Sexuality and Regulatory Regimes

The fourth chapter takes us to the regulation of sexuality, specifically developing the relation of such regulation to the formation and operation of identity groups. The first section argues that there are complex ways in which identity categories may interact with emotional attitudes to produce different sorts of identity oppositions. Disgust seems especially important in defining the limits of tolerance, including limits enforced by coercion or violence. Moreover, disgust appears to have a particularly strong connection with sexuality. The chapter goes on to consider Bhaṭṭa Jayánta’s Āgamaḍambara, a tenth-century work from Kashmir that directly treats sexuality and social tolerance across identity groups. Specifically, it suggests the profound importance of sexual liberation—not only for sexual minorities, but for a range of groups that might be subjected to social exclusion. From here, the chapter turns to Banks’s Lost Memory of Skin, a novel treating current U.S. practices surrounding sexual offenders.