The Pleasure's All Mine: A History of Perverse Sex

About this book

Handcuffs paddles whipsthe words alone are enough to make a person blush. Even by our societys standards the practice of things like BDSM is still very hush-hush considered deviant sexual behavior that must be kept hidden. But the narrow view of what is thought of as normal sexa vanilla act performed by one man and one womanis more and more contested these days. And as Julie Peakman reveals normal never really existed; for everyone different kinds of sex have always offered myriad pleasures and almost all sexual behaviors have traveled between acceptance and proscription. The Pleasures All Mine examines two millennia of letters diaries court records erotic books medical texts and more to explore the gamut of deviant sexual activity. Delving into the specialized cultures of pain necrophilia and bestiality and the social world of plushies furries and life-size sex dolls Peakman considers the changing attitudes toward these as well as masturbation golden showers sadomasochism homosexuals transvestites and transsexuals. She follows the history of each behavior through its original reception to its interpretation by sexologists and how it is viewed today showing how previously acceptable behaviors now provoke social outrage or vice versa. In addition she questions why people have been and remain intolerant of other peoples sexual preferences. The first comprehensive history of sexual perversion and packed with both color and black and white images The Pleasures All Mine is a fascinating and sometimes shocking look at the evolution of our views on sex.