Synopses & Reviews
"It's time for heterosexual women to come out of the closet and reclaim their sexuality. There are no good girls, we are all bad girls in the best sense of the word." Naomi Wolf
As she yanked the shroud off the shoddy construction of beauty standards in The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf reveals the history and transmutation of our many notions of female sexuality. In this landmark work, Wolf examines the formative powers of pop culture, mythology, and scientific research as she argues not only for the liberation of female sexuality but for a deeper understanding of the nature of female desires.
The sexuality of young girls seems to belong to everyone but themselves. Their bodies are strewn throughout our cities selling jeans along the sides of buses and languishing on billboards high above our streets. The male sexual coming-of-age has been told often, but aside from these images of erotica, there is no such bildungsroman for young, developing girls to identify with. Wolf alerts readers to the scripted but undirected "struggle" undertaken by girls as they develop into womanhood, and how these early experiences affect women's sense of self-worth as adults.
Along with her own sexual experiences, Wolf's argument is bolstered by the stories of a group of adolescent girls as they become aware of their sexuality in a culture with a tendency to subvert female passion. Wolf succeeds in encouraging female passion out of the closet and invites women to take back their sexuality in a celebration of womanhood.
Review
"At last, a new generation of women writers is addressing the powerful issues of female sexuality. I gulped this wonderful book down in one sitting, like a novel. Brava Naomi Wolf for your courage, your intelligence, your lucid prose." Erica Jong
Review
"Refreshing...highly evocative...Wolf does two important things very well: reminding readers her own age what it felt like to be a teenage girl, and providing a crash course on the wildly varying cultural meanings attached to female sexuality throughout history." The Ottawa Citizen
Review
"Naomi Wolf [is] the best writer about women and sexuality that we have." Toronto Sun
Review
"Fascinating...Wolf celebrates the ancient concept, heavily suppressed in the 20th century, that women are the more carnal sex." Vancouver Courier
Synopsis
In this provocative and highly personal book, bestselling author Naomi Wolf explores a subject that has long been taboo in our society: women's sexual coming-of-age. Promiscuities brazenly exposes the truths behind the conflicting messages directed at young women during and after the sexual revolution. Drawing on surprising examples from the ancient and recent past, along with vivid recollections of her own youth, Wolf shows how our "liberated" culture still fears and distorts female passion. She also shares fascinating true stories that illustrate the fantasies and sometimes crippling realities women pass through on their way toward erotic and emotional discovery. A landmark book, Promiscuities is a call to women of all ages to reclaim and celebrate their sexuality.
About the Author
Naomi Wolf's first book, The Beauty Myth, was published in 14 countries (over 70,000 copies in paperback sold in Canada to date) and is an international bestseller. Her second book, Fire with Fire, was also well received by critics and readers alike. Wolf has appeared on many national talk shows and speaks to college audiences across Canada and the United States on the topic of young women and feminism.