The World's Best Sex Writing 2005

If you've ever done any public speaking, you know that some of the best advice you can get is to open with a joke. You put both the audience and yourself at ease before diving into the weightier points. Editor Mitzi Szereto seems to have followed that advice in compiling The World's Best Sex Writing 2005. This non-fiction anthology opens with a humorous article. "The Big Ooooooohh!"--if I have to tell you what it's about, you really need to read it--had me laughing hard enough to warrant a dirty look from the cat whose midnight bath I'd so rudely disrupted. But then the content turns serious as we delve into "Andrea Dworkin, 1946-2005" and "The Sex Files." Antipornography feminism and the lingering legal ramifications of homosexuality represent a major point shift away from the opening article. Then we move on to political interference in scientific research on sexuality and the advent of female genital "plastic surgery." Weightier points indeed! Like Szereto's previous editorial offering, Wicked: Sexy Tales of Legendary Lovers (see my review in issue 3.11), this collection has something to suit every taste and runs the gamut from humorous to horrifying. Other reviewers have--and probably will--include the following proviso, but it bears repeating nonetheless. The World's Best Sex Writing 2005 is not pornography. It's not even erotica, although some of the memoirs test that theory. It is, however, a frank and sometime profane discussion of human sexuality. Will you be offended at least once by the time you're done reading? No doubt. (I know I had to grit my teeth through some of the articles.) Sex is, after all, a delicate subject with countless variations of perception. What I find amusing, you might find obscene, and vice versa. However, if you stick it out (so to speak) and read every article, you stand a far better chance of being educated, enlightened, and entertained. Just don't expect to be coddled. The language used is often graphic. Little is left to the imagination. If you're offended by such things, don't read the book. In fact, you probably shouldn't be reading this review. Now that I've brought the book to your attention, you might feel compelled to read it, if only for curiosity's sake.

Sorry to disappoint many of you, The World's Best Sex Writing 2005, edited by Mitzi Szereto, is not a compilation of an exposé of steamy sex stories. However, the twenty-five contributions that have been gleaned from such well-known publications and Internet sites as the New York magazine, Newsweek.com, Salon.com, The Sunday Telegraph (London), The Miami Herald, are rather a collection of thought provoking essays, memoirs, and opinions from a wide spectrum of writers and journalists, all pertaining to different aspects of the sexual culture of our times. Freelance journalist Barry Yeoman relates how one research scientist's study of pornography, prostitutes, and seedy truck stops questioned the integrity and usefulness of the study and why the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development were funding the research. Initially, the NIH were delighted when the grant proposal arrived in 2002. Apparently, there were very few studies pertaining to long-haul truckers and sexual health. It was pointed out that in the USA there was evidence of an outbreak of HIV among truckers. Furthermore, truckers can affect other groups, once they arrive home. It all blew up when a journalist questioned why the NIH was funding research pertaining to porn and before you knew it congress stuck their noses into the fray, such as Representative John Doolittle, a California Republican, who stated, "this flagrant frittering away of federal funds is borderline criminal." As the Yeoman asserts, "the incivility of the NIH debate has promoted neither good dialogue nor good science." Sherry F. Colb, a professor at Rutgers Law School, fills us in on the details of a most unusual law suit wherein the plaintiff sued his ex-girlfriend whom he had engaged in oral sex. Apparently, unbeknownst to him, his girlfriend allegedly saved the resulting semen and used it to inseminate herself. The defendant subsequently gave birth and the DNA tests proved to be that of the plaintiff. Interesting enough, the plaintiff only learned about the pregnancy and the birth when he was ordered by the court to pay approximately eight hundred dollars a month in child support. There is a an OB/GYN who recently founded the Laser Vaginal Institute of Michigan. This enterprising doctor offers his patients several elective female genital surgeries-the primary objective being to enhance sexual gratification for women. In Alabama, there is a sex-toy ban that was passed by their legislature in 1998 that makes it unlawful to distribute "any device designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs." As a result of this law, Sherri Williams, owner of a chain of adult stores has spent the past six years suing the state of Alabama to overturn the law. These are just some of the intriguing commentaries that shed light on our society's sexual hangups, some of which are quite hilarious and at times hypocritical. The World's Best Sex Writing 2005 is a joy to read; hop