Sex Scandal America reflects on four centuries of the major sex scandals to rock the nation, from its early Puritan days as a colony to today’s end of the culture wars. It more than catalogues the long list of affairs of the politically powerful, rich and famous – it reveals how America’s sexual mores have changed since the nation’s founding. It also reveals why Americans love a good sex scandal.

Sex Scandal America ties these scandals to the deeper changes in sexual culture occurring during the various phases of the country’s social evolution. Most importantly, it assesses the role of political scandals as a form of public shaming. The book shows how, over the last 400 years, scandals have changed as a ritualized spectacle, evolving from a morality tale to an entertainment distraction.

"David Rosen writes about sex in America – the comedy, the tragedy and the hypocrisy - with incisive brilliance and compassion. He is one of the foremost writers on sex and society today, stripping away the masks and getting down to the naked flesh of human sexual politics and morality, for the benefit and delight of his readers."
-- Dr. Susan Block, Founder, Institute for the Erotic Arts & Sciences in Los Angeles

"In Sex Scandal America: Politics & the Ritual of Public Shaming, David Rosen gives us remarkable insight into the past quarter century’s culture wars, perhaps subsiding now, but always ready to rise like a vampire at a future moment of insecurity and uncertainty. Tearing away the veils, pulling up the sheets, and opening the closet doors, Rosen examines sexual hypocrisy and the exploding culture of consensual kink in historical context. Rarely is a writer as adept at moving from past to present, inside to outside, behind closed doors to the public arena, to reveal the gnarly reality of our sexually confused culture."
-- Chris Carlsson, author, Nowtopia; Director, Shaping San Francisco

Pre-order your copy of Sex Scandal America now from Amazon.com.

David Rosen is a culture and media critic who lives in New York City. David is author of the groundbreaking book, Off-Hollywood: The Making & Marketing of Independent Films (Grove, 1990), originally commissioned by the Sundance Institute and the Independent Feature Project. It is considered a "bible" of American independent filmmaking. David regularly contributes to publications and blogs about sexuality, pop-culture and the media. He has written for Counterpunch, Sexuality and Culture, Z-Magazine, Filmmaker Magazine, Mediachannel, The Hollywood Reporter and San Francisco Focus. He earned a B.A. in Philosophy from City College and an M.A. in American Labor Studies from Rutgers University. A complete list of his online writings are available here.