Straight cover art

Straight

The Surprisingly Short History of Heterosexuality

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Straight

By: Hanne Blank
Narrated by: Fran Tunno
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £13.99

Buy Now for £13.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

It's surprising that the term "heterosexuality" is less than 150 years old and that heterosexuality's history has never before been written, given how obsessed we are with it. In Straight, independent scholar Hanne Blank delves deep into the contemporary psyche as well as the historical record to chronicle the realm of heterosexual relations - a subject that is anything but straight and narrow. Consider how Catholic monasticism, the reading of novels, the abolition of slavery, leisure time, divorce, and constipation of the bowels have all at some time been labeled enemies of the heterosexual state.

With an extensive historical scope and plenty of juicy details and examples, Straight provides a fascinating look at the vagaries, schisms, and contradictions of what has so often been perceived as an irreducible fact of nature.

©2011 Hanne Blank (P)2013 Audible, Inc. Americas Gay Studies Gender Studies Human Sexuality LGBTQ+ Studies Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Social Sciences United States
All stars
Most relevant
Excellent scholarship well explained for lay readers. Powerful cultural analysis of Straightness & it's history.

A compelling, accessible history and commentary.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I really enjoyed the narration and the history is fascinating. Opened my eyes to the history of something I have never even questioned

Informative and entertaining

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Incredibly detailed, rich in facts and examples (at times even overwhelming), impressively researched and knowledgeable, surprising and shocking

Brilliant!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.