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banandrew's review against another edition
5.0
One of the most thorough treatments I've seen on any subject. Segal covers not only the history of sexuality (largely focused on the UK and US sexual revolutions and since), but also their relation to the feminist revolution, the treatment of sexuality by psychoanalysis (esp. Freud and Lacan), sociological perspectives (with a focus on Foucault), and modern discussions of how interrelated issues of gender, sexuality, and power dynamics are. Thorough, yet accessible; highly recommended.
sanamun's review against another edition
4.0
Though the book shows it's age at times (references to Thatcherism, unequal age of consent laws for gay men, and referring to queer/LGBT+ people exclusively as "lesbians and gay men"), this books is nonetheless an accessible and surprisingly relevant history and critique of feminist views of sexuality in the 20th century, and comes to a conclusion (about disentangling perceptions of sex, as well as specific roles and acts, from being coded as a particular gender, or from associating femininity with submission) which shows more nuance than either "yay sex positivity" or "porn culture is evil", even if it does go off on a weird tangent into Freudian psychoanalytic theory for maybe slightly too many pages.
liridona's review against another edition
4.0
A nice, albeit at times a bit too theoretical, historical overview of feminists’ fight for sexual autonomy and pleasure. Worth the read.
thefrenchveg's review against another edition
4.0
Although it is a bit dense, this book serves as a (really good) history of our attitudes towards sex throughout the second half of the 20th century. It references a tremendous amount of authors to further investigate and gives a clear picture of the various strands of thinking on the subject.
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