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Apologies for cross-posting! The 6th Conference of the European Sociological Association September 23-26, 2003, Murcia. The Sociology of Sexuality Network. CALL FOR PAPERS. Since the late 20th century, the volume of scholarly works on human sexuality has increased enormously. Encompassing assertions of sexual identities and rights, sexual politics and contraceptive cultures, sexual practices and lifestyles, sexual behaviours are investigated in a large number fields ranging from social history to anthropology and biology to law. The interest of many disciplines engaged in studying the sexual was partly fuelled by the global pandemic of HIV/AIDS and partly by the secularisation of western societies and changes in public attitudes to sexual politics, identities and reproductive matters. Sociologists have been playing pivotal roles in the investigation of human sexual behaviours and this year at the ESA Conference in Murcia, Spain, we hope to reflect the diversity of research interests and theories and determine the nature of Sociology of Sexuality studies. To mark the establishment of the new ‘Sociology of Sexuality’ Network, we invite submissions of individual papers, which address – but are not limited to – the following topics: 1. Sexual Health Contributions are welcomed on HIV, AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, sexual violence, unwanted pregnancies, discrimination on sexual behaviour/identity, ‘high risk’ behaviours, sexual health promotion, contraceptives, sexual networks, infertility and other issues relating to reproductive health. 2. Sexual Culture Sexual culture is taken here to mean the practices, beliefs, meanings and knowledge that structure sexuality in different social contexts. Papers can focus on specific aspects of a sexual culture or can review the different sub-cultures within a country, national sexual cultures or a shared sexual culture in western countries. Examples include examinations of symbolic sexual interactions, comparative studies of different sexual cultures, qualitative or quantitative studies of sexual attitudes and behaviours and analyses of the sexualisation of western cultures. 3. Sexual Politics and Sexual Identities Under this topic, papers are welcomed on queer rights and other sexual political issues and on the meanings and representation of homosexual, heterosexual, bisexual, transsexual and transgender identities. 4. Gender and Sexuality For this session, we welcome contributions on the relationships between gender and sexuality, including the changes in women participation in the workforce and the effects this may have on the female sexuality. Commentaries on the assertions of masculinity and femininity in sexual relationships and encounters are also welcomed. 5. Sex Research and Methodology This section will focus on the different methods in obtaining information on sexuality - examples include the ‘sex survey’, observational studies, ethnography, computer simulation, media analysis – and their inherent problems and advantages in obtaining valid, reliable information on human sexual behaviours. Difficulties in securing access to participants may also be discussed. If you are interested in presenting a paper, please submit an abstract of no more than 250 words, which states the title (in capital letters), the author name(s), institutional affiliations, city, country and e-mail address. Where there are two or more authors, please underline the presenting author. Abstracts may be submitted via the ESA website – www.um.es/ESA - or by email to [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask] Deadline for submissions is March 31st 2003. -- Catherine Heffernan, Research Officer, Health Services Research Unit, Institute of Health Sciences, Headington, Oxford, 0X3 7LF. Telephone number: 01865 - 226933 (from university network, dial 553-26933)