Sexual beliefs, behaviors and identities are interwoven throughout our lives, from childhood to old age. This book critically examines sexuality across the entire lifespan. Rooted in diverse disciplines and employing a wide range of research methods, the chapters explore the sexual and social transitions that typically map to broad life stages, as well as key age-graded physiological transitions, such as puberty and menopause, while drawing on the latest developments in gender, sexuality, and life course studies. The book explores a wide variety of topics, including puberty, sexual initiation, ... More

Sexual beliefs, behaviors and identities are interwoven throughout our lives, from childhood to old age. This book critically examines sexuality across the entire lifespan. Rooted in diverse disciplines and employing a wide range of research methods, the chapters explore the sexual and social transitions that typically map to broad life stages, as well as key age-graded physiological transitions, such as puberty and menopause, while drawing on the latest developments in gender, sexuality, and life course studies. The book explores a wide variety of topics, including puberty, sexual initiation, coming out, sexual assault, marriage/life partnering, disability onset, immigration, divorce, menopause, and widowhood, always attending to the social locations—including gender, race, ethnicity, and social class—that shape, and are shaped by, sexuality. The book ultimately speaks to important public policy issues, such as sex education, aging societies, and the increasing politicization of scientific research. It captures the interplay between individual lives and the ever-changing social-historical context, facilitating new insight not only into people's sexual lives, but also into ways of studying them, ultimately providing a fresh, new perspective on sexuality.