Reviews for Promiscuities

The average rating for Promiscuities based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-12-27 00:00:00 Chan Kien Sing/kenny What I learned from this book: a heightened sensibility of how we honor or deny women’s desire. I’ve been taking Naomi Wolf’s thesis seriously, that in the last 40/50 years we’ve learned to dis a woman’s sexual desire. Take the word “slut” for example; what is it really meant to connote? I was watching a YouTube video (Smosh Snatchers) recently, which has had over 1.5 million views. It’s one in a popular series by two young men. One girl hands another a screwdriver – “Because you like to screw.” “Are you calling me a slut?” The other responds, “It’s not an insult if it’s a fact.” And a brawl ensues because one clearly thinks it’s an insult. We can’t, on the other hand, insult a man by calling him a slut, unless, interestingly enough, he is gay. Both genders can be promiscuous (“sleeping around”) but slut has its own loaded meaning quite apart from multiple partners. It means someone who ENJOYS it. A movie like Caramel,on the other hand, which I watched last night with insight newly sharpened by this book, is a celebration of women’s desire in the midst of cultural confusion. Ms. Wolf mourns the loss of ritual and community which honor a woman’s desire. I think she is yearning for what might be called a theology of the body.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-07-26 00:00:00 James Reeder Every person raising a daughter should read this, and when she's old enough give it to her to read too. My daughter and I both read it when she was about 14 years old. It reminded me of some harsh realities of my own teenage years that the patina of nostalgia had rendered soft and hazy. It helped to open a dialogue with my daughter about some uncomfortable subjects that she might not have been so willing to discuss openly with me if I hadn't handed the book to her. It brought us a little closer and gave us a better understanding of ourselves and each other.