There is a common misconception that the modern “sex positive” movement is a radical break from the past. But women demanding better sex did not arrive with free love or sex toys. It has been a very long fight indeed. In fact, while today we think of men as being more highly sexed than women, for most of our history it was the other way around—important evidence that current attitudes are not fixed.
From Ancient Mesopotamian sex goddesses to the contraceptive pill, historian Kate Lister takes us through the ages to show us how women’s sexual pleasure was understood, and thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed. We discover where women in the past learned about sex, and what kind of sex they were having. All of which challenges the conventional narrative that a woman needs to feel love to have sex. What if, in fact, she simply needs to love the sex she’s having?
And still, there are the countless women who suffered because they were taught they weren’t supposed to enjoy sex—and who felt guilt and shame if they did. Taking the stance that the issue of female pleasure gets to the heart of dismantling patriarchal notions of gendered entitlement, Flick also attempts to unravel the uneasy journey of where our decidedly unpleasurable ideas came from, what purpose they serve, and most importantly how we can change them—and we can change them.
