04 February, 2009

Sex between the covers

A new wave of erotica subverts the usual porn conventions, and invites debate about pleasure

Women and men were becoming increasingly vocal about their anger at the way sexuality - still mainly female - had been co-opted by commerce, with the values of the market turning the act itself into a competitive sport. For a moment, it felt as though - in addition to critiquing the pornification of society - it might be possible to open up a public space to investigate how this was affecting personal sexual development. But I sense this didn't quite happen - despite the blogosphere offering individuals like Margolis ample opportunity to explore their own erotic journeys.

Sexual ignorance is far from bliss, yet we still don't know, for example, precisely how a woman reaches orgasm. While it's generally assumed that men have higher libidos, recent research from Canada found that women are physiologically aroused by a much wider range of stimuli than males. And, while the porn movie industry has entirely mainstreamed anal penetration, I don't see the PSHE curriculum teaching our young people how to make the act safer and more comfortable by using condoms and lube any time soon. Read more >>

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