Synopses & Reviews
Handcuffs, paddles, whipsandmdash;the words alone are enough to make a person blush. Even by our societyandrsquo;s standards, the practice of things like BDSM is still very hush-hush, considered deviant sexual behavior that must be kept hidden. But the narrow view of what is thought of as andldquo;normalandrdquo; sexandmdash;a vanilla act performed by one man and one womanandmdash;is more and more contested these days. And as Julie Peakman reveals, normal never really existed; for everyone, different kinds of sex have always offered myriad pleasures, and almost all sexual behaviors have traveled between acceptance and proscription. The Pleasureandrsquo;s All Mine examines two millennia of letters, diaries, court records, erotic books, medical texts, and more to explore the gamut of andldquo;deviantandrdquo; sexual activity.and#160;Delving into the specialized cultures of pain, necrophilia, and bestiality and the social world of plushies, furries, and life-size sex dolls, Peakman considers the changing attitudes toward these, as well as masturbation, andldquo;golden showers,andrdquo; sadomasochism, homosexuals, transvestites, and transsexuals. She follows the history of each behavior through its original reception to its interpretation by sexologists and how it is viewed today, showing how previously acceptable behaviors now provoke social outrage, or vice versa. In addition, she questions why people have been and remain intolerant of other peopleandrsquo;s sexual preferences.and#160;The first comprehensive history of sexual perversion and packed with both color and black and white images, The Pleasureandrsquo;s All Mine is a fascinating and sometimes shocking look at the evolution of our views on sex.
Review
"How does one go about identifying sexual perversion, when defining sexual norms is difficult in itself? Julie Peakman's collection of essays offers some incisive answers to this question. Sexual Perversions provides a fascinating gallop through the strange sexual landscape of the past...there is enough food for thought here to satisfy everyone." —Hallie Rubenhold, TLS
Review
andldquo;Serious, historically informed, and as close to an exhaustive account as we are likely ever to see of the extravagant creativity that humans have invested in sex. A masterpiece.andrdquo;
Review
and#8220;For those with an erudite interest in debauchery, this latest from author, historian, and sex scholar Peakman is just the ticketand#8230; Peakmanand#8217;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. Exhaustively researched and packed with startling images, this work is a fact-filled, entertaining read for sex history neophytes and scholars alike.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;A substantial, well-illustrated, funny, and thoughtful work. . . . If societies are arbitrary and changeable about what they consider perversions, there is good reason to rely on the rule about harm to determine what is actually perverse and what is not. Peakmanand#8217;s book is a good step toward this understanding.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;This seductive book traces changing attitudes to a dozen different sexual perversions from the beginning of Western civilisation to the present day. . . . In an ambitious book that unites compelling subject matter with authoritative style, the author does an excellent job of tracking the multiple and changing attitudes towards non-mainstream sexual preferences. The study is enlivened by many telling examples. . . . The illustrations within are fabulous, albeit not for the faint-hearted.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;A thorough history of sexual stigmas, this book will prove especially useful to undergraduate and graduate students interested in the study of sexuality and culture. General readers will find the book entertaining. Recommended.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Whether sussing out topics like homosexuality and BDSM, to those that still remain taboo, like bestiality and pedophilia, Peakman is able to provide a well-needed historical context for all things "perverse" (or in her opinion, not perverse at all) and shine a light in the many places we would rather keep dark.and#8221;
Synopsis
This book is a fascinating glimpse into the history of sexual perversions and diversions including fetishism, cross-dressing, effeminate men and masculinised women, sodomy, tribadism, masturbation, necrophilia, rape, paedophilia, flagellation, and sado-masochism, asking how these sexual inclinations were viewed at a particular time in history.
Synopsis
A fascinating glimpse into the history of sexual perversions and diversions including fetishism, cross-dressing, 'effeminate' men and 'masculinized' women, sodomy, tribadism, masturbation, necrophilia, rape, paedophilia, flagellation, and sado-masochism, asking how these sexual inclinations were viewed at a particular time in history.
Synopsis
An investigation into the process of management accounting changes triggered by IT implementation, comparing Enterprise Resource Planning with custom software in relation to changes in management accounting rules and routines. This empirical study is based on four real cases from a transitional country (Egypt).
Synopsis
List of Illustrations Notes on Contributors Preface; J.Peakman Introduction part I: What is Sexual Perversion?; J.Peakman Introduction part II: Sexual Perversion Pre-Sexology; J.Peakman Staging Perversion: The Restoration's Sexual Allegory of (un) Civil War; B.McLaughlin Objects, Desire, Identity and Eros in the Writings of Lord Hervey and Charlotte Charke; M.Morris The Woman in Man's Clothes and the Pleasures of Delarivier Manley's "New Cabal"; J.Frangos The Hostile Gaze: Perverting the Female Form, 1688-1800; J.Skipp Rape and the Construction of Female Sexuality in the Eighteenth Century; J.Mills Morbid Parts: Gender, Violence and the Necro-Gaze; R.E.May Nuns, Monks and Sexual Perversion in the Church; D.Peschier Tropics of Sexuality: Sexual Excesses and Oriental Vices' in the British Raj; P.Murthy Chinese Sexuality and the Bound Foot; S.Adams
About the Author
JULIE PEAKMAN is a historian and writer, an Honorary Fellow of Birkbeck College, London University and former Honorary Fellow of Wellcome History of the History of Medicine. Her next book is for Atlantic Publishers, Carnal Knowledge, A World History of Sex. Her previous books include Lascivious Bodies. A Sexual History of the Eighteenth Century (Atlantic 2004), Mighty Lewd Books. The Development of Pornography in Eighteenth-Century England (Palgrave 2003). She is also the biographer of Emma Hamilton (Haus, 2005); and editor of Whore Biographies 1700-1825 (Pickering and Chatto, 2007, 8 vols), and A History of the Culture of Sexuality (Berg, due 2009). She is a frequent contributor to television history documentaries, international conferences and journals.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
List of Contributors
Introduction--J.Peakman
Sexual Perversion in the Early Modern Period--J.Peakman
Staging Perversion: The Restoration's Sexual Allegory of (un) Civil War--B.McLaughlin
Objects, Desire, Identity, and Orientation in the Writings of Lord Hervey and Charlotte Charke--M.Morris
The Woman in Man's Clothes and the Pleasures of Delarivier Manley's "New Cabal"--J.Frangos
The Hostile Gaze: Perverting the Female Form, 1688-1800--J.Skipp
Morbid Parts: Gender, Violence and the Necro-Gaze--R.E.May
Rape and the Construction of Female Sexuality in the Eighteenth Century--J.Mills
Tropics of Sexuality: Sexual Excesses and Oriental Vices' in the British Raj; P.Murthy
Chinese Sexuality and the Bound Foot--S.Adams
Nuns, Monks and Sexual Perversion in the Church--D.Peschier
Appendix: Defining Sexual Perversion--J.Peakman