About the Author

Dennis Altman is professor in the School of Politics, Sociology, and Anthropology at La Trobe University, Australia. He is the author of eight books, including AIDS in the Mind of America and Homosexual: Oppression and Liberation.

Reviews

"This valuable resource is compelling and easy-to-read, accessible to anyone interested in how technology and the global economy are shaping the ways we think." - Booklist "Altman is a wonderfully clear writer and thinker with a magpie skill for accumulating relevant nuggets of information. This makes Global Sex both illuminating and fascinating.... It is dazzlingly ambitious in its scope, ranging from fellatio in the White House and bulimia in Fiji to AIDS in Africa and transgender in Taiwan." - New Internationalist "A gripping portrait of a world barely able to keep pace with enormous, rapid-fire changes.... Offering neither a dire warning nor a reason to rejoice, his savvy, energetic book truly maintains a global perspective." - Publishers Weekly

"This valuable resource is compelling and easy-to-read, accessible to anyone interested in how technology and the global economy are shaping the ways we think." - Booklist "Altman is a wonderfully clear writer and thinker with a magpie skill for accumulating relevant nuggets of information. This makes Global Sex both illuminating and fascinating.... It is dazzlingly ambitious in its scope, ranging from fellatio in the White House and bulimia in Fiji to AIDS in Africa and transgender in Taiwan." - New Internationalist "A gripping portrait of a world barely able to keep pace with enormous, rapid-fire changes.... Offering neither a dire warning nor a reason to rejoice, his savvy, energetic book truly maintains a global perspective." - Publishers Weekly

Altman (politics, sociology, and anthropology, LaTrobe Univ., Australia) thoroughly analyzes the way globalization has influenced sex in various cultures around the world. He discusses the worldwide ramifications of various aspects of sex AIDS, beauty pageants, prostitution, abortion, sterilization programs, genital mutilation, and others always showing the complexities of the problems. For example, gay and lesbian issues all over the world have been greatly influenced by Western ideas, but at the same time definitions, behaviors, and policies differ from country to country. What is considered gay behavior is simply not clear. Most of all, Altman shows that sex and sexuality are not just personal and private matters but have much more to do with global politics and economies. Despite the title, this work is scholarly in tone, although, given the subject, it is sometimes lurid in details. Recommended for large public and academic libraries. Kitty Chen Dean, Nassau Coll., Garden City, NY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.