$21.95
ISBN 1555837441
available through
Amazon
Reviewed by Jean Roberta
(10/29/03)
Back in the day when this reviewer "came out" as a lesbian
by venturing into the local gay bar, there was one way to
find out what lesbians did in bed, and it did not involve
reading. That situation has changed in the past twenty
years. So many non-fiction books and articles on lesbian
life have been published since the 1980s that some already
look dated. Some of these have been replaced by sequels,
later editions, and revised versions.
The Lesbian Sex Book, originally written by Wendy Caster
and published in 1993, has been revised by Rachel Kramer
Bussel. Bussel's work has appeared in a
variety of lesbian magazines, including On Our Backs and
Girlfriends, and erotic anthologies such as the Best
Lesbian and Best Women's Erotica series, and the
legendary Starf*ckers, a collection of fantasies about
celebrities.
In her preface, Bussel explains: "In updating this classic
book, I've tried to be as encompassing as possible." Her
list of organizations and individuals who have inspired her
is long and generous; it shows the importance of community
("queer," lesbian, sex-positive, and/or literary) in the
lives of individuals. In some sense, no dyke is an island.
In her own introduction to the revised edition, Wendy
Caster discusses her original intention: to "offer a safe
place for newly out lesbians as well as for curious women
who didn't choose to label themselves." As lesbian culture
has advanced, a reference book intended as an introduction
to it needs to cover more ground. Caster comments: "I
think Rachel Kramer Bussel's rewrite for the second edition
offers much more for the experienced woman than the first
edition did."
While this version of the book is more encompassing than
the first one, the format has changed so that the book is
smaller than the original, an outsize volume which looks
similar to the classic works Our Bodies, Ourselves (a
much-revised feminist look at female anatomy, first
published in the 1970s) and Our Right to Love (a lesbian
resource book published in 1978 with co-operation from the
National Gay Task Force). The Lesbian Sex Book (2003) is
generously illustrated, like its predecessor, and easy to
dip into.
The book is organized like an encyclopedia; it consists of
short articles in alphabetical order. Some of the entries,
such as those on "Tribadism" (rubbing) and lesbian symbols,
look like essential historical information. Other entries,
such as those on "Bonobos" (a variety of apes in Zaire who
live peacefully among themselves because they "love to
fuck"), look whimsical and only distantly related to the
culture of women-loving human females.
One sign of the twenty-first-century flavor of the new
edition is the straightforward (so to speak) inclusion of
various topics which divided lesbian communities in past
decades. "Bisexuality" is included as a sexual orientation
which is not defined as better or worse than any other.
(Remember when many ads placed by lesbians in the "Seeking
Companions" sections of print journals included "No drugs,
no drinkers, smokers or bi's"?) Among other topics treated
in the same nonjudgmental way are "Butch and Femme,"
"Exhibitionism," "Fisting," "Nonmonogamy" ("Polyamory" is a
separate entry), "Piercing," "Sex Toys," "Spanking,"
"Vanilla Sex," and "Vegetables" (described as "Mother
Nature's dildos.") Despite the title of the book, it
covers more than sex, strictly speaking. There are entries
on sexual abuse and its long-term emotional effects, on the
influence of computers and cyberdating, on "rebound
relationships" and "trust."
The cleverly-named entry "What Do Women Want?" answers
Sigmund Freud's question thus: "Although not every woman
desires every experience every day, women want lovemaking
and down-and-dirty sex, cuddling and bondage, monogamy and
promiscuity, women and men, fluttery kisses and serious
fucking, celibacy and constant sex, to take and be taken."
The "Resources" section includes other nonfiction books,
erotic videos, erotic literature, magazines, publishing
companies, Internet communities, and organizations such as
COLAGE (Children of Gays and Lesbians Everywhere), PFLAG
(Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), and
FTM International (for transgendered men who were born
female). This book is meant to be browsed like a shopping
mall or a library. Seek and ye shall find.
