The Pleasure's All Mine

August 19, 2013
Throughout history, sexual norms have shifted drastically: an act that is seen as deviant at one time may be widely accepted at another. Peakman (A Cultural History of Sexuality) argues that sexual acts have not changed much through the ages, but the cultural response to them has. Today, discussions about sexual preferences are still taboo in many parts of the world, and many opinions are still colored by society’s long-held beliefs. One example is masturbation, seen as healthy in Ancient Rome and Greece and as a sin under the Catholic Church. Peakman offers a history of many sexual acts that have been perceived as perverse, including homosexuality, bestiality, sadomasochism, necrophilia, incest, and pedophilia. This is a history for the general reader, primarily covering Western thought; it’s also a wonderful reference source for sexual studies and research. Though it occasionally lacks details, the work does succeed in providing a nice overview. Peakman asks readers to think about how society dictates their own opinions, and her work helps pave the way for more open discussions of sexuality in the future. 68 color plates, 112 halftones.

November 1, 2013

For those with an erudite interest in debauchery, this latest from author, historian, and sex scholar Peakman (Lascivious Bodies: A Sexual History of the Eighteenth Century) is just the ticket. Along with the expected whips, handcuffs, and nipple clamps, readers will explore a gamut of alternative sexual predilections ranging from paraphilic infantilism (adult baby syndrome) to acrotomophilia (eroticization of amputees). Historical accounts include those of accused zoophile Thomas Hogg, prosecuted for fathering a piglet; the legend of a ninth-century pope, presumed male until she went into labor; and the lurid tale of a 1930s radiologist who fell in love with a corpse and slept with it for years, using wax, piano wire, and perfume oils to keep the body intact. Peakman's broad overview is stunning, sweeping, and very carefully nonjudgmental. She recounts the history of each so-called perversion from its earliest recorded occurrence through the present, showing how the shifting mores of society color our views on this endlessly fascinating subject. VERDICT Exhaustively researched and packed with startling images, this work is a fact-filled, entertaining read for sex history neophytes and scholars alike.--Jeanne Bogino, New Lebanon Lib., NY

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