Reviews

A Curious History of Sex by Kate Lister

jowilks's review against another edition

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informative lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

aside_2ur_bside's review against another edition

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5.0

This book covers a lot. Ever wonder why women are hairless over parts of their bodies? I was always curious as to how those trends started. Or how douching became a thing? (Pssst, what was used as a douche agent at one point was gruesome.)The first three chapters had me giggling as the author covered various sex terms and slang. Flap doodle is my new favorite. The etymology though was quite interesting.

I wish religious zealots would overcome their sex reservations. It’s just sex friends. The author covers women being shamed and men being zapped of physical strength by masturbation. It’s just sex. Such a great stress reliever.

ecolh's review against another edition

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informative medium-paced

2.75

In the conclusion Lister admits that the reader might have felt mislead by the title of the book, but that the topic of sex is too broad to be captured in one book alone by one person.

I agree with this. While Lister has obviously made an attempt at diversity in it, this book is really predominantly a history of white, straight British women and sex. I actually believe that in trying to diversify the subject matter Lister has lost a lot of nuance and didn't go into subjects as much as she could have.

She also has a habit of taking an extremely modern lense when looking at historical practices around sex. It is good that we know why some practices and viewpoints are wrong nowadays, but snorting at them and not looking at the historical context doesn't feel at all fair or academic.

I also felt that there was a lot of judgement cast on anyone reading who was not "sexually liberated". When speaking about fairness and safety in the context of sex, you have to take into account "prudes" and people who might be more modest. Live your life having as much weird and wonderful sex with consenting adults as you want, but Lister seems to imply that people who would rather not be privy to that way of life are somehow morally in the wrong.

ginnyb412's review against another edition

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funny informative medium-paced

4.0

acreativeheather's review against another edition

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4.0

Fairly fascinating, concise history of sex.

clydefr0ggs's review against another edition

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informative medium-paced

4.0

nawellponson's review against another edition

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4.0

(Audiobook) The author narrated the book herself, which I enjoyed. She has a great sense of humor and is able to find real depth in her research areas while still being humorously relatable. A learned a lot of weird history!

neeuqdrazil's review against another edition

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4.0

This was a lot of fun, and very well endnoted (which is something that is frequently missing in more popular history works.)

jennareadsthings's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5
She says, up front, where the weak spots are here. Lots of Victorian evidence. Lots of cis views. But, also, at some points, you work with what you’ve got. Most pieces felt too short, to me. I waited for a thesis, or a punchline.

allaboutallie18's review against another edition

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4.0

incredibly educational and i hope no one was looking behind my shoulder while i was reading this