Plato and Sex

What does the study of Plato's dialogues tell us about the modern meaning of 'sex'? How can recent developments in the philosophy of sex and gender help us read these ancient texts anew? Plato and Sex addresses these questions for the first time. Each chapter demonstrates how the modern reception of Plato's works - in mainstream and feminist philosophy and psychoanalytical theory - presupposes a 'natural-biological' conception of what sex might mean. Through critical comparison of our current understanding of sex and Plato's notion of genos, Plato and sex puts this presupposition into question. With original interpretations of aspects of the Republic, the Symposium and the Timaeus, this book opens up a new approach to sex as a philosophical concept