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catherinedsharp's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Abortion, Cursing, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Animal cruelty, Child death, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
tlholmes's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Medical trauma, Medical content, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Abortion
Moderate: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Blood, Body shaming, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Colonisation, Death, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Racism, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Outing, Chronic illness, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, and Sexism
bookishwondergoth's review against another edition
5.0
This was a very excellent overview of the history of sex which which covers off a wide-range of sex-related topics at a very high level (vaginas, clits, penises, orgasms, sex toys, reproduction, contraceptives, language, legislation, medicine, sex workers…). The history Kate delves into is pretty Western, cis, and hetero-centric, but she gives a little disclaimer/explanation at the beginning and also does try to discuss and bring in other cultures and sexualities where possible. Although I’d have personally loved a bit more in-depth intersectional analysis of certain topics, there is an extensive bibliography provided along with further reading suggestions, so I mostly just strapped myself in and enjoyed the ride.
And what a ride! Some of the things human have made up or surmised with regards to sex over the centuries are truly mind-boggling and laugh out loud hilarious. Of course, on the flip side of that, humans have done a lot of fucked up, batshit crazy stuff to do with sex as well. Kate Lister drags it all out in the open and presents it with its pants down for all of us to see. Despite her academic credentials, her writing style is very informal, littered with historical slang and sprinkled with her own wry observations that I personally found very easy and an absolute delight to read. For those who don’t know Kate Lister, she is a very sex-positive and outspoken feminist who is absolutely not afraid to give her (very informed) opinion on contentious issues such as abortion and prostitution. I personally love this about her writing, but if you’re seeking a drier, more academic and objective tone when it comes to your sex history, you probably won’t find it here.
My edition of this book is also packed full of beautiful colour images that really enhanced my reading experience. They’re not at all safe for work, obviously, but definitely made me smile or wince upon multiple occasions.
Speaking of wincing, this is an adult non-fiction book about the history of sex—which is often disgusting and brutal. Expect graphic scenes of sexual and medical content, accounts and instances of sexual violence, horrifying contemporary sources packed full of sexism, misogyny and more, and an entire chapter dedicated to FGM which still managed to trigger a vasovagal syncope episode from me, despite in-text warnings from Lister.
A very thought-provoking and compulsively readable popular science book that I cannot recommend highly enough. Loved it.
Graphic: Body shaming, Classism, Colonisation, Homophobia, Medical content, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Infidelity, Outing, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Death, Infertility, Abortion, Child death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Rape, Animal cruelty, Torture, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcohol
Minor: Pedophilia, Vomit, Excrement, and Suicide
This is a book about the history of sex and human attitudes to sex, so naturally, all topics associated with that are included in this book, including: graphic sexual content; pornographic images; bizarre medical experimentation and eye-wateringly torturous-looking devices; classism; racism etc. plus contemporary quotes detailing explicit sexism, misogyny, homophobia and racism. Everything is carefully and factually presented. The author herself strongly condemns these attitudes and seeks to deconstruct them in her narrative. There is also an entire chapter dedicated to FGM. The author includes 'wince warnings' in context, and she is not kidding around. Heed her warnings!bookswithgeorgia's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Pregnancy, Sexism, Suicide, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Slavery, Infidelity, Abortion, Infertility, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual content, and Violence
thejuliette's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Slavery, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Infidelity, and Death
now_booking's review against another edition
3.5
Overall, I liked this and I enjoyed meandering through it slowly over the past couple of months. I read the book at times and listened to the audio read by the author, at other times and I found both interesting and felt that I learned a lot about the history and anthropology of sex. I recommend this if sex is something that interests you from an academic standpoint. This is entertaining but also filled with a lot of factoids and trivia. For me if there is a down side, it is that whilst there is certainly reference to non-“Western” traditions in this book, I would say to a large extent, this book focuses on Western histories of sex with to a lesser extent some focus on practices from India. And this is understandable because this book relies on (mostly verified) written histories and traditions rather than oral ones. But I would have loved to have more content around Africa and other parts of Asia (other than India) and even other indigenous populations, and I fear those narratives might be lost forever.
Whilst this author editorializes a lot, it never feels like she’s giving too much personal opinion. There is some though. If you’re a fan of the Twitter page, “Whores of Yore,” you’ll probably know the vibe and quite like this book. I recommend if sex is something you want to get nerdy about - definitely check out the cool sources cited. This is definitely a labour of love.
Graphic: Abortion, Biphobia, Blood, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Medical content, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Transphobia
Moderate: Infertility, Infidelity, and Medical trauma
reocalabra's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Medical trauma, Medical content, and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, Infidelity, Homophobia, and Miscarriage