ΒΟΟΚ DESCRIPTION
In this compelling book, lavishly illustrated with rare photographs, Steve Humphries tells the extraordinary story of sex before marriage in Britain during the first half of our century. Based on many surprisingly frank interviews with old people, and studded throughout with moving extracts from their life stories, it is the first major investigation into the sexual experiences of young lovers of the past.
Most sex took place in an atmosphere of ignorance, guilt and fear, and became submerged in a secret world. For many, the sexual taboo had damaging or disastrous consequences. Anxiety and frustration about sex were perennial problems, expecially amongst courting couples; while young gays were forced to lead a double life. Sexual ignorance resulted in many unwanted pregnancies, which in turn led to a thriving trade for back street abortionists and a stream of shotgun weddings. The greatest tragedy often befell the unmarried mother. She was beckoned by the workhouse, or even the mental hospital – not by the welfare state as today. The author rescues the stories of victims like these, along with a host of others, from obscurity and oblivion.
This book breaks new ground in bringing to light an important and controversial chapter in British social history
Steve Humphries. A Secret World of Sex: Forbidden Fruit: The British Experience 1900-1950. London: Sidgwick & Jackson Limited, 1991. 224pp., 87 black-and-white illus.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Raising her young daughter in a conventionally middle-class neighborhood, Linda Wolfe was surprised to discover the preoccupation of the other women was not so much in the affairs of their children –but in affairs of their own. Extramarital affairs. Everyone talked about “playing around,” and Ms. Wolfe found herself fascinated by their lives.
We live in a world where adultery is still more difficult and guilt producing for a woman than it is for a man, and yet it is estimated that the number of women engaging in adultery in the post-Kinsey era may be as high as 40 percent. What has accounted for the behavior of these otherwise conventional women here and across the country? What has prompted them to override centuries of proscription?
These questions are answered in this highly readable exploration of female infidelity. Delving into the past, Linda Wolfe surveys the fictional and historical accounts of woman's adultery. The she examines the contemporary women novelists' treatment of the subject. Last, she investigates the adulterous women of today –the young and old, the traditional secret adulterers, and the new breed who with their husbands practice open adultery – recording their thoughts and experiences as they traverse a path of radical social change.
Linda Wolfe. Playing Around: Women and Extramarital Sex. New York, N.Y.: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1975. xi+248pp.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
In this true story the author discusses, openly and candidly, how a chance encounter while on vacation challenged many of her assumptions and opened up a whole new world of unexpected pleasure.
Even though Joyce Weaver always thought she was very open-minded about sex, to the point of telling her husband he could have sex with other women, should the opportunity arise, she was totally unprepared when the opportunity actually did arise, not only for him, but for her, too!
In her first book, she describes the events, along with the roller coaster of emotions and desires, that lead to the discovery of the Lifestyle (the world of swingers) and her unexpected enjoyment of (along with her husband) group sex, not to mention the discovery that she also liked sex with other women.
The unexpected encounter happened while vacationing in Key West, Florida during Fantasy Fest. Fantasy Fest is a weeklong party that ranges from mild to wildly outrageous and is, often, sexually charged.
Follow along as Joyce describes the events leading up to her first group sex encounter, in sizzling detail.
If you've ever wondered if the swimming lifestyle or group sex was for you, you need to read this true account of one woman's introduction to, and wholehearted acceptance of, the Lifestyle.
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Joyce Weaver. My Introduction to Swinging at Fantasy Fest: How I Learned to Relax and Enjoy Group Sex. Geezer Guides, 2014. 36pp.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
What is pornography? Can anything be done about it? should anything be done about it?
The availability of sexually explicit images, products, and services in cyberspace has propelled the pornography debate into new and uncharted territory. Members of Congress and anti-porn activists are lobbying just as hard today against "cyberporn" as they once did against "dirty" magazines. Robert Mapplethorpe's photography, and the rap lyrics of the group 2 Live Crew.
While drawing the battle lines between those who argue in favor of censorship and those who defend free speech, this revised edition of Pornography: Private Right or Public Menace? takes an in-depth look at pornography and the Internet, and recent attempts to regulate the booming computer sex business. In addition to the Supreme Court decision in Revo v. ACLU and works examining the Communications Decency Act, this collection contains essays on defining pornography and distinguishing it from erotica and artistic expression; investigating evidence concerning the social and psychological effects of pornography: sexism: and women's rights.
Included are selections by Robert Bork, Harry Brod, William F. Buckley Jr., Robert Cannon, F.M. Christensen, Michael Cromartie, Barbara Dority, Andrea Dworkin, Ronald Dworkin, Sen. Jim Exon, Theodore Gracyk, Judith Hill, Peter Johnson, Tim LaHaye, Sen. Pat Leahy, William Linsley, Helen Longino, Rita Manning, Thomas Parker, Jeffrey Rosen, Alan Soble, Gloria Steinem, Mary Jo Weaver and George F. Will.
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Robert M. Baird & Stuart E. Rosenbaum, Editors. Pornography: Private Right or Public Menace? Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 1998. 286pp.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Let's say you read Fifty Shades of Grey, or anoher erotic, provocative novel like Story of O. You enjoyed these fictional accounts of dominance nd submission, power and lust, pleasure and pain, hot sex and incredible orgasms. Let's say you enjoyed them a lot. Where do you go from there? Tristan Taormino lays out the best ways to make your fantasies into reality in 50 Shades of Kink, her newest primer to erotic exploration. It's both the perfect beginner's guide and a wonderful refresher course. Whether you want to get up close and personal with blindfolds, crops and paddles or are just looking for some inspiration to keep things fresh in the bedroom, 50 Shades of Kink is your playbook.
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Tristan Taormino. 50 Shades of Kink: An Inroduction to BDSM, [Berkeley, CA]: Cleis Press, 2014. xix+141pp.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
The English seem to have become much less prudish in the past ten years.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Defending Pornography offers a unique perspective on the pre-censorship crusade waged in recent years by a highly influential alliance of the American feminist movement and leading conservatives. As one of America's most visible and articule advocates of both feminism and free speech, and president of the American Civil Liberties Union, Nadine Strossen eloquently argues that to view sexuality and sexually oriented expression as inherently dangerous does profound damage to human rights in general, and to women's right in particular.
In Strossen's eyes women do not have to choose between safety and 'our freedoms to read, think, speak, sing, write, paint, dance, dream, photograph, film, and fantasize as we wish' - but as she makes devastatingly clear, censorship continues to be used as a tool to repress information vital to female equality, health and reproductive autonomy.
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Nadine Strossen. Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex, and The Fight for Women's Rights, London: Abacus, 1996. 320pp., 10 black-and-white illus.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
THE NEW FEMALE SEXUALITY is the first book to disclose detailed findings (including extensive verbatim responses) based on objective, scientific research relating to the sexual attitudes, practices, experiences, desires, etc., of female social nudists and "potential" nudists (including a number of lesbians).
