Sexuality has many histories, not just one. This is the first comprehensive history of those many histories--the ways in which sex and sexuality have been made the subjects of history, and the key debates that have shaped our thinking on these elusive yet universal subjects.

Historian Stephen Garton deftly sets into context the work of the major figures from Havelock Ellis and Alfred Kinsey through to Stephen Marcus and Michel Foucault, while exploring our growing understanding of such subjects as male passivity in ancient Greek sexual cultures, the "invention" of homosexuality in the nineteenth century, mechanisms for controlling the birth rate, the relation of sex to class, and the rise of sexual sciences in the twentieth century.

This comprehensive volume will be a valuable tool for anyone interested in sexuality and society.