And while I'm on the topic of sex

[trixtah]

Has anyone read Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape, edited by Jessica Valenti (of Feministing fame)? It's a collection of essays, and there are some interesting titles:

• Offensive Feminism: The Conservative Gender Norms That Perpetuate Rape Culture, and How Feminists Can Fight Back
• Beyond Yes or No: Consent As Sexual Process
• A Woman's Worth
• A Love-Letter from an Anti-Rape Activist to Her Feminist Sex-Toy Store
• The Fantasy of Acceptable "Non-Consent": Why the Female Sexual Submissive Scares Us (And Why She Shouldn't)
• Invasion of Space by a Female
• When Sexual Autonomy Isn't Enough: Sexual Violence Against Immigrant Women in the United States
• Trial by Media: Black Female Lasciviousness and the Question of Consent
• An Old Enemy in a New Outfit: How Date Rape Became Gray Rape and Why It Matters
• Reclaiming Touch: Rape Culture, Explicit Verbal Consent and Body Sovereignty
• Shame is the First Betrayer
• Why Nice Guys Finish Last
• Sex is Worth Fighting For
• Purely Rape: The Myth of Sexual Purity and How It Reinforces Rape Culture
• In Defence of Going Wild, or: How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Pleasure (and How You Can, Too)

...and many more, which also look very interesting. Naturally US-centric (especially the discussions of teenage sex-ed), but I think the broader question of how women's sexuality is perceived has common themes in Western culture. Not that many essays in this collection  seem to be examining the role of the media in this area, but I suppose that ground has been gone over many times. However, I think examining media portrayal of women could do with an update - was Naomi Wolf really the last to do a major look into it?

I'd be interested if anyone has read it - I think I'll be acquiring it in any case.

Comments

[cheshire-bitten.livejournal.com]

A freind of mine wrote one of the artiles, zie is a good writer/thinker, seal press and Jessica Valenti have been attacked and I think fairly by the woc community for the racism of some of the preivous books.

[trixtah.livejournal.com]

Groovy! Nice to know of someone who contributed.

As for Valenti herself, I didn't read Full Frontal Feminism because I'm not a Californian Valley Girl, who I think must have been the object of the book. It seems it wasn't executed well for a number of reasons. I don't usually follow the Feministing blog either. However, I do think she does her research well, and seems to be maturing a bit as a writer, so with any luck, this collection will come up with some good analysis (which is the part she seems to fall down on in the blog).

[goatsfoot.livejournal.com]

yes, that book looks very interesting! i know i'd like to read it.

[trixtah.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'll have to give a report when I read it. :-)

[goatsfoot.livejournal.com]

i don't know if it's cheaper but it's local: http://www.fishpond.com.au/Books/Nonfiction/Social_Sciences/Womens_Studies/product_info/13097358/

or maybe it's out at local bookshops.