Abstract:
This thesis explores some of the previously neglected sexual subcultures that existed in late twentieth century New Zealand. Of particular interest are the communities that surrounded sex shops, swingers and sadomasochists. Despite significant interest from social scientists, the histories of sex shops, swingers and sadomasochists have remained largely unwritten, both in New Zealand and abroad. By flipping the on the light switch for these histories, this thesis illuminates important aspects of New Zealand's recent sexual past that would otherwise be left in the dark. In doing so, it makes an important contribution to the social, as well as the sexual, history of this country. While there is now a significant body of history which outlines the social construction of hegemonic heterosexuality, histories of 'deviant' heterosexualities still need serious attention. Through case studies of sex shops, swingers and sadomasochists in New Zealand this thesis illustrates that lurking below the surface of a seemingly universal set of heterosexual practices there are a multiplicity of lived realities which are effaced by the dominance of hegemonic heterosexuality. Alertness to the pluralism of heterosexual practices in histories also allows historians to avoid creating unitary, essentialised historical subjects, which - as Joan Wallach Scott has argued - runs the risk of anachronism. The histories of sex shops, swingers and sadomasochism in New Zealand also highlight new perspectives on several key themes in social history more generally. This thesis touches on the proliferation of identity politics via Gay Liberation, second and third wave feminism and utopianism; the validity of the 'sexual revolution' of the 1960s and 1970s as a historical trope; commercialism and leisure time. Beyond their role in the construction of 'deviant' heterosexual identities, these themes illuminate the ways in which the wider sexual culture of New Zealand underwent several major shifts in the late twentieth century, and the ways in which 'deviant' heterosexualities operated in tension with dominant sexual discourses. For many New Zealanders, their so-called sexual 'deviancies' were an important factor in the ways they shaped their public and private lives. They therefore deserve to be given an equally important place in New Zealand's social and sexual histories.