The Sex Lives of Australians: A History

Cross-dressing convicts, effeminate bushrangers and women-shortage woes - here is the first ever history of sex in Australia, from Botany Bay to the present day. In this highly readable social history, Frank Bongiorno uses vivid examples to chart the changing sex lives of Australians. He shows how a predominantly male penal colony gave rise to a rough and ready culture: the scarcity of women made for strange bedfellows, and the female minority was both powerful and vulnerable. Then came the Victorian era, in which fears of sodomy helped bring an end to the transportation of convicts. Tracing the story all the way to the present, Bongiorno shows how the quest for respectability always has another side to it, and how the contraceptive pill changed so much. Along the way he deals with some intriguing questions - were the Kelly gang gay? Why did the law ignore lesbianism for so long? - and introduces some remarkable characters, both reformers and radicals. This is the thought-provoking story of sex in Australia.

Review: 'A great book, a compound of wit and tragedy, as you'd expect from the subject matter, plus wide learning and common sense.' - Alan Atkinson, author of The Europeans in Australia.

Author Biography: Frank Bongiorno is the co-author of A Little History of the Australian Labor Party.

Additional information is not available.

Stock Listing

Branch	Stock	Location
The Co-op ANU Acton	6	Canberra, 0200 ACT
The Co-op CHEC Coffs Harbour	2	Coffs Harbour, 2457 NSW
The Co-op GU Nathan	1	Nathan, 4111 QLD
The Co-op LTU Bendigo	2	Bendigo, 3550 VIC
The Co-op LTU Bundoora	4	Bundoora, 3083 VIC
The Co-op Melbourne University Baillieu	1	The University of Melbourne, 3010 VIC
The Co-op Newcastle University Callaghan	1	Callaghan, 2308 NSW
The Co-op Sydney University	1	Sydney, 2006 NSW
The Co-op UC Bruce	1	Bruce, 2617 ACT
The Co-op UQ St Lucia	2	St Lucia, 4067 QLD
The Co-op USC Sippy Downs	1	Sippy Downs, 4556 QLD
The Co-op UTAS Hobart	1	Sandy Bay, 7005 TAS
The Co-op UTS Broadway	2	Ultimo, 2007 NSW

These figures were accurate this morning but stock may have been sold or received since then.