� Some Sites I like � I'm reading |
Review of O: The Intimate History of the Orgasm by Jonathan Margolis O covers orgasm from its basic evolutionary developments to the present day. Though the general development of the book includes events that won't surprise most students of sexuality, O does offer small tidbits of interesting history particular to the orgasm. It is these pieces of new information, like an easter egg hunt in a video game, that make O so compelling a read. For those that aren't heavy readers of sexual history, O also offers a good general overview of world sexuality. However, this walkthrough can also be gleaned from other sources I've already reviewed like Love for Sale. I will admit O's long buildup through the first three chapters where Margolis discusses orgasm's evolutionary fuction is a wonderful analysis that isn't covered in most other texts. Buss's Evolution of Human Desire touches on the orgasmic mechanism, but he doesn't go into great detail, focusing instead of the basic equation of trading sex for material goods. O, however, sees orgasm as an evolutionary development designed to bond couples closer together against the genetic odds.
Generally speaking, O is worth a read even if you've already read most sexual history texts. Though most of the book can be a review, interesting sidebars abound. O touches on sex for the disabled by mentioning a Swiss program that provides women to masturbate the wheelchair bound, though it was closed within four months. Hermes is the god of masturbation (they didn't teach me that in school) and the Greeks learned it from Pan who Hermes taught because Echo left him. Early Romans celebrated weddings by having an orgy with the new bride. The real cause for the French Revolution was Louis's extra large cock and Marie's extra small twat, hence no ability to consummate the marriage, which led to the public assuming she was cheating. Finally, there's now a G-plump comestic surgery operation availible whereby you can have an anti-aging acid injected into the site that (suppossedly) makes it more sensitive so you can reach orgasm much quicker. (I gotta look into that one!) So, as much as I'd like to type out all the underlined passages I found fascinating, I'll just leave you with Camille Paglia's slightly inaccurate, but still somewhat funny quote: "Leaving sex to the feminists is like letting your dog vacation at the taxidermist's." Not always true these days, but she's probably protesting those poor unsexed women in NOW who keep badgering the goverment to remove pornography. Poor pornography. The only person its really burned lately is moi, and that's not my fault. I blame my father for that one. Daphne |