A Curious History of Sex

Author: Kate Lister
Publisher: Unbound Publishing
ISBN: 1783528060
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 444

Book Description
This is not a comprehensive study of every sexual quirk, kink and ritual across all cultures throughout time, as that would entail writing an encyclopaedia. Rather, this is a drop in the ocean, a paddle in the shallow end of sex history, but I hope you will get pleasantly wet nonetheless. The act of sex has not changed since people first worked out what went where, but the ways in which society dictates how sex is culturally understood and performed have varied significantly through the ages. Humans are the only creatures that stigmatise particular sexual practices, and sex remains a deeply divisive issue around the world. Attitudes will change and grow – hopefully for the better – but sex will never be free of stigma or shame unless we acknowledge where it has come from. Based on the popular research project Whores of Yore, and written with her distinctive humour and wit, A Curious History of Sex draws upon Dr Kate Lister’s extensive knowledge of sex history. From medieval impotence tests to twentieth-century testicle thefts, from the erotic frescoes of Pompeii, to modern-day sex doll brothels, Kate unashamedly roots around in the pants of history, debunking myths, challenging stereotypes and generally getting her hands dirty. This fascinating book is peppered with surprising and informative historical slang, and illustrated with eye-opening, toe-curling and meticulously sourced images from the past. You will laugh, you will wince and you will wonder just how much has actually changed.

A Curious History of Sex

Author: Kate Lister
Publisher: Unbound
ISBN: 9781783529711
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 464

Book Description
Based on the popular research project Whores of Yore and written with her distinctive humour and wit, A Curious History of Sex draws upon Dr. Kate Lister's extensive knowledge of sex history. From medieval impotence tests to twentieth-century testicle thefts, from the erotic frescoes of Pompeii, to modern-day sex doll brothels, Lister unashamedly roots around in the pants of history, debunking myths, challenging stereotypes, and generally getting her hands dirty. This fascinating book is peppered with surprising and informative historical slang, and illustrated with eye-opening, toe-curling, and meticulously sourced images from the past. You will laugh, you will wince, and you will wonder just how much has actually changed.

A Curious History of Sex

Author: Kate Lister
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781783528059
Category : Sex
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
A history of sex during the last 2500 years through snippets of historical information with an informed and humorous narrative

The Curious History of Dating

Author: Nichi Hodgson
Publisher: Robinson
ISBN: 1472138058
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 221

Book Description
A LIGHT-HEARTED, INTIMATE AND EMPHATICALLY FEMINIST HISTORY OF DATING 'A new approach to romance . . . The heroines of Regency novels could teach today's young women a trick or two' Sunday Times 'Entertaining and well-researched' The Lady 'Pacey, intelligent and authoritative with bags of wit' Law Gazette 'A whistle-stop tour of dating through history' History Extra What if Mr Darcy had simply been able to swipe right? Dating has never been easy. The road to true love has always been rutted with heartbreak, but do we have it any easier today? How did Victorians 'come out'? How did love blossom in war-torn Europe? And why did 80s' video-dating never take off? Bursting with little-known facts and tantalising tales of lovelorn men and besotted women, Nichi Hodgson's intriguing history of amorous relationships, from enamoured Georgians to frenziedly swiping millennials (and everyone in between) may leave you grateful that you live - and love - today.

Sex in History

Author: Reay Tannahill
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780349104867
Category : Sex customs
Languages : en
Pages : 488

Book Description
SEX IN HISTORY chronicles the pleasures- and perils- of the flesh from the time of mankind's distant ancestors to the modern day; from a sexual act which was bried, crude and purposeful, to the myriad varieties of contemporary sexual mores. Reay Tannahill's scholarly, yet accessible study ranges from the earliest form of contraception (one Egyptian concoction included crocodile dung) to some latter- day misconceptions about it- like the men who joined their lovers in taking the pill 'just to be on the safe side.' It surveys all manner of sexual practice, preference and position (the acrobatic 'wheelbarrow' position, the strenuous 'hovering butterflies' position...) and draws on souces as diverse as THE ADMIRABLE DISCOURSES OF THE PLAIN GIRL, the EXHIBTION OF FEMALE FLAGELLANTS, IMPORTANT MATTERS OF THE JADE CHAMBER and THE ROMANCE OF CHASTISEMENT. Whether writing on androgyny, courtly love, flagellation or zoophilia, Turkish eunuch's Greek dildoes, Taoist sex manuals or Japanses geisha girls, Reay Tannahill is consistently enlightening and entertaining.

Strange Antics

Author: Clement Knox
Publisher: William Collins
ISBN: 9780008285715
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 416

Book Description

A Brief History of Oral Sex

Author: David DePierre
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476671265
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 198

Book Description
The ancient Greeks and Romans considered it degrading to both parties yet depicted it prolifically in art and literature. The Early Christian Church called it "the worst evil," punishable by seven years of penance and fasting (murder was one year). Nearly all of the 13 original American colonies had laws against it--except Georgia. A Victorian handbook for young brides advised how to "dampen his desire to kiss in forbidden territory." Attitudes about oral sex have varied through the centuries and across cultures--a death sentence in some nations, a religious practice in others. This book explores its history as well as its impact on world events.

A Million Years in a Day

Author: Greg Jenner
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 125008945X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 369

Book Description
Who invented beds? When did we start cleaning our teeth? How old are wine and beer? Which came first: the toilet seat or toilet paper? What was the first clock? Every day, from the moment our alarm clock wakes us in the morning until our head hits our pillow at night, we all take part in rituals that are millennia old. Structured around one ordinary day, A Million Years in a Day reveals the astonishing origins and development of the daily practices we take for granted. In this gloriously entertaining romp through human history, Greg Jenner explores the gradual—and often unexpected—evolution of our daily routines. This is not a story of wars, politics, or great events. Instead, Jenner has scoured Roman rubbish bins, Egyptian tombs, and Victorian sewers to bring us the most intriguing, surprising, and sometimes downright silly historical nuggets from our past. Drawn from across the world, spanning a million years of humanity, this book is a smorgasbord of historical delights. It is a history of all those things you always wondered about—and many you have never considered. It is the story of your life, one million years in the making.

Sex

Author: Joann Ellison Rodgers
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 9780805072815
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 548

Book Description
How much do you really know about sex? In Sex: A Natural History, Joann Ellison Rodgers unearths both the roots of our sexual nature and the expression of our primal urges, explaining what it is that makes us male and female, and providing fascinating insights into the biology and physiology of flirtation, love, courtship, intercourse, fidelity, parenting, and nurturing. She describes scientists' discoveries about how the hormone that triggers labor contractions keeps prairie voles faithful to one mate, how the brain waves of female mice change when a male comes within smell range, and how Harlequin paperback romances and fantasies can be arousing-and what these findings tell us about our own sexuality. Sex: A Natural History illuminates one of the most powerful, and often misunderstood, aspects of human and animal existence.

The Story of Sex

Author: Philippe Brenot
Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal
ISBN: 0316472255
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 212

Book Description
The first graphic history of sex chronicles sexuality and human intimacy through the ages, from our primate pasts to our robotic futures. Humans have had sex on the brain since pre-civilization either for pleasure, power, revenge, a desire for children, or simply because it isn't allowed. Today, sex is all around us but it's rarely explained and almost never taught. In The Story of Sex, sexologist Phillipe Brenot combines anthropology, sociology, psychology and history with witty comics by Latetita Coryn for an in-depth explanation of this essential aspect of humanity. Organized chronologically into sections like Babylon: Free Love, The Middle Ages: Heaven and Hell, and The 20th Century: Sexual Liberation, Brenot explores what eroticism really is, how our ancestors behaved sexually, when the first couple was established, how superstition and morality laws shaped sexuality, the use of pornography in the digital age, and how some ancient civilizations were far ahead of their time when it came to gender equality. Full of fascinating details like Cleopatra's invention of the vibrator and a Dutch shopkeeper's accidental discovery of the existence of sperm--all accompanied by hilarious comics and dialogue -- The Story of Sex is informative, unique, and entertaining book.