Eve's Secret: A New Theory of Female Sexuality

by Josephine Lowndes Sevely

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394554388
• ISBN13: 9780394554389
• Release Date: August 1987
• Publisher: Random House (NY)
• Length: 213 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.

Customer Reviews

An intriguing eye-opener.

I got this book through interlibrary loan for the simple reason that it was cited in a reference to the "male clitoris". I didn't learn much of use on that account, since the author's premise here is that the embryological analog in the male is covered by the penile glans. However if you can get past this author's blatant hubris is renaming the tip of the clitoris after herself (the Lowndes Crown), or the idea of a psychologist reinterpreting medical research, it's actually quite an engaging and informative book. I wish she had spent a little more time citing modern anatomical/urologic research or discussing her own research on female fluids, than she did on the philosophical or social implications of the situation, but all in all the book opened my eyes to some intriguing aspects of male/female genital homology. Specifically the idea that the true female glans (as opposed to just the tip of the clitoris) surrounds the urethral opening just as in men and that the carina dividing this region from the entrance to the vagina is similarly analogous to the male sulcus (or coronal ridge) is very useful information indeed given the extreme sensitivity of those areas in the male. Also the suggestion of the homology of the male foreskin and labia minora was new to me. This along with the clear delineation of the corpus cavernosa and corpus spongiosum erectile bodies was quite instructive, allowing one to begin picturing that which has variously been referred to as the Grafenberg spot, gspot or urethral sponge as an almost penis-like structure embedded between the clitoral body and the anterior vagina. Along the way I also learned some things about the male genitals as well, namely the existence of the bulb of the corpus spongiosum behind the scrotum analogous to the vaginal bulbs and distinct from the tails of the corpus cavernosa (which split off toward the sitz bones essentially anchoring the penis or clitoris in both men and women). I definitely think possessing a clear understanding of the genital homology of men and women has great value if for nothing more than helping the sexes to understand each other's physical sexual responses. And while I can't vouch for the author's credibility in medical circles this is interesting reading nonetheless and she surely has the advantage of her own experience as a woman in guiding her interpretations. As a side note this was definitely more evenhanded and male friendly than Rebecca Chalker's rather shrill and heterophobic "Clitoral Truth" which seemed loosely patterned after this book and was indeed the citing reference that brought me to it.

Did you miss this book?

This book received little notice when it was first published, most likely because its subject is rather technical and involves a discussion of embryology. If you are the kind that enjoys a technical approach to sex, then this book is a must read.The gist of it is a comparison of the female and male genitalia, and how they formed through evolution. I found this book fascinating and profitable. You might too.