argue they are clearly biased, but that's not something I'm going to go into any further, I think I've made pretty clear how I feel. And you know what? He might be. But, I also found that while he occasionally expressed an opinion about the outcome of cases, he also did a fair job of presenting both sides of the argument. When he presented his analysis of the debate, if he did point out falsehoods in one side or the other, he cited prior precedent or other evidence for WHY. I was worried this could descend easily into partisan lecturing, but while he clearly had a viewpoint, he didn't stand on his soapbox to preach about it.
I would recommend that everyone should read this book, there's something to learn here for both sides of the issues he addresses.
That's my main takeaway: the problem with America is religion, specifically Christian religion, more specifically evangelical Christian religion. For me, right and wrong seems fairly clear cut, but then again I don't allow centuries of dogmatic conditioning to cloud my judgment. So this book was both enlightening and incredibly frustrating. The level of anger I experienced at certain points meant I had to put the book aside and read something else for a day or I was going to explode in a way I was going to regret. There are also certain people I didn't realize were heroes that I learned more about (Justice Kennedy) and people I had always been taught were heroes who turned out to be ruled by their religion more than by principle (Justice Scalia).
For those who stand on the conservative side of the issues at hand here, they will say the author is clearly a liberal and biased. I would argue they are clearly biased, but that's not something I'm going to go into any further, I think I've made pretty clear how I feel. And you know what? He might be. But, I also found that while he occasionally expressed an opinion about the outcome of cases, he also did a fair job of presenting both sides of the argument. When he presented his analysis of the debate, if he did point out falsehoods in one side or the other, he cited prior precedent or other evidence for WHY. I was worried this could descend easily into partisan lecturing, but while he clearly had a viewpoint, he didn't stand on his soapbox to preach about it.
I would recommend that everyone should read this book, there's something to learn here for both sides of the issues he addresses.
eralon's review against another edition
4.5
I loved my Constitutional Law course with Risa L. Goluboff, now Dean of the University of Virginia School of Law. By extension, I also loved the textbook on which we relied.
dani_c's review against another edition
5.0
Sex and the Constitution should be part of the required reading list for college US History majors. The importance of the content within cannot be overstated. Stone takes a big picture approach, looking at the history of American attitudes and laws regarding sex and religious beliefs around sex - obscenity, same-sex partnerships, reproductive rights, etc - from as far back as ancient Roman and Greek norms to early Christianity to the Framers right up through 2016. There is so much to unpack in Stone's work. If ever there was a vitally important time for Americans to become versed in our Constitution's history, even if only in the matters of sex and religion, that time is NOW.