Silence and Sodomy: The Creation of Homosexual Identity in Law
This book just might be definitive. I do not mean that it presents an exhaustive account of the characterisation of sexual activity between men in English criminal law. It does not. While Moran's account is innovative and wide-ranging, I was never left with the feeling that the book contained all that needed to be said. I mean it instead in the sense that Moran successfully draws a variety of post-modern discourses surrounding law and sexuality into one place, providing a point of reference for future debate. The value of this work will thus be gauged in terms of the discussion it facilitates, not the discussion it forecloses. My interest is thus in the spaces Moran creates, not just the spaces he occupies. As that will sometimes involve drawing connections which Moran does not focus on, the risk is that I will be perceived as not liking the book. Not true; I liked the book a lot.