Mirroring increased cultural and disciplinary attention to sexuality, many introductory sociology textbooks have begun to include coverage of the topic. Our study first assesses the extent of textual coverage of sexuality in a sample of 38 introductory textbooks published after 2000. Secondly, we focus on 14 textbooks with a sexuality chapter and/or textbooks with more than the average textual coverage of sexuality. We find that the emergent “core” of the sociology of sexuality centers on sex research, historical and cross-cultural trends in sexuality, media representations, gender and sexuality, homosexuality and society, and sexual violence. These textbooks vary widely in their attention to the intersection of race, class and sexuality and theoretical applications. We find lingering heteronormativity, homogenization of homosexuality, and problematic representations of non-normative sexuality within the chapters. We conclude with comments on the relevance of these findings and offer some suggestions to ensure that coverage of sexuality better reflects scholarship and discourse within the discipline.

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While sociologists have long explored health and illness, much of it has been androcentric and White-centered. Scholars began to focus more on women's health including pregnancy and birth in the 1970s yet have historically largely ignored Black women's birth experiences. Midwifery in the United States was once the standard practice for prenatal care and birth. However, the vast majority of births have been medicalized and now occur in hospital settings. In this review, I will highlight the role of race in the historical shifts in the provision of care to Black pregnant and birthing women, the marginalization of Black midwives historically and currently, medical racism, outcomes of laws in the 20th century, the voices of Black midwives and mothers, the activism of radical Black birth organizations and finally, how increasing access to midwifery care may help to address current racialized crises in maternal and infant mortality. Midwifery care typically leads to excellent physical and emotional outcomes for low-risk mothers and infants, and reduces reliance on medical interventions. As the United States currently has alarming racialized rates of maternal and infant mortality despite vast medicalization, there is much to consider about increasing access to midwifery care in the United States.

Practicing midwifery is illegal in four states and the District of Columbia. However, midwives still practice as they and much of the public do not see their behavior as criminal. Based on in-depth interviews with twenty-six midwives, our findings demonstrate that midwives employed both public and professional accounts. They collectively justified midwifery in prohibition states by condemning their condemners, appealing to higher loyalties, denying injury, and justifying by comparison. We also found a new account, denial of illegality. This research uniquely applies the concept of collective accounts to an illegal but socially acceptable career.

Staff who work in facilities such as health care, dentistry, drug treatment, and tattoo/body piercing are likely to encounter persons with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and be privy to their HCV status. The purpose of this paper is to assess staff comfort with varying levels of intimacy (i.e., social distance) with people who have HCV. We examine how previous contact with persons with HCV and knowledge of HCV including HCV specific training affect desire for social distance. Data are from a 2007 sample of 82 individuals working in health care, dentistry, drug treatment, or tattoo/body-piercing studios located in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Multivariate analyses indicate that staff desire social distance from persons with HCV, but contact of certain types reduce desire for social distance. We discuss how the findings have implications for people employed in these fields, as they point to the need to dispel myths and reduce fear among staff working in facilities that may serve persons with HCV.