Sex and sexuality, social aspects Books

Book SynopsisAt 30, Laura Doyle, like millions of women, was miserable in her marriage, but she couldn''t put her finger on the cause. ''I was lonely and I was exhausted from trying to do everything myself. When I learned to stop controlling and criticising my husband and practised receiving graciously, something magical happened. The union I had always dreamed of appeared. The man who had wooed me was back,'' writes Doyle. In THE SURRENDERED WIFE, Laura Doyle presents a radical and controversial approach to relationships: women can enjoy great sex, harmony and the intimacy they crave when they stop controlling their partner. Surrendering, she says, is the simplest principle for a great marriage and thousands of women swear by it. Covering both the emotional and practical aspects of marriage, it teaches women valuable lessons including how to respect the man they married, how to resist the temptation to bicker and how to trust their man. But most importantly, it shows how you can fall in love with

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Book SynopsisOne Nation Under Blackmail is a damning indictment of the consequences resulting from the nearly century old relationship between both US and Israeli intelligence and the organized criminal network known as the National Crime Syndicate. This book specifically explores how that nexus between intelligence and organized crime directly developed the sexual blackmail tactics and networks that would later enable the sexual blackmail operation and other crimes of deceased pedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Other books on Jeffrey Epstein focus on the depraved nature of his crimes, his wealth, and his most famous/politically-connected friends and acquaintances. This book, in contrast, reveals the extent to which Epstein#&39;s activities were state-sponsored through an exploration of his intelligence connections.

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Book SynopsisHow the law harms sex workers - and what they want insteadDo you have to endorse prostitution in order to support sex worker rights? Should clients be criminalized, and can the police deliver justice?In Revolting Prostitutes, sex workers Juno Mac and Molly Smith bring a fresh perspective to questions that have long been contentious. Speaking from a growing global sex worker rights movement, and situating their argument firmly within wider questions of migration, work, feminism, and resistance to white supremacy, they make it clear that anyone committed to working towards justice and freedom should be in support of the sex worker rights movement.Trade ReviewWith fine, lucid discourse, Juno Mac and Molly Smith decline to engage in the typical back and forth that drones on between the would-be saviors, the scolds, and the glorifiers to go to the heart of the matter- sex work as labor, with a work force ready to speak their minds and fight for their rights. They avoid easy answers and ask the reader to rethink sex work. -- Susie Bright, author of Big Sex Little Death: A MemoirSmith and Mac are sharply honest about the emotional, social and political realities of sex work in all its forms and geographies, eschewing pearl-clutching or cheerleading for a laser-guided honesty and frankness about what can improve the lives and experiences of sex workers around the globe, regardless of social class. Revolting Prostitutes is key to understanding how important the rights of sex workers are, and what is at stake when policy is misguided or clouded in sentimentality and gut-feeling over straight evidence. A must-read for politicians, policy makers, and anyone keen to understand the realities of modern sex work. -- Dawn Foster, author of Lean OutRevolting Prostitutes will fuel the fight for sex workers' rights with fresh thinking on feminism, deep analysis of policing and the law, and a critical examination of sex work itself. Smith and Mac have drawn together a radically inclusive map for liberation. -- Melissa Gira Grant, author of Playing the WhoreEssential reading for feminists engaged in sex work and those studying it. By centering their analysis squarely on the issue of labor rights and upholding harm reduction as a critical benchmark, the authors take on entrenched positions in the feminist struggles over prostitution work and propose a subtle but powerful shift in the terrain of future debate. -- Kathi Weeks, author of The Problem with WorkRevolting Prostitutes is a book I have been waiting for. It is uniquely fit to address the destructive divisions that exist among feminists concerning prostitution. Rejecting the equally unacceptable alternatives of condemnation and glorification of sex work, the authors provide a powerful account of the work itself, the issues it raises, the institutional policy that shape it, all the while demonstrating that sex workers struggles are crucial to any movement for social justice. Well researched, beautifully written, Revolting Prostitutes should be widely read, especially, but non only, by feminists. -- Silvia Federici, author of Caliban and the WitchRevolting Prostitutes succeeds as a well-reasoned, grounded and stubbornly materialist defense of sex workers rights in a literature characterized largely by sex panic, voyeurism, and extrapolation. -- Jennifer McGibbon * Alternate Routes: A Journal of Critical Social Research *An essential addition to the feminist canon and required reading for anyone who cares about equality and human rights. * Independent *[Revolting Prostitutes] tackles complex topics that even sex workers struggle with, criticizing issues like classism in the sex worker community, professional dominatrixes who distance themselves from full-service sex workers out of whorephobia, and why decriminalization isn't a one-size-fits-all solution. -- Ana Valens * The Daily Dot *Revolting Prostitutes is a thrilling and formidable intervention into contemporary discussions of sex work, and settles the debate in favor of full and immediate global decriminalization. It does so without insisting that there is nothing troubling about sex work: about the psychosexual forces that lead men to buy it, or the economic forces that compel women to sell it. ... It is a model of how to write about politics - or, indeed, anything. -- Amia Srinivasan * The Chronicle of Higher Education *[Revolting Prostitutes] advocates for the complete decriminalization of sex work all over the world. -- River H. Kero * Book Riot *One of the most important books about sex work ... Beautifully written and meticulously researched, this book will change what you think you know about sex work. -- Kate Lister * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisWATERSTONES BEST POLITICAL BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2021LONGLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDALI am absurdly excited for this book' Caroline Criado PerezBestselling author KatrineMarçalreveals the shocking ways our deeply ingrained ideas about gender continue to hold us back. Every day, extraordinary inventions and innovative ideas are side-lined in a world that remains subservient to menBut it doesn't have to be this way. From the beginning of time, women have been pivotal to our society, offering ingenious solutions to some of our most vexing problems. More recently, it is women who have transformed the way we shop online, revolutionised the lives of disabled people and put the climate crisis at the top of the agenda.Despite these successes, we still fail to find and fund the game-changing ideas that could alter the future of our planet, giving just 3% of venture capital to female founders. Instead, ingrained ideas about men and women continue to shape our economic decisions; favouring men and leading us to the same tired set of solutions.For too long we have underestimated the consequences of sexism in our economy, and the way it holds all of us women and men back. Katrine Marcal's blistering critique sets the record straight and shows how, in a time of crisis, the ingenuity and intelligence of women is that very thing that can save us.Trade ReviewPraise for Mother of Invention ‘A book with a radical agenda … Marçal wants nothing less than a revolution in the way we think about ourselves.’ The Times ‘A smart, witty and fascinating warning from history. I loved this book.’ CAROLINE CRIADO PEREZ, Bestselling Author of Invisible Women ‘wry and witty … it’s high time to put the needs of all people and the planet at the heart of invention.’ KATE RAWORTH, author of Doughnut Economics ‘This is an absolute must-read. Equal parts informative and infuriating.’ DR FERN RIDDELL, author of Sex: Lessons from History ‘From wheeled suitcases to witch trials, Katrine Marçal makes you look again at history in this funny, clever and provocative book’HELEN LEWIS, author of Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights ‘…Infuriating, but always thought-provoking and intriguing. A clearly-needed wake-up call to future innovators not to view the world through a narrowly gendered lens but to pay attention to the skills and lived experiences of all. ‘PROFESSOR GINA RIPPON – bestselling author of The Gendered Brain [Katrine] brilliantly proves how male-driven technology over the ages has limited full human development by neglecting a liberating female narrative and perspective.’ JAN ELIASSON, Former Deputy Secretary-General of the UN ‘Mother of Invention had me nodding along in emphatic agreement. To tackle the substantial problems ahead, we cannot afford to innovate with ‘one hand tied behind our backs.’ IRISH TIMES ‘This second book by the author of Who Cooked Adam Smith’s Dinner? is both bracing and highly entertaining. Marcal’s contention is that while women have been coming up with ingenious inventions since the beginning of time, they are routinely sidelined in a world geared to men.’ THE BOOKSELLER

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Book SynopsisA Sunday Times Book of the Year As featured on the BBC Radio 2 Book Club Dr James Barry: Inspector General of Hospitals, army surgeon, duellist, reformer, ladykiller, eccentric. He performed the first successful Caesarean in the British Empire, outraged the military establishment and gave Florence Nightingale a dressing down at Scutari. At home he was surrounded by a menagerie of animals, including a cat, a goat, a parrot and a terrier. Long ago in Cork, Ireland, he had also been a mother. This is the amazing tale of Margaret Anne Bulkley, the young woman who broke the rules of Georgian society to become one of the most respected surgeons of the century. In an extraordinary life, she crossed paths with the British Empire’s great and good, royalty and rebels, soldiers and slaves. A medical pioneer, she rose to a position that no woman before her had been allowed to occupy, but for all her successes, her long, audacious deception also left her isolated, even costing her the chance to be with the man she loved.Trade Review‘A scintillating portrait of Barry’s life…that feels almost Dickensian in style.’ * Guardian *‘An astounding story – of obstinacy, ambition, genius, fearlessness and pioneering feminism.’ * Daily Mail *‘Thoroughly engaging.’ * Sunday Times, Books of the Year *‘Gripping, unusual, moving.’ * Times, Books of the Year *‘A comprehensive account.’ * London Review of Books *'Fascinating’. * History Today *‘Thoroughly researched, stimulating…Highly recommended’. * The Lady *‘Fascinating’ * Irish Independent *‘An irresistible little byway in 18th-century medical and social history’. * Oldie *‘An elegant and sensitive biography…du Preez and Dronfield have done Margaret Buckley and her alter ego proud in this absorbing book.’ * The Times *‘At each turn of this quite gripping biography I found myself gasping in disbelief…the excavations of Michael du Preez…and Jeremy Dronfield…have yielded startling new evidence about the period…Their research is authoritative and prodigious’. * Literary Review *‘This fantastic book is so much more than a biography of a very remarkable woman. The thread of her personal story weaves its way through a meticulously researched record of a fascinating period in world history…compulsive reading.’ -- Dame Margaret Turner-Warwick, first female President, Royal College of Physicians‘A cracking story’. -- Maggie Fergusson * Spectator *‘This is a fascinating account of the life and career of Dr James Barry as a doctor working in the early nineteenth century. Although Dr Barry obtained a Diploma from this College in 1813 it is only now through this book we are able to fully understand and recognise her achievements.’ -- Clare Marx, President, the Royal College of Surgeons of England‘I found the book immensely enjoyable. It’s a fascinating story, told with verve, sensitivity and skill – the result of an awe-inspiring amount of research and detective work, managed with delicacy and flair. I felt the book had a real feel for the times and I appreciated its firm historical grounding, and the way in which imagination and a rigorous approach to fact played so well together. A marvellous read, and a story worth telling.’ -- Rodney Bolt, author of The Impossible Life of Mary Benson‘This is the extraordinary and remarkable story of the transformation of Margaret Bulkley, a red-haired Irish girl from Cork, into Dr James Barry, physician, medical reformer, friend of the rich, friend of the poor and fearless and irascible scourge of the stupidity, complacency, ineptitude and greed of Britain’s Colonial establishment. Dr James Barry kept his great secret for over fifty years and the truth that he was, in fact, a woman was only revealed to an incredulous public after his death. Meticulously researched and written with great verve, this biography is about as good as it gets.’ -- Neil McKenna, author of Fanny & Stella: The Young Men Who Shocked Victorian England'Extensively researched, a fascinating story of a woman taking extreme measures to work in a man’s world.’ -- Richard Hollingham, author of Blood and Guts: A History of Surgery

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Book SynopsisThere was Megan Waterman, last seen leaving a hotel in Hauppauge, Long Island, just a month after Shannon’s disappearance in 2010, and Amber Lynn Costello, last seen leaving a house in West Babylon a few months later that same year.Trade Review“Kolker is a careful writer and researcher...[he paints] a far more nuanced picture of each young woman than any screaming headline could.” — Miami Herald “Through extensive interviews with the victims’ families and friends, Kolker creates compassionate portraits of the murdered young women, and uncovers the forces that drove them from their respective home towns into risky, but lucrative, careers as prostitutes in a digital age.” — New Yorker “Captivating.” — Boston Globe “Robert Kolker unflinchingly probes the 21st-century innovations that facilitated these crimes… ...An important examination of the socioeconomic and cultural forces that can shape a woman’s entry into prostitution.” — Kirkus Reviews “Beautifully and provocatively written.... [Lost Girls] will make all but the hardest-hearted empathetic. Add a baffling whodunit that remains, as the subtitle indicates, unsolved, and you have a captivating true crime narrative that’s sure to win new converts and please longtime fans of the genre.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Robert Kolker’s LOST GIRLS is reportage at the highest level; it’s miss-your-bedtime storytelling… It’s a wonder.” — Darin Strauss, author of Half A Life “Lost Girls is a marvelous book, taking a complicated, trying story and making it compulsively readable. Kolker is an outstanding reporter and a sensitive narrator who does justice to a horrible tragedy by paying exactly the kind of attention that no one else did, or would.” — Nick Reding, author of Methland “The absence of the killer is the making of this book, a constraint that allows it to become extraordinary…humane and imaginative…[Kolker] shows the dented magnificence and universal sorrow within ordinary lives, and makes you realize how much more they are worth.” — Laura Miller, Salon “Kolker indulges in zero preaching and very little sociology; his is the lens of a classic police reporter. And often in Lost Girls, the facts are eloquent in themselves.” — Newsday “Some true crime books are exploitative…others grasp at serious literature. Robert Kolker’s new book falls into the latter category.” — New York Observer “Readers expecting an SVU-style true-crime story will be disappointed. But through detailed profiles of the victims themselves, Kolker has written a more provocative book—a book that is as much about class and economic pressures as it is about sex work and murder.” — The Daily Beast “Meticulously reported and beautifully written, Robert Kolker’s Lost Girls is a haunting and powerful crime story that gives voice to those who can no longer be heard. It is a story that you will not be able to forget.” — David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon “A gothic whodunit for the Internet age…nearly unputdownable…[LOST GIRLS is] a horrific, cautionary tale that makes for a very different kind of beach read…Kolker expertly chronicles the sad cycle of poor, uneducated white women faced with lots of kids and few resources.” — Mimi Swartz, New York Times Book Review “Rich, tragic...monumental...true-crime reporting at its best.” — Washington Post “Engrossing...a car-crash of a book...By humanizing the women, Mr. Kolker has produced a subtle indictment of the sex trade.” — Nina Burleigh, New York Observer “A heart-chilling non-fiction tour-de-force...terrifying and intensely reported.” — Complex Magazine “A rare gem of a book that not only tells a riveting story but illuminates something about a slice of America and gets into a lot of very deep issues. Its really great on every front.” — Slate, DoubleX “Riveting and often heartbreaking...a lashing critique of how society, and the police, let these young women down.” — New York Times “Immensely evocative...we are left with is a visceral understanding of the lives of the victims and why they should have mattered more.” — New York Daily News “Terrific...vivid and moving...Grade: A-” — Entertainment Weekly “So masterful.” — Megan Abbott, author of Dare Me , via Twitter “By learning the intimate details of the women’s lives, seeing them as humans rather than victims, we see our similarities…Lost Girls is possibly the realest, fullest picture of what is happening with sex work in the US right now.” — The Guardian (UK) “Kolker does not hold back in addressing the fact that there was dysfunction in these women’s lives. They were drug addicts and teenage mothers and petty criminals. They suffered. But he can also see that within those circumstances they had moments of strength and self-assurance. ” — Barnes & Noble Review “Lost Girls is partly unsolved mystery...[partly]the intimate story of the five women… [and] a case study in the profound impact of the Internet, and particularly Craigslist, on the business of buying and selling sex.” — National Post (Canada)

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Book SynopsisInsanely readable! I loved it' Slavoj ŽižekA delightfully thought-provoking study of why we have sex, from award-winning psychoanalyst Darian Leader''It was just sex.''It''s a familiar claim. But is it really possible?The old idea that sexuality is a smouldering, animalistic force within us, desperate for release yet restrained by social forces, has little to support it. Bodies aren''t just sticks that make fire when you rub them together, and the pain, heartache, and regret that can accompany the highs of sexual excitement show us that much more is at stake.So, what are we really thinking about when we think about sex? And what are we really doing when we do it?As acclaimed psychoanalyst Darian Leader argues, with his trademark clarity, energy and wit, there is no such thing as ''just sex''. It is always about so much more than that - about phantasy, anxiety, guilt, revenge, violence, love - and Leader draws on his analyTrade ReviewSensitively written and full of insight * Sunday Times *The revered psychoanalyst has penned a thoughtful book about our everyday sexual lives – and why there is no such thing as “just sex”. With a convincing argument as to why it is so much more than that, this is a thoroughly engaging and ever-illuminating read * iNews *

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Book SynopsisAt a time when women are more vocal than ever about our lives, there's one last taboo.We need to talk about porn.‘Briskly confronting...porn is an inescapable part of the environment we all share and should be talked about honestly… this book is an important start.’THE SUNDAY TIMES'Celebrates women's sexuality but also unflinchingly reveals the truth of how women are perceived - and used - in society by men.'A STYLIST best non-fiction pick for 2024When we think about porn today, we still mostly think about men. Men as the producers and the consumers. Women as the product. Most women aren't talking to each other about what they do and don't do with porn - not really. And when we do talk about it, we are divided into unhelpful binaries: for or against? Liberation or coercion? Too sexual or not sexual enough? But in a world where porn sites get more traffic than Netflix, Amazon plus Twitter combined, and one of the leading sites claims a third of its users are women, isn't it time to change that?In this book, interviews with 100 women result in an extraordinary and powerful conversation on pornography. How they first encountered it. How they consume it. How it has affected their sex lives. What they like and what they don't. And what it means for their relationships.Eye-opening, provocative and deeply moving, this book navigates the polarised public debates, to open an intimate window into porn and the sexual lives of women today.Trade Review‘Briskly confronting...porn is an inescapable part of the environment we all share and should be talked about honestly… this book is an important start.’ * Sunday Times *'Celebrates women's sexuality but also unflinchingly reveals the truth of how women are perceived - and used - in society by men.' * Stylist best non-fiction for 2024 *‘A sensitively written and generous piece of work’ * New Statesman *

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Book SynopsisSex is as fascinating to scientists as it is to the rest of us. A vast pool of knowledge, therefore, has been gleaned from research into the nature of sex, from the contentious problem of why the wasteful reproductive process exists at all, to how individuals choose their mates and what traits they find attractive. This fascinating book explores those findings, and their implications for the sexual behaviour of our own species. It uses the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland' who has to run at full speed to stay where she is as a metaphor for a whole range of sexual behaviours. The book was shortlisted for the 1994 Rhone-Poulenc Prize for Science Books.Animals and plants evolved sex to fend off parasitic infection. Now look where it has got us. Men want BMWs, power and money in order to pair-bond with women who are blonde, youthful and narrow-waisted a brilliant examination of the scientific debates on the hows and whys of sex and evolution' Independent.Table of ContentsHuman nature; the enigma; the power of parasites; genetic mutiny and gender; the peacock's tale; polygamy and the nature of men; monogamy and the nature of women; sexing the mind; the uses of beauty; the intellectual chess game; the self-domesticated ape.

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Book SynopsisA deeply felt book that explores intimacy through the stories of eight relationships, from a leading neuroscientist and author of How We Feel.What is intimacy and why do we need it?Intimacy is that moment when our true identity is revealed to another, when traumas, fears, and ambitions are shared. Whether in friendship, love or family, intimacy redresses itself constantly, demanding we raze emotional barriers and discover who we really are. Through the ordinary stories of eight relationships, neuroscientist Giovanni Frazzetto has woven an extraordinary narrative of togetherness. He shares the details of romantic partners trapped in a long cycle of attraction and rejection, a single woman who finds herself deep in a fictional relationship with a boyfriend she has invented out of frustration with her love life, and a couple absorbed in a years-long clandestine affair. But intimacy can also extend beyond romantic encounters: coping with the loss of

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Book SynopsisTurning the tables on the pornography debate, this is an analysis of taboo-shattering fiction, film and performance art. It investigates the role of fantasy in art, politics and popular culture and shows how technological advances in science and medicine have altered concepts of the human body.Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments Prologue PART ONE PERFORMANCE FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY 1 Contemporary Art Exhibitionists 2 Cutups in Beauty School PART TWO VISCERAL CINEMA 3 Impolitic Bodies: Race and Desire 4 Sex Work: Producing Porn s David Cronenberg's Surreal Abjection PART THREE ARRESTING FICTION 6 J.G. Ballard's Atrocity Exhibitions 7 Criminal Writing: John Hawkes and Robert Coover 8 New Inquisitions: Kathy Acker and William Vollmann 9 Masked Passions: Meese, Mercy, and American Psycho Epilogue Notes Index

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Book SynopsisExplores Vietnam's sex industry as the country ascends the global and regional stage. This book looks at both the sex workers and their clients to show how Vietnamese high finance and benevolent giving are connected to the intimate spheres of the informal economy.Trade Review"The topic of Dealing in Desire is arresting and the book is destined to gain a wide readership. Furthermore, not only is the fieldwork impressive, but the arguments are provocative and well substantiated." -- Erik Harms Cross-Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review "A valuable contribution to our understanding of the sex industry ... The praise that Hoang's research has received is well deserved, and Dealing in Desire is a must-read." -- Jack David Eller Anthropology Review Database "This book is ethnographically rich and is an intriguing and gripping read." American Journal of SociologyTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: Dealing in Desire 1. Sex Work in HCMC, 1867--Present 2. The Contemporary Sex Industry 3. New Hierarchies of Global Men 4. Entrepreneurial Mommies 5. Autonomy and Consent in Sex Work 6. Constructing Desirable Bodies 7. Sex Workers' Economic Trajectories Conclusion: Faltering Ascent Appendix: The Empirical Puzzle and the Embodied Cost of Ethnography Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe PERFECT GIFT for your long-suffering wife or prospective bride. Or, for any fool of a husband or seriously deluded groom-to-be who hasn''t yet understood what he''s signed up for.-------------------- Tina is getting married. It is the best day of her life.Next year, she will claim that becoming a mother was the best day of her life, but only because she was on some very strong drugs.Neither is true. The best day of her life was on her eighth birthday, when she got a yellow bike. --------------------The wife likes surprises.Her favourite sort is a surprise birthday party.It is the husband''s job to organise this surprise for her, and to keep her informed of every detail about it.--------------------This delightful book is the latest in the series of Ladybird books which have been specially planned to help grown-ups with the w

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Book SynopsisLaura Doyle''s controversial approach to dating has given thousands of single women everything they need to attract romance, intimacy, and a marriage proposal. A Surrendered Single doesn''t have to look for Mr Right - she attracts him. In her popular workshops, Laura Doyle''s teachings are simple: when you try to control who asks you out, when a man will call, or corner him into a commitment, you drive him away. When you let him woo you instead, you enjoy the pleasure of being pursued. You feel confident, feminine, and dignified. Dating becomes fun again. Marriage follows. Practical and compassionate, THE SURRENDERED SINGLE is a step-by-step guide that shows you how to: * Ask men to ask you out so that you always have a date * Avoid the remorse of, ''I wish I hadn''t said...'' * Judge a man''s character in 30 days or fewer * Become your best self and attract good men Whether you''re recovering from a break-up or divorce, on the dating scene or want your romance to deepen, THE SURRENDER

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Book SynopsisDrawing on interviews with parents and teens, this title offers an intimate account of the different ways that girls and boys in the United States and the Netherlands negotiate love, lust, and growing up. It provides a probing analysis of the way family culture shapes not just sex but also alcohol consumption and parent-teen relationships.Trade Review"With grace and style, Amy Schalet presents a forceful and convincing argument about the divergent cultural approaches to sexuality, socialization of adolescents, and conceptions of citizenship in the United States and the Netherlands, probing deep-seated value differences that play out in the management of sex. Nuanced, well documented, and remarkably persuasive, Not Under My Roof is an exemplary study." (Frank Furstenberg, University of Pennsylvania)"

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Book SynopsisFor most of western history, all sex outside marriage was illegal, with the church and state punishing any dissent. Between 1600 and 1800, this entire world-view was shattered by revolutionary new ideas - that consenting adults have the freedom to do what they like with their own bodies, and morality cannot be imposed by force. This groundbreaking book shows that the creation of this modern culture of sex - broadcasted and debated in a rapidly expanding universe of public media - was a central part of the Enlightenment, and helped create a new model of western civilization whose principles of equality, privacy and individual freedom last to this day.Trade ReviewPath-breaking ... touching ... This is a marvellously rich and thought-provoking book, written with clarity and humanity, and drawing on a huge range of materials, from sermons to pornography to social statistics -- Noel Malcolm * Sunday Telegraph *The Origins of Sex overturns the conventional wisdom that the sexual revolution began in the Sixties ... baby boomers will be shocked and, I suspect, a little upset -- Cosmo Landesman * Sunday Times *A revelation ... The book is not simply a finely crafted work of history, but a study that will reshape the way its readers understand the most intimate level of their lives.It may even bring some sanity to modern debates about sexuality -- Diarmaid MacCulloch[A] sumptuously rich, learned and enlightening debut ... What makes Dabhoiwala's book so gloriously enjoyable is its happy blend of provocative ideas with splendidly rich historical anecdotes ... [a] lucidly written, densely researched and thoroughly persuasive book -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *An extraordinary kind of sex book [from] one of Oxford's brightest stars. His fat tome, The Orgins of Sex, took 20 years of historical research and is garnering the kind of "magisterial" reviews that cast Dabhoiwala in the role of the younger, cuter, Simon Schama -- Helen Rumbelow * The Times *Faramerz Dabhoiwala's The Origins of Sex, an enthralling history of changing ideas about sexual freedom and desire from 1600 to 1800, interestingly blends progressivist and circular approaches. He shows us a Western world (mainly England) emerging from medieval sexual morality and enjoying 200 years of relative freedom, but he also shows it sliding back into repression and denial in the 19th century. The future remains a question mark... his book [is] inspiring as well as provocative -- Sarah Bakewell * The Independent *In The Origins of Sex, Faramerz Dabhoiwala does for the history of sexual attitudes what Lawrence Stone did for the history of sex and the family. Rigorously academic in his approach, Dabhoiwala focuses on intellectual and social currents to trace the grand sweep of sexual attitudes between 1600 and 1800. His aim "is not primarily to enter into the bedrooms and between the sheets of the past", but to examine sex as a public, rather than private, preoccupation. It needed a writer as erudite as Faramerz Dabhoiwala to knit together established theories of changes in the Enlightenment and weave in the primary sources to show how sex figures in the bigger picture. The book is packed with information and peppered with fascinating examples. It will delight students of social and sexual history, and anyone interested in the history of ideas -- Times Literary Supplement * Julie Peakman *

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Book SynopsisIn the aftermath of the reunification of Germany one former dissident recalled nostalgically that under the East German regime 'we had more sex and we had more to laugh about'. Love in the Time of Communism is a fascinating history of the GDR's forgotten sexual revolution and its limits. Josie McLellan shows that under communism divorce rates soared, abortion become commonplace and the rate of births outside marriage was amongst the highest in Europe. Nudism went from ban to state-sponsored boom, and erotica became common currency in both the official economy and the black market. Public discussion of sexuality was, however, tightly controlled and there were few opportunities to challenge traditional gender roles or sexual norms. Josie McLellan's pioneering account questions some of our basic assumptions about the relationship between sexuality, politics and society and is a major contribution to our understanding of the everyday emotional lives of postwar Europeans.Trade Review'An outstanding book - intriguing, illuminating, and offering entirely fresh perspectives on East German society.' Mary Fulbrook, University College London'Myths about sexuality in East Germany abound, and Josie McLellan takes them on. From adolescent sexuality to sexual contentment within marriage, from same-sex desire to nudism and erotica, from single motherhood to Stasi surveillance - McLellan offers a well-researched and highly accessible account. Love in the Time of Communism is an enjoyable and an informative read.' Elizabeth Heineman, author of Before Porn was Legal: The Erotica Empire of Beate Uhse'Sexuality in the GDR has generated intense debate since the fall of the Berlin Wall, especially concerning to what extent East Germany's 'sexual revolution' diverged from its western counterpart. Josie McLellan's pioneering book offers a fresh account of the subject that goes beyond cliches and nostalgia, showing how pleasure and politics were deeply entangled in this authoritarian regime.' Paul Betts, University of Sussex'… illuminating, perceptive and well-researched.' waterstones.com'Josie McLellan's intriguing and well-written study tackles … myths and contradictory narratives, and considers the close, and at times perplexing, links between politics and society.' The Times Higher Education Supplement'McLellan … delivers superbly on her promise of a rounded history. Her book covers all major topics in the history of East German sexuality. Each chapter not only examines its theme from above and from below but discusses interactions between state policy and popular attitudes. The book offers well-grounded multi-causal explanations of developments. The result is a realistic, fair portrayal of sexuality in the GDR that critically assesses change and continuity over time.' Donna Harsch, German HistoryTable of Contents1. Introduction: the East German sexual revolution; 2. 'A bit of freedom': sex and young people; 3. Marriage and monogamy; 4. 'The dictatorship of love': sex, love, and state hypocrisy; 5. Gay men, lesbians, and the struggle for the public sphere; 6. The naked republic: nudism; 7. Picturing sex: East German erotica; 8. Conclusion: space for love?

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Book SynopsisSheila Jeffreys explodes the distinction between “forced” and “free” prostitution, and documents the expanding international traffic in women. She examines the claims of the prostitutes’ rights movement and the sex industry, while supporting prostituted women. Her argument is threefold: the sex of prostitution is not just sex; the work of prostitution is not ordinary work; and prostitution is a ‘choice’ not for the prostituted women, but for the men who abuse them.

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Book SynopsisSmith recovers a surprising array of discussions about extramarital sexuality, women's financial autonomy, and respectability in ate Wilhelmine and Weimar Germany.Trade ReviewBerlin Coquette is well written—an ever-rarer feature of academic writing, it seems—and well researched (Smith's footnotes are especially impressive).... This is an important contribution to a variety of fields (German studies, gender studies, history, urban studies, and theater/film studies come immediately to mind) and certainly one that will change the way we understand prostitution. * H-Net Reviews *Berlin Coquette is an innovative interdisciplinary work that succeeds in illustrating the complicated nature of the urban German prostitution trade in the years before and after World War I....With the intent of moving beyond the standard dichotomy of victim/villain, Smith uses myriad sources to sketch a vibrant picture of women in Berlin's sex trade from the Kaiserreich to the end of the Weimar Republic. * The Journal of Interdisciplinary History *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Berlin's Bourgeois Whores1. Sex, Money, and Marriage: Prostitution as an Instrument of Conjugal Critique2. Righteous Women and Lost Girls: Radical Bourgeois Feminists and the Fight for Moral Reform3. Naughty Berlin?: New Women, New Spaces, and Erotic Confusion4. Working Girls: White-Collar Workers and Prostitutes in Late Weimar FictionConclusion: Berlin CoquetteBibliography Index

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Book SynopsisWhen we talk about sex, we talk about women as mysterious, deceptive, and - above all - untrustworthy. Women lie about orgasms. Women lie about being virgins. Women lie about who got them pregnant, about whether they were raped, about how many people they've had sex with and what sort of experiences they've had - the list goes on and on. Over and over we're reminded that, on dates, in relationships, and especially in the bedroom, women just aren't telling the truth. But where does this assumption come from? Are women actually lying about sex, or does society just think we are?In Faking It, Lux Alptraum tackles the topic of seemingly dishonest women; investigating whether women actually lie, and what social situations might encourage deceptions both great and small. Using her experience as a sex educator and former CEO of Fleshbot (the foremost blog on sexuality), first-hand interviews with sexuality experts and everyday women, Alptraum raises important questions: are lying women all that common - or is the idea of the dishonest woman a symptom of male paranoia? Are they trying to please men, or just trying to trick and trap them? And what affect does all this dishonesty - whether real or imagined - have on women's self-images, social status, and safety? Through it all, Alptraum posits that even if women are lying, we're doing it for very good reason--to protect ourselves ("My boyfriend will be here any minute," to a creep who won't go away, for one), and in situations where society has given us no other choice.

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Book SynopsisUnderstand the menopause with all its changes and challenges and choose practices and treatments, brought to you by a team of experts, to make this next stage in your wellness journey healthy and positive.Find the right combination of resources for you - to stay physically, mentally, and spiritually well throughout the menopause.Your journey is unique. This insightful book will help you find the right combination of resources that work for you. It includes:- Specialist expert writers for each section of the book - HRT, Natural Remedies, Exercise, Nutrition and Mental Wellness - Practical strategies on how to manage menopause naturally and make it a more positive, empowering experience - Symptom Finder in the introductory pages to help direct you to the correct section in the bookCoping with menopause can be tough, draining and sometimes utterly debilitating for women. For years it has been seen as an illness that needed to be cured. Nat

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Book SynopsisInvestigates the period from the 1890s until the 1930s, when prostitution was legal in Argentina. At the same time, pogroms and anti-Semitic discrimination left thousands of Eastern European Jewish people displaced. For many Jewish women, participation in prostitution was one few ways they could escape the limited options in their home countries.Trade Review"Recommended."— Choice "Yarfitz has approached the delicate subject deftly and with sophistication."— H-Net “A fascinating account of Jewish participation in sexual commerce in Buenos Aires…Impure Migration deepens our knowledge of the relation between prostitution and migration.”— Cristiana Schettini, National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) / University of San Martín, Argentina “A tour de force. It transcends conventional accounts of victimized prostitutes and malevolent pimps with an intellectually bold exploration of sexual and racialized public anxieties. An important contribution to the history of international mobility, immigrant sociability, gendered labor, and multi-ethnic cities.”— José Moya, professor of history, Barnard College “Impure Migration presents a fascinating chapter in the history of Jewish immigration to the Americas... it is important that this story be made available.”— Adriana M. Brodsky, professor, St. Mary's College of Maryland "Wyklęta Varsovia. Sutenerski szlak "Napoleona" ze Smoczej," by Wojtek Rodak— Weekend Gazeta "If you want to read just one of the very many books on Jewish white slavery, this is the one you should choose. Both specialists and the general public will find this volume engaging and insightful."— Raanan Rein, vice president, Tel Aviv University "This book provides us with exciting ways in which the perspectives of the subaltern can be narrated into a transnational history of elites who dominated the talk about them. Impure Migration is a brilliant piece of history writing which will speak loudly and inspirationally to global and transnational historians. Its findings will equally be of immense help to activists and academics engaged in debates on contemporary sex work and trafficking."— ConnectionsTable of ContentsContents Note on Translation and Transliteration Acronyms and Abbreviations Introduction: White Slave Wives on the Road to Buenos Aires 1 White Slaves and Dark Masters 2 Jewish Traffic in Women 3 Marriage as Ruse, or Migration Strategy 4 Immigrant Mutual Aid among Pimps 5 The Impure Shape Jewish Buenos Aires Conclusion: After the Varsovia Society Acknowledgments Notes Index

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Book SynopsisUnmasking the lies behind the selling of porn as ‘just a bit of fun’ Big Porn Inc reveals the shocking truths of an industry that trades in violence, crime and degradation. This fearless book will change the way you think about pornography.Trade Review"This is by far the best and most significant of these recent books. It comes from Spinifex, a feminist press in Australia, where radical feminism is prospering rather more than in the U.S. (Spinifex was recently profiled by Barry, 2016). With 40 solid chapters, this is the richest such feminist collection since Laura Lederers (1980) Take Back the Night: Women on Pornography and/or Diana Russells (1983) Making Violence Sexy: Feminist Views on Pornography." Robert Bannon in Dignity: A Journal on Sexual Exploitation and ViolenceShortlisted as a secondary reference source - 'Highly Commended' - in the Australian Educational Publishing Awards 2012.Contributor Meagan Tyler from Victoria University, Australia was a speaker at the Challenging Porn Conference, at London Metropolitan University in early December 2011.

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Book SynopsisDoes a post-vaginoplasty vagina have a G-spot? Why do some trans people find they enjoy anal sex more after testosterone? And can people with post-surgical vaginas experience vaginismus?Written by renowned sex blogger and educator Kelvin Sparks, Trans Sex is the essential guide to sex and bodies for all trans, non-binary and intersex people. Covering everything from post-surgical anatomy and hormone replacement therapy to sex toys, kink and safe sex, this empowering and practical guide also explores desire, pleasure and arousal (and why these aren't the same thing), how to navigate sex and consent with other people, as well as the difficulties many trans people experience in relation to sex, such as dysphoria and violence.Raw, honest and nothing like the sex education you received at school, this guide is here to help you on your journey to sexual discovery and fulfilment.Trade ReviewA long-awaited, in-depth, myth-busting book about trans sex written by an actual expert sex eduator. -- Jake Hall, queer sex journalist and author of 'The Art of Drag'Table of Contents1. Desire, Pleasure and Communication 2. Anatomy and Bodies 3. Sex and Safety 4. Toys and Gear 5. Manual Sex and Grinding 6. Oral Sex 7. Vaginal Sex8. Anal Sex9. Kink

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Book SynopsisIn June 2021, the Hungarian ruling party Fidesz under Viktor Orbán passed a law banning the portrayal of homosexuality to minors. This represents an attempt to make queerness invisible in Hungarian public life. At the same time, the German ARD miniseries Eldorado KaDeWe – Jetzt ist unsere Zeit was being shot in Budapest. It depicts, among other things, the queer life of the Berlin subculture around 1920. While experiencing an almost surreal simultaneity of a light-hearted film bubble and a backward-looking socio-political moment, the two leading actresses Lia von Blarer and Valerie Stoll set out to counter the political state of affairs with an artistic and activist voice. In their book Hurry Up And Wait, the two actresses juxtapose queer fiction with queer reality through photographs and texts. Their analog photographs taken during the shooting of the series allow us to glimpse the exuberant and restless world of filmmaking, while people from the Hungarian queer community provide insights into their everyday lives by means of poems, short stories, as well as political speeches. They tell us about their attempts to regain freedoms and agency that have been taken away from them by the current government. Text in English and German.

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Book SynopsisFocusing on the unacknowledged, personal and often unconscious dimension, Sex explores the intersection between sex and ethnography. Anthropological writing tends to focus on the influence of status markers such as position, gender, ethnicity, and age on fieldwork. By contrast, far less attention has been paid to how sex, sexuality, eroticism, desire, attraction, and rejection affect ethnographic research. In the book, anthropologists reflect on their own encounters with sex during fieldwork, revealing how attraction and desire influence the choice of fieldwork subjects, field sites and friendships. They also examine the resulting impact on fieldwork findings and the generation of knowledge. Based on fieldwork in Germany, Denmark, Greece, the USA, Brazil, South Africa, Singapore, Turkey, Israel, Morocco, and India, the contributors go beyond the common heterosexuality/homosexuality divide to address topics which include celibacy, polyamory and sadomasochism. This long overdue text provTrade Review"At last, a comprehensive volume on sex that crosses oceans and brings ethnographers from across the globe into conversation with one another. Work in this field has too long been ghettoized in narrow domains, either topically or geographically, and this rich collection overcomes longstanding barriers and lays a foundation for new forms of comparison and theoretical innovation, expanding the boundaries of what we all thought we meant by “sex.” - Ellen Lewin, University of Iowa, USA Taking us from Brazilian saunas to a refugee NGO in Greece, from queer Malay Muslims in Singapore to NeoPagans in Texas, these thirteen essays reveal how sex unsettles fieldwork. Contributors reflect on how bodily intimacies, kindlings of lust or longing, and moments of recognition or crossed signals generate fresh ethnographic insight. This is a candid, vulnerable, and thought-provoking volume on sex and ethnography today. - Margot Weiss, Wesleyan University, USA More than 20 years after “Taboo” (Kulick/Wilson, 1995) and “Out in the field” (Lewin/Leap, 1996), these encounters in the field give fresh and ground-breaking insights into the social experience of sex in various ways. Enclosing a wide range of locations, practices and desires, the well-reflected reports of embodied fieldwork show the diversity of “doing relations” with and through sex and intimacy. Overall, this anthology will strengthen the links between queer studies and anthropology. - Beate Binder, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany"Table of ContentsForewordJohn Borneman, Princeton University, USAIntroductionRichard Joseph Martin, Harvard University, USA and Dieter Haller, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany1. Towards an Intimately 'Impure' Ethnography: The Limits of Non-Participant ObservationTimothy M. Hall, University of California, Los Angeles, USA2. When Bodies Talk: Indulging AnthropologySebastian Mohr, Aarhus University, Denmark3. 'Going With': Desire and Power Amid the Politics of Asylum in GreeceHeath Cabot, College of the Atlantic, USA4. (Un)Changing Men in the Face of AIDS in South AfricaHanspeter Reihling, Freie Universitat Berlin, Germany5. Fieldwork and Erotic Subjectivity in an American NeoPagan CommunitySusan Harper, Texas Women's University, USA6. The Anthropologist’s New Clothes: Ethnographic Exposure and BDSM in BerlinRichard Joseph Martin, Harvard University, USA7. A Camel Walks into a Brothel: Passing Anxieties in the Sexual Economies of BrazilGregory C. Mitchell, Williams College, USA8. In Bed with My Informant: Navigating Intimacy and Ethics in SingaporeAdlina Maulud, Purdue University, USA9. Dating a Gypsy Punk Musician and Ethnographic Fieldwork among Brazilian RomaniesDiana Budur, Princeton University, USA10. Public Vegetarianism and Public Menstruation: Staging Chastity in GujaratAndrea Luithle-Hardenberg, Tubingen University, Germany11. The Naked Fear: Desire and Identity in MoroccoDieter Haller, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany12. Faux Amis: On the Morals of Not Being Gay in IstanbulSamuel Williams, Musée du quai Branly, France13. Im/Possibilities in the Field: Lessons from JerusalemRobert Phillips, Ball State University, USAGuide for Further ReadingWilliam Leap, American University, USABibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisCelebrate the LGTBQ community with this small but perfectly formed guide to Pride. What began as a protest for gay rights following the Stonewall riots of 1969 in New York has grown to become a global celebration of LGBTQ culture. In the 50-odd years since the original protest, and what is now widely accepted to be the first Pride march – Christopher Street Liberation Day, 1970 – Pride events are now attended by millions each year, celebrating how far we’ve come, recognising where we have to go and highlighting important causes in the queer community. The Little Book of Pride is a concise look at everything you need to know about Pride, revealing the history, the key people involved, the best Pride events around the world, inspirational quotes from famous queers, Pride facts and a fun Pride survival guide.Trade Review'A little book with a huge insight. I wish I’d had this book growing up gay.' – Tom Allen, Comedian 'Wonderful...Despite what the title may indicate, this book is far from little.' - USA Today.com"Wonderful... With over 140 pages, this is a comprehensive look at Pride." – MSN.com

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Book SynopsisIn the twelfth century, the Catholic Church attempted a thoroughgoing reform of marriage and sexual behavior aimed at eradicating sexual desire from Christian lives. This book illuminates the birth of a cultural movement that managed to regulate selfish desire and render it innocent - or innocent enough.Trade Review"Let the debates begin! Drawing on an astonishing panoply of sources, from European courtly and troubadour literature to Heian Japanese poetry, from canon law to Puri temple dancing, William M. Reddy's important new book challenges our basic assumptions about eroticism, heroism, the nature of marriages, and the legacy of the Middle Ages in modern culture. Reading this impressive study will leave you a different person." (Barbara H. Rosenwein, Loyola University Chicago)"

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Book SynopsisMia is nineteen, too mentally ill and too often on drugs to keep a 'straight' job so she starts working at a massage parlour. She takes to sex work with recklessness, aplomb, and good humour.As she works her way through Sydney's many rub-and-tug joints, Mia, or Sasha as she is now known, meets women from every walk of life who choose sex work for myriad reasons. While negotiating the demands of her new job, she battles her problematic drug use, and the mental illness that has shaped her life. Rather than needing saving from sex work, it is the work that saves her from her many demons.This is a unique memoir, a story about a distinct period in a woman's life, a path taken on the way tomaking her what she is. It is shameless, painfully honest and with an ending that refuses to wrap up in a tidy bow.

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Book SynopsisIt's the kind of book that makes you wonder, why wasn't this written before?' It could change lives' EVENING STANDARDTurns everything you've been taught about sex on its head' RUBY RAREWhat lies are we told when it comes to sex?What impossible expectations pollute our health, our happiness and our access to fundamental human rights?Bringing together deep research with intimate, real stories from women who pay thousands for hymen reconstruction to men who fear their inexperience defines them this is a revitalisation of sex education for the twenty-first century.Trade Review‘I can’t tell you how much I needed a book like this growing up’KATE LISTER, TELEGRAPH, FOUR STARS ‘It’s the kind of book that makes you wonder, ‘why wasn’t this written before?’ It could change lives’EVENING STANDARD ‘More of us are having open conversations about consent and pleasure. Losing It is a valuable part of that conversation’THE TIMES ‘Urgent, myth-busting’REFINERY 29 ‘Optimistic … Smith Galer is at her best when writing about the global picture, and she includes some fascinating interviews with women from across the world’NEW STATESMAN ‘Many books claim to be myth-busting, but this terrific debut truly is … Essential reading for anyone whose sex education and formative sexual experiences were distinctly lacking. Most of us, in other words.’ THE BOOKSELLER ‘EDITOR’S CHOICE’ ‘A stunning debut … Not only a call to arms, but a forceful affirmation of what we owe to one another – good sex and healthy relationships’FERN RIDELL ‘Compassionate, vibrant, deftly argued … Smith Galer’s rigorously researched book is an urgently needed, unputdownable joy – and a triumph’ELINOR CLEGHORN ‘Turns everything you’ve been taught about sex on its head’RUBY RARE ‘Compelling, informative, compassionate: Sophia has done an incredible job tackling the myths and stories our society tell around sex – I wish I’d had this book to read a decade ago!’YASSMIN ABDEL-MAGIED ‘Sophia Smith Galer is one of the UK’s most impressive young journalists, and here’s further proof of her talents… A compelling book, full of persuasive, punchy prose’GREG JENNER ‘A daring and eloquently written book … With statistics to smash our warped view of topics such as virginity and consent, this is a must read’PATSY STEVENSON ‘With compassion, intelligence, and engrossing storytelling … It is essential and empowering reading’DAVID ROBSON

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Book SynopsisNPR''s Best Books of 2020Galvanizing and urgent....a slice of queer urban history and a necessary rethinking of sex work as a site of collective labor struggle.  -National Public RadioA riveting true story of a young woman’s days stripping in grunge-era San Francisco where a radical group of dancers banded together to unionize and run the club on their own terms. When graduate student Jenny Worley needed a fast way to earn more money, she found herself at the door of the Lusty Lady Theater in San Francisco, auditioning on a stage surrounded by mirrors, in platform heels, and not much else. So began Jenny’s career as a stripper strutting the peepshow stage as her alter-ego “Polly” alongside women called Octopussy and Amnesia. But this wasn’t your run-of-the-mill strip club—it was a peepshow populated by free-thinking women who talked feminist theory and swapped radical zines like lipstick. As management’s discriminatory practices and the rise of hidden cameras stir up tension among the dancers, Jenny rallies them to demand change. Together, they organize the first strippers’ union in the world and risk it all to take over the club and run it as a co-operative. Refusing to be treated as sex objects or disposable labor, they become instead the rulers of their kingdom. Jenny’s elation over the Lusty Lady’s revolution is tempered by her evolving understanding of the toll dancing has taken on her. When she finally hangs up her heels for good to finish her Ph.D., neither Jenny nor San Francisco are the same—but she and the cadre of wild, beautiful, brave women who run the Lusty Lady come out on top despite it all.  A first-hand account as only an insider could tell it, Neon Girls paints a vivid picture of a bygone San Francisco and a fiercely feminist world within the sex industry, asking sharp questions about what keeps women from fighting for their rights, who benefits from capitalizing on desire, and how we can change entrenched systems of power. Trade Review"A piercing examination of gender politics and a gritty insider’s account of union organizing. Worley adroitly captures the devastating dichotomy of feminist power running headlong into the realities of work built around the whims of men. A vivid and erudite exploration of class struggle and gender identity." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "I tore through this with a bedtime-be-damned voracity normally reserved for mysteries and thrillers, and though I already knew the broad-strokes version of the story, I was nonetheless completely enthralled by this firsthand account. Neon Girls chronicles Worley's journey from fledgling stripper to full-fledged labor activist; the creation of the Exotic Dancers Union; and the transformation of San Francisco's legendary Lusty Lady into a unionized, worker-owned co-op peep show. An inspiring, nostalgic, feminist, and unequivocally badass tale, with moments of solidarity that will trigger many happy tears, this book is a gem." — Powell's Books (Portland, Oregon) STAFF PICK "Worley skillfully captures a slice of a San Francisco that no longer exists through a fiercely feminist lens. A fast-paced, engaging book that readers with an interest in feminist thought, memoirs, and labor activism will enjoy." — Library Journal (starred review) “I could not put this book down. Worley is clear-eyed and whip smart. Neon Girls flipped my understanding of the sex industry and helped my brain and empathy evolve. I love this book and am recommending it to everyone I know—this is feminist storytelling at its finest.” — Mira Ptacin, author of The In-Betweens “Neon Girls is a fantastic in-depth peek into the peep show business. Worley’s firsthand account offers a view inside a business rarely seen, exposing its inner workings from hiring practices to enforced stage etiquette. Undressing readers of their preconceptions about stripping and strippers, Worley reveals that in this female-centered workplace she could feel both free, safe, and powerful while also acknowledging the toll that comes from making oneself vulnerable and available daily to others as an object of desire and fantasy. [An] inspirational story of female solidarity and empowerment.” — Alexa Albert, author of Brothel: Mustang Ranch and Its Women

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Book SynopsisShereen El Feki is a writer, broadcaster, and academic who started her professional life in medical science before going on to become an award-winning journalist with The Economist and a presenter with Al Jazeera English. She is former vice-chair of the UN's Global Commission on HIV and the Law, as well as a TED Global Fellow. Shereen writes for a number of publications, among them the Huffington Post. With roots in Egypt and Wales, Shereen grew up in Canada; she now divides her time between London and Cairo.www.sexandthecitadel.comTrade ReviewImportant, brave and necessary * Naomi Wolf *Remarkable... Sex and the Citadel should be celebrated - not least for freeing voices silenced by a mixture of taboo and political repression. It provides crucial oxygen for discussions that will need more airing in the long, conflicted years ahead -- Rachel Halliburton * Independent on Sunday *Compelling, revelatory... No one can be sure where the Arab awakening will lead now -- towards fiercer sexual controls or a slight relaxing of them. The one thing El Feki is sure of is that there will be no seismic shifts. This will be evolution, not revolution -- Jenni Russell * Sunday Times (Culture) *Fascinating -- Daisy Goodwin * Mail on Sunday *Frequently eye-popping… The stories emphasise just how bewildering the issue of sex has become across the Middle East -- Nicholas Blincoe * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisIn The World of Sex, Henry Miller, one of the most scandalous writers of the 20th century explains his literary project Henry Miller''s bold, explicit novels scandalized readers and remade the literature of his day. In this uncompromising literary manifesto he argues that sex is at the heart of his writing because it is at the heart of life - a vital force as essential as bread, money, work or play. Drawing on his own experiences and on the writing of his famously banned novels in Paris, he shows sex as a mysterious realm that must be explored if we are to be truly free.

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Book SynopsisSex Matters addresses a cluster of related questions that arise from the conflict of interests between rights based on sex and rights based on gender identity. Some of these questions are theoretical, including: who has the more ambitious vision for women''s liberation, gender-critical feminists or proponents of gender identity? How does each understand what gender is? What are the arguments for the refrain that ''trans women are women!'', and do they succeed? Other questions taken up in the book are more applied to specific issues in law and policy including: should there be a right to exclude people who are biologically male from women-only spaces? How do the interests of all stakeholders to bathrooms, in particular, trade off when it comes to moving from sex to gender identity as the basis for self-inclusion? If we think about types of transition, or gatekeeping requirements on transition, as providing assurance to women who are asked to accept the opening up of women-only spaces to transwomen, are any such assurances sufficient? Is ''TERF'' a slur, as some radical and gender-critical feminists have claimed? And finally, is gender-critical speech ''hate speech'', as it has been classified by some social media platforms, or at least harmful speech? Holly Lawford-Smith discusses these issues in a series of essays, all but one of them previously unpublished. She takes an analytic philosophical approach to these issues, drawing on ideas from political philosophy, philosophy of biology, and philosophy of language, as well as second-wave feminist theory and empirical literature, to defend a gender-critical position in response to all of these questions.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Preface Some notes on language Part I: Theory 1: Ending Sex-Based Oppression: Transitional Pathways 2: Gender: What Is It, And What Do They Want It To Be? 3: Do Arguments For 'Trans Women Are Women' Succeed? Part II: Policy 4: Women-Only Spaces And The Right To Exclude 5: Sex Self-Identification And Costly Signals Of Assurance 6: The Never-Ending Dispute Over Public Bathrooms Part III: Speech 7: Is 'TERF' A Slur? 8: Is Gender-Critical Speech Hate Speech? 9: Is Gender-Critical Speech Harmful Speech?

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