Men and women have always bargained for sex. In Hard Bargains,
philosopher-lawyer Linda Hirshman and legal historian Jane Larson provide the
first complete analysis ofpower in heterosexual relationships, combining an
eye-opening legal history of sexual regulation with thought-provoking
predictions of what the future might bring.
Hirshman and Larson tell a riveting tale that spans the centuries--from early
accounts of adulterers hanging from the gibbet, to the impact of the Kinsey
Reports and Hugh Hefner's playboy philosophy, to the Swinging Sixties judge who
argued in favor of sex with eleven year-olds. The book examines the factors that
have shaped our notions of sex, from Catholic teaching to the