Sex and the Founding Fathers: The American Quest for a Relatable Past (1/17/2014)
by Thomas A. Foster
Publisher's Description: Biographers, journalists, and satirists have long used the subject of sex to define the masculine character and political authority of America's Founding Fathers. Tracing these commentaries on the Revolutionary Era's major political figures, Foster shows how continual attempts to reveal the true character of these men instead exposes much more about Americans and American culture than about the Founders themselves. This book examines the remarkable and varied assessments of the intimate lives of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and Gouverneur Morris from their own time to ours. Consider how Jefferson has been variously idealized as a chaste widower, condemned as a child molester, and recently celebrated as a multicultural hero. Foster considers the public and private images of these generally romanticized leaders to show how each generation uses them to reshape and reinforce American civic and national identity.
[jump]Sex Workers Unite: A History of the Movement from Stonewall to SlutWalk (1/7/2014)
by Melinda Chateauvert
Publisher's Description: Documenting five decades of sex-worker activism, this book puts prostitutes, hustlers, call girls, strippers, and porn stars in the center of civil rights struggles. Although their presence has largely been ignored, sex workers have here been recast as key activists in struggles for gay liberation, women’s rights, reproductive justice, union organizing, and prison abolition. By foregrounding labor, Chateauvert reframes sex work as work and argues that sex-worker rights are ultimately human rights.
A Million First Dates: Solving the Puzzle of Online Dating (1/28/2014)
by Dan Slater
Publisher's Description: A third of America’s 90 million singles are turning to dating websites like eHarmony, Match, OkCupid, and Plenty of Fish, now embraced by pretty much every demographic. Thanks to the increasingly efficient algorithms that power these sites, the possibilities are almost endless. But the digital revolution is forcing us to ask new questions. Why should we settle for someone who falls short of our expectations if there are thousands of other options a click away? Can commitment thrive in a world of unlimited choice? Can chemistry really be quantified by math geeks?
The Normal Bar: The Surprising Secrets of Happy Couples and What They Reveal About Creating a New Normal in Your Relationship (1/7/2014)
by Chrisanna Northrup
Publisher's Description: Based on data obtained from nearly 100,000 respondents, here is the ultimate resource for anyone who wants to learn the relationship-tested ways couples can achieve satisfaction and contentment in areas such as communication, sex, affection, and financial cooperation. What constitutes “normal” behavior among happy couples? What steps you should take if that “normal” is one you want to strive for? To help answer those questions, wellness entrepreneur Chrisanna Northrup teamed with two of America’s top sociologists, Yale Ph.D. Pepper Schwartz and Harvard Ph.D. James Witte, to design a unique interactive survey that would draw feedback from around the world. What has resulted is the clearest picture yet of how well couples are communicating, romancing each other, satisfying each other in the bedroom, sharing financial responsibilities, and staying faithful — or not.
Pleasure Map: A Q&A, Pick-Your-Passion Approach for Hotter, Naughtier, More Adventurous Sex (1/14/2014)
by Shanna Katz
Publisher's Description: This book leads you on the ultimate journey of sexual discovery. It asks tantalizing questions, then allows your answers to reveal what you’re really lusting for, including: Hidden Fantasies, Ultimate Turn-Ons, Untapped Passions, Desired Experiences, G-Spot Orgasms, Stimulation With Toys. Part workbook, part sex manual, this guide helps you discover what you want in the bedroom (or beyond), then teaches you how to get it.
Body Counts: A Memoir of Politics, Sex, AIDS, and Survival (1/14/2014)
by Sean Strub
Publisher's Description: Sean Strub, founder of the groundbreaking POZ magazine, producer of the hit play The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me, and the first openly HIV-positive candidate for U.S. Congress, charts his remarkable life—a story of politics and AIDS and a powerful testament to loss, hope, and survival. As a politics-obsessed Georgetown freshman, Sean Strub arrived in Washington, D.C., from Iowa in 1976, with a plum part-time job running a Senate elevator in the U.S. Capitol. He also harbored a terrifying secret: his attraction to men. As Strub explored the capital’s political and social circles, he discovered a parallel world where powerful men lived double lives shrouded in shame.
AIDS, Culture, and Gay Men (1/14/2014)
by Douglas A. Feldman (Editor)
Publisher's Description: AIDS, Culture, and Gay Men addresses the urgent need for research on HIV and the behaviors of men who have sex with men. Based on studies in the U.S., Australia, Greece, and Belgium, the authors provide ethnographic, epidemiological, biological, and historical data and cover issues of risk, ethics, language, and the nature of evidence, all directed at developing effective forms of intervention.
Sex and the Citadel: Intimate Life in a Changing Arab World (1/21/2014)
by Shereen El Feki
Publisher's Description: As the “Arab Spring” and its aftermath sweep streets and squares, parliaments and presidential palaces of the Middle East, Shereen El Feki—an award-winning Canadian-Egyptian journalist—has been looking at unrest a little closer to home: in the sexual lives of Arab men and women. The result is an account of this sensitive and still largely secret aspect of Arab society. Sexual attitudes and behaviors are shaped by politics and economics, religion and tradition, gender and generations—not only a reflection of the conditions that led to the uprisings, but also a measure of hard-won reforms in the years to come.
Tantric Sex: The Ancient Art of Tantra for Sensual Exploration (1/7/2014)
by Nitya Lacroix
Publisher's Description: The ancient Eastern tradition of tantra teaches that sex involves the mind and spirit as well as the body. This sensitive yet reassuringly explicit book, with 120 photographs, will help you unlock the magic of tantrism and show how today's couples can use its teachings to attain new levels of sexual bliss and emotional intimacy.
Having the Best Sex Ever: How to enjoy and enhance sexual performance, with expert advice and inspirational techniques, shown in over 500 photographs (1/7/2014)
by Nitya Lacroix
Publisher's Description: This book features specific guidance on key topics such as exercises for sexual fitness, understanding the way the sexual body functions, sex positions and techniques, keeping alive the long-term relationship, and sex in maturity.
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