A Curious History of Sex

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An eye-opening exploration of the weird and wonderful things human beings have done in pursuit (and denial) of the mighty orgasm, based on the hit Twitter account @WhoresofYore
This is not a comprehensive study of every sexual quirk, kink and ritual across all cultures throughout time, as that would entail writing an encyclopaedia. Rather, this is a drop in the ocean, a paddle in the shallow end of sex history, but I hope you will get pleasantly wet nonetheless. The act of sex has not changed since people first worked out what went where, but the ways in which society dictates how sex is culturally understood and performed have varied significantly through the ages. Humans are the only creatures that stigmatise particular sexual practices, and sex remains a deeply divisive issue around the world. Attitudes will change and grow hopefully for the better but sex will never be free of stigma or shame unless we acknowledge where it has come from. Drawing upon extensive research from Dr Kate Lister's Whores of Yore website and written with her distinctive humour and wit, A Curious History of Sex covers topics ranging from twentieth- century testicle thefts to Victorian doctors massaging the pelvises of their female patients, from smutty bread innuendos dating back to AD 79, to the new and controversial sex doll brothels. It is peppered with surprising and informative historical slang and illustrated by eye-opening, toe- curling and hilarious images. In this fascinating book, Lister deftly debunks myths and stereotypes and gives unusual sexual practices an historical framework, as she provides valuable context for issues facing people today, including gender, sexual shame, beauty and language.

Reviews

• 'Buckle your trousers, fasten your seatbelts, here comes Kate Lister. Her curious history of sex is a wild ride, made all the more enjoyable by a wonderfully irreverent approach . . . Ive never had so much fun learning stuff' The Times
• 'A wonderful cornucopia of deviance and desire' The Times books of the year
• 'Had Victoria Wood decided to write a scholarly book about sex, it would be like this. Lister has a saucy wit . . . I laughed out loud.' Daily Mail
• 'Lister romps her way through masturbation, menstruation and prostitution, the invention of condoms, the use of vibrators to cure hysteria and much more . . . Glorious' Evening Standard
• 'An anecdote-rich chronicle that uncovers layer on layer of oppression . . . vivid and playful' Guardian
• 'A riot to read' New Statesman
  
• 'Brilliant . . . A must-read' Dan Snow
• 'An eye opener. Thoughtful but fun, scholarly but spritely . . . and a bit rude!' Sir Tony Robinson
• A generous, thoughtful, uncensored history of sex. From virginity tests to vegetable dildos, onanism to orgasm, menstruation to male sex work, this fascinating book encourages us to take a long hard look at how history has shaped understandings of sex as we know it today, and how sex might best be guided into the future Annie Sprinkle, pleasure activist and author of The Explorers Guide to Planet Orgasm
• 'A wonderfully entertaining read. Worth going along for the ride! Kate Listers Curious History of Sex is great fun and brilliantly illustrated. Lister wears her learning lightly, and is ready to laugh and occasionally gasp with horror along with her readers at some of the strange facts she unearths. Listers erudition never distances the reader and her tolerance and understanding means you never feel preached at. A fantastic guide to the strange history of human sexuality in all its forms and also very, very, funny!' Catharine Arnold, author of City of Sin: London and its Vices
• Simply brilliant. Exploding with facts and anecdotes, and always presented with warmth by a historian who clearly loves her subject Lucy-Anne Holmes, author of Dont Hold My Head Down

Author Bio

Dr Kate Lister is a university lecturer. She researches the history of sexuality and curates the online research project Whores of Yore. She is also a columnist for iNews and the Wellcome Trust where she writes about the history of sex. Kate won the Sexual Freedom Award for Publicist of the Year in 2017.
thewhoresofyore.com / @WhoresofYore