Best Sex Writing

by Rachel Kramer Bussel

Book Overview

Answering the hottest questions of the year and raising many more, this anthology probes the inner lives of those on the front lines of lust and sex. Last year's edition included articles on such... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1573443379
• ISBN13: 9781573443371
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Cleis Press
• Length: 210 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

aptly titled, indeed

Best Sex Writing 09 is exactly what I could have hoped for in terms of a "best of." After spending the last two years out of school and without internet, I was starved for knowledge and information. I don't mean the kind I can get from conservative media, I mean the kind that comes from a place of critical inquiry. In this regard, the volume reveals what queer theorists everywhere know: sexuality permeates virtually every aspect of our lives. Sex and sexuality are indeed, as Rachel Kramer Bussel notes in the introduction, everywhere. Quite possibly the best thing about this volume is that it makes apparent to readers the heterogeneity of human lives and experiences. This heterogeneity encourages readers to interrogate accepted and common knowledge through the experiences and voices of the contributors; this is important because it engenders more holistic knowledge of people and the social conditions which shape their lives. This is not only in terms of our understanding of people and behaviors, but also because often the taken-for-granted solution isn't really solving anything at all. Arguably, this is most powerfully presented when social movements and institutions intersect as well (e.g., feminism, Christian evangelicals, psychiatry, the military, etc), as this further illustrates the ways in this interplay creates and sustains both inequality and privilege. In this regard, for example, Kelly Davis's essay on sex offenders shows that the current program isn't really rehabilitating sex offenders or diminishing numbers, but rather pushing the problem into areas even less equipped to combat it. Additionally, Dagmar Herzog's piece on sanctified marital sex practices and evangelical Christianity speaks fascinating volumes about how the church is still helping to construct gender norms and sexuality. Thoughtful, accessible, timely, and provocative essays comprise this edited volume. Rachel Kramer Bussel has crafted a cohesive, highly informative, and at times both touching and hilarious collection of essays. Needless to say, my hunger for new writing on sexual culture has been temporarily sated.

A lovely surprise

This book is a wonderful surprise. I volunteered to do a review, and was unprepared for what I got. This is not a book of sexy stories (although after reading this I will confess that I now am rather interested in Ms. Kramer Bussel's other work). Rather, it is a collection of writing about sex from the social standpoint. It's not quite social science, and it's definitely not erotica. This is one of the things that I am very taken with: the book bridges a large gap, in my mind, between the often dry, remote world of academe and that of the often over-stated world of sexuality. The contents speak volumes (hah!). There are pieces on virginity, chastity and military regulations of sex toys. There are deeply heartfelt pieces on love and abuse, where the pain and intensity of the author emerge in well crafted writing. A piece on sex offenders is written by one of the victims, who avoids falling prey to hysterical reactions despite her own difficult past. There is a piece by a man who remained a chaste virgin, even to himself, until he was out of college. There is a remarkable spectrum of pieces that speak not just to sex, but something a lot deeper, a lot more difficult. In the end, what I took away from this little volume was about relationships. Relationships are perhaps the most complex layer of human experience. What we as individuals bring to a relationship is a lived experience; we never really get much from school or home on the actual mechanics - it's something we have to see, feel, experience along the way. Much of that, clearly, is difficult. Any attempt to bridge the aforementioned divide between popular and scholarly runs a considerable risk. Critics on the scholarly side will quickly note the dearth of references, and few citations. That's true here, but there are a number of references, good ones, and despite the sprinkling of citations, the articles are written, and the book is set up, to make it relatively simple to dig deeper. In one of the articles, for example, there is a fascinating quote by Virginia Woolf - "I will wait until men have become so civilized that they are not shocked when a woman speaks the truth about her body." - and a quick search online led me to several good sources. The curious need only dip a toe into the water. At the same time, critics on the popular side will likely decry the meticulously crafted article on the impending changes to the DSM, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or the exceptional dissection of the United States Army's General Order 1a as it pertains to the real and gritty lives of the troops in the war zone. How, they might ask, can we expect a reading audience seeking to be entertained to cozy up to this kind of dry technical detail? The answer to both sides is that sex, and relationships, just aren't always easy or pretty or even sexy. Sex can be difficult, painful - both emotionally and physically. It can leave lasting traces, damage that tak

Brilliant collection for well written articles on sexuality

One might assume that Best Sex Writing 2009 is solely a collection of erotica, or at least a book that contains some hot and heavy material. One might also be incredibly wrong. This is the second edition of the book that I've been fortunate enough to read (also read last year's 2008 collection), and both have wowed me. This year's Best Sex Writing 2009 is full of interesting articles on a plethora of subjects, ranging from dildos as contraband in Iraq to different takes on abstinence-only education/programs/teens who wait until marriage, and so much more. To me, the first piece, by Tracy Egan, was entrancing. As a feminist, she talks about trying to hire someone to fantasy rape her, and her surprise at all of the issues that came with this, although they weren't the issues that you'd expect. I really enjoyed this piece, far more than I expected to, and it really set the tone for the rest of the book. I liked that this spanned so many different sub-areas within the incredibly broad field of sexuality. As someone with a degree in human sexuality, I have been frustrated that people tend to lump "sex writing" into either erotica, or research/papers/dissertations. This book is a collection of some of the best written, most interesting, incredibly deep essays, interviews and articles written on the spectrum of sexuality. I found this book incredibly enjoyable, well-edited and collected, and immensely hard to put down. I'm sure it will be making the round among my friends and peers alike, and I plan to use it to reference for future sex writing of my own. I applaud Rachel Kramer Bussel on this work of hers.

The Title Doesn't Lie

I just read my copy of Best Sex Writing 2009, edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel, and from the moment I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. Just like last year's edition (also edited by Bussel and equally fabulous), each article delves into an area of sex writing that most of us don't pay enough attention to. "Dangerous Dildos," about the military's uncalled-for searches and seizures was eye-opening to say the least, and it really makes you wonder what freedoms we're protecting if we can't allow our own citizens the freedom of keeping their sexuality private. "Sex is the Most Stressful Thing in the World" is a hilarious look at how much we all overthink sex in our own lives, and if you don't laugh out loud reading about the author's foibles, you're really missing out. Brian Alexander's piece is also quite enlightening when it comes to what the average Jane or Joe is doing (side note, if you like Best Sex Writing, you should read Alexander's book, "America Unzipped"). I've passed around my copy of the 2008 edition to everyone I know who's remotely interested in sex as an intellectual topic, and 2009's edition will be much the same. Bussel did a fine job pulling together all the best author's and articles for the latest compendium of carnal knowledge, and it's a must-read for anyone of age and with a pulse.

A quick but great enlightening & entertaining read

Note: None of the essay were erotica. If that's what you were looking for, you'll have to look elsewhere. I read the book over the course of 2 days. Each essay was short and well-written, with the author's voices coming through distinctly. Each story educated me about a topic that I had known very little about; topics ranged from Iraq war veteran's sexuality after returning home, to purity balls, to the role of sex dolls in eastern v. western society, to the affected sexuality of paralyzed adults (and how science can learn from it). Overall the book had a nice sense of humor about itself, and none of the authors came across as awkward or clumsy. What a great read!