Peripheral Desires: The German Discovery of Sex

Abstract

In particular gay and lesbian or queer studies have contributed to an avalanche of publications about the ways in which "peripheral desires," to quote Robert Tobin's book, were framed in biomedical, politico-legal, and cultural discourses and how these affected society and the individual lives of those concerned. Proponents of this perspective found inspiration in ancient Greece, Nietzsche's philosophy, aestheticism, and male bonding in political and military associations, intellectual and artistic circles, youth movements, and educational practices.