Publisher's Weekly Review
The sexual counterrevolution represents a vocal, yet fractional, political undercurrent that has cleaved the U.S. government and warped politics, argues this zealous investigation. In her critique of bipartisan extremism, historian Cohen (The Reconstruction of American Liberalism, 1865-1914) expertly details its rise within the Democratic and Republican parties by mining seven presidential elections, from Richard Nixon's to Barack Obama's, and touching upon the 2012 primaries. As Cohen demonstrates, the counterrevolution has attacked women's rights and sexual freedom, lobbying against gay school teachers, vilifying child care centers, and forming grassroots organizations devoted to overturning Roe v. Wade, among other concerns. These ideological stalwarts rally scores of fundamentalist voters and manipulate moderates into championing their issues based on faulty anecdotal evidence that Americans favor politicians with extreme views. Cohen convincingly reasons that the pervasive myth of a conservative America has actually buried hard statistics that reveal an increasingly progressive electorate. Overturning those narratives, she releases losing liberal candidates from the commonly held belief that supporting gay and women's rights cost them their elections. Although biased and unsympathetic to her foes, Cohen uses quantitative evidence to claim, quite cogently, that the sexual counterrevolution has overplayed its hand and that "cultural progressivism is the new American way," making this book an impressive contribution to the political dialogue. Agent: Jill Marr, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
In an election year when so many Americans are out of work and worried about finances, the next congressional and presidential election will be driven disproportionately by issues having to do with sex, specifically gay marriage, birth control, and abortion. Historian Cohen analyzes the huge influence of sexual counterrevolutionaries on politics over the past 40 years. Revolting against the changes that ushered in greater sexual freedom, feminism, and gay rights, the Christian Right has taken up the counterrevolution. Passionate but polarizing, they help form a strong and reliable base but alienate most other voters, even among Republicans. The movement has affected Democrats as well, making them timid about standing up for progressive causes of cultural and sexual tolerance, advancing the right-wing position by avoidance of controversial issues. Cohen draws heavily on statistics and public-opinion surveys showing attitudes on issues from gay marriage to birth control to abortion that indicate a more moderate perspective on sexual freedom than that taken by the Christian Right. This is an insightful look at the history of sexual mores and politics and how we got to such a contentious place.--Bush, Vanessa Copyright 2010 Booklist
Choice Review
Cohen has written an engaging political history of the past 40 years, with an occasional focus on the religious Right, or what she calls "sexual counterrevolutionaries." Her thesis is that this group, while a minority of voters, has wielded a disproportionate influence on US politics by capturing the Republican Party and by creating a false narrative among Democratic elites that progressive social stances cost Democrats votes. She argues that a more informed and active citizenry, a citizenry that is generally progressive on social issues (e.g., abortion and same-sex marriage), will eventually end this distorted politics. This underdeveloped solution tends to undermine much of the good material in the book. However, Cohen's goal is to tell the story of disproportionate social conservative influence in US politics, not necessarily to provide solutions to the problem she identifies. More sustained and in-depth attention to the conservative movement would have been useful, as with her excellent discussion of the politics of the ERA. For example, a sustained discussion of the politics of marriage equality is curiously absent. The book provides excellent insight into Republican efforts to emphasize unpopular social issues, including limiting access to birth control. This is a natural outgrowth of the politics Cohen describes. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers and undergraduate students. J. A. Pierceson University of Illinois at Springfield
