The machines of sex research
Subtitle: technology and the politics of identity, 1945-1985
By: Donna J. Drucker
Series: SpringerBriefs in history of science and technology; SpringerBriefs in history of science and technology
Publisher: Springer
Published: 2014
Place of publication: Dordrecht; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 97
ISBN-13: 9789400770638; 9789400770645
Subjects: Sexology; Research; History; Technological innovations; Sexual Behavior; Physiology; Penis; Vagina
Description: The Machines of Sex Research describes how researchers worldwide integrated technology into studies of human sexuality in the postwar era. The machines they invented made new ways of seeing bodies possible. Some researchers who studied men used machines like penile strain gauges to police "deviant" male sexuality; others used less painful devices like penis-cameras to study women's sexual responses and map the physiology of their arousal and orgasm. While researchers used the findings from their technological innovations to propose their own views of how people should view their bodies and should manage their sexual lives, their readers interpreted their findings to enact their own visions of sexuality.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Table of contents: title: The machines of sex research; title: The penile strain gauge and aversion therapy : measuring and fixing the sexual body; title: The couples laboratory and the penis-camera : seeking the source of orgasm; title: The vaginal photoplethysmograph and devices for women : gauging female arousal; title: Conclusion : the future of human sex research technologies.