New perspectives in sexology: From rigor (mortis) to richness¹

This paper was presented as a Plenary address at the 33rd Annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sex, Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 2, 1990. Reprint requests can be sent to the author at the Department of Urology, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, 10467.

“Rigor” is a term which has been used in sexology to imply that there is a hierarchy of methodologies and approaches to sex research. This paper argues that “rigor” is actually a term used rhetorically in an attempt to achieve professional legitimacy in a field perennially threatened because of its politically relevant subject matter. Rather than worry about a seat at the table, we need to look more towards the postmodern richness of diverse and even contradictory standards and approaches to sex research to reveal the range and depth of our subject matter. Recent issues of JSR introducing feminist perspectives offer examples of the range of work which should be acceptable to those interested more in intellectual challenge and quality than traditional respectability.

Key words:

• sexual science
• sex research
• methodology

Notes

This paper was presented as a Plenary address at the 33rd Annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sex, Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 2, 1990. Reprint requests can be sent to the author at the Department of Urology, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, 10467.