Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

A Curious History of Sex by Kate Lister

9 reviews

mari1532's review against another edition

dark funny informative lighthearted mysterious reflective fast-paced

3.5

I listened to this book with Audible. 

Brief Summary: Lister explores the history of sex and the human species. Each section of the book focuses on popular subtopics associated with sex throughout history including sex and money, sex and food, and sex and machines. Lister uses the historical record and humor to describe and discuss each topic.

Thoughts: I have been following Lister's Instagram account for awhile now and finally started listening to her brilliant podcast, Betwixt the Sheets. When I realized one of her books was on Audible and included in the subscription I jumped at the chance to listen to her research in depth. 

This is an incredibly interesting book about sex, sexuality, and the human experience. I wish that this were required reading in many health classes as it tackles some very pertinent topics and misconceptions related to reproduction and sexual health. Lister is also an entertaining writer and presenter. Some of the information that she discuses as practices are both puzzling to learn about about and entertaining. 

If you want to have a great time, learn something, and combat patriarchal understanding of human sexuality this is a great book to start with. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Infertility, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, and Abortion

acemummerz's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

A wonderful fairly short text on the history of sex from a western/ UK perspective. Very well referenced with a multitude of links to other texts to expand your knowledge further. Funny and educational. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body shaming, Child death, Classism, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Vomit, Sexism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Abortion, Murder, Racism, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Miscarriage, Death, Hate crime, Blood, Sexual assault, Homophobia, and Slavery

catherinedsharp's review against another edition

informative fast-paced

5.0

A really interesting book that I will take to build upon with other research! Looking at sexuality has always been a difficult topic but this book links it to so many things and explores it all in a sensitive, funny and informative way. Would highly recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Cursing, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Animal cruelty, Child death, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

tlholmes's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

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

funny informative lighthearted reflective medium-paced

5.0

I absolutely bloody loved this book. Irreverent, exploratory, informative and funny, 'A Curious History of Sex' absolutely obliterated my post-travel reading slump and gave me much to think about and laugh about over the last couple of days. If you’ve ever followed Kate Lister on social media, you’ll already have a rough idea of what you’re getting into. I’ll never think of the humble bicycle in quite the same way again.

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.

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Content Warnings

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

adventurous dark funny informative lighthearted medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Sexism, Suicide, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Slavery, Infidelity, Abortion, Infertility, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual content, and Violence

mateoj's review against another edition

adventurous informative medium-paced

4.0

very entertaining and informative, and I appreciated the extensive use of primary sources. It was a welcome surprise to read the disclaimer in the introduction acknowledging the existence of trans people and the fact that primary sources almost always take a cisgendered view on sex and genitalia, but I do wish Lister had done more in her own use of language to try and correct that instead of just offering a disclaimer and going on to adhere to that cis-centric perspective. A few "people with vulvas" and "people with penises" would not have been unwelcome, but nonetheless I have to give her credit for even acknowledging the issue at all. The condemnation of FOSTA/SESTA and explicit support of sex workers was also a welcome surprise.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Cursing, Medical content, Miscarriage, Abortion, and Rape

lena04's review against another edition

challenging funny informative medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Abortion, Body shaming, and Homophobia

thejuliette's review against another edition

funny informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Slavery, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Infidelity, and Death