The Joy of Sex

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The Joy of Sex is a non-fiction book by British author Alex Comfort . It describes various sexual practices , some of which are shown through illustrations (photos, pen drawings ). The first edition appeared in 1972 .

overview

The book The Joy of Sex was number 1 on the New York Times bestseller list for 11 weeks and was in the top 5 (1972–1974) for more than 70 weeks.

The title is based on the book The Joy of Cooking , a cookbook, and should also have the same titles for chapters, such as starter , main course or ingredients . Among other things, different sex positions are treated. In addition, practices such as bondage or other fetishes are explained, which were considered to be relatively unknown in society.

The original version was visualized with a mix of classic Indian and Japanese erotica. Charged with were Chris Foss (black and white drawings) and Charles Raymond (color pictures). The works of the two artists are based on photographs of Charles Raymond's wife. The images look a bit dated, the reason for this is the change in hairstyle trends in recent years. The illustrations and text are not only exciting, but also explanatory, in contrast to the bland, clinical style of earlier books on sex. In addition to new graphics, the newer editions also contain information on behaviors and precautions regarding the safety of sex .

The German first edition was published in 1981 as a paperback by Ullstein Verlag . In contrast to the English original edition, this did not contain photographs, only black and white pen drawings .

Newer editions show significant changes in particularly controversial positions such as swinging, which probably emerged in the course of the AIDS discussion of the 1980s.

Homosexual sex practices are defined, but not discussed further. Bondage and BDSM practices are also mentioned. The book was important for the so-called Sexual Revolution , especially in the context of the 1968 student movement .

In 1984, National Lampoon's Joy of Sex was released, a film loosely based on the book Comforts. The book was also published in paperback called The Joy of Sex, the Pocket Edition .

Quotes from "The Joy of Sex" (1972)

  • "When you travel abroad, Catholic countries are conventionally stricter than Protestant, and Stalinist stricter than other Marxist countries like Yugoslavia ... In oriental countries, a flat roof is a popular place at night, you can love and see the whole city In the end, there will be certain places for it (open-air sex) - in our opinion in five or six years. "
  • "Orgies tend to be botched by unbiased intellectuals."
  • "Heavy cigarette smoking significantly reduces life expectancy. It can also severely impair potency and make kissing on the mouth ... unproductive."

Controversy

The book was controversial in the United States . Especially religious associations fought against stocking the public libraries with books. For example, it was removed from the Nampa Public Library in 2008 but resumed later that year under pressure from the American Civil Liberties Union .

Updated version

The publisher Mitchell Beazley published an updated version of the book in September 2008, which was created in collaboration with the psychologist Susan Quilliam.

In addition to expanding the topics covered, new social changes and their influence on sexual behavior are also mentioned in the updated version. Among other things, the new edition features a more balanced relationship between male and female perspectives.

Publications

  • The Joy of Sex: A Gourmet Guide to Lovemaking, 1972
  • Joy of Sex: Freude am Sex, German edition, Ullstein Verlag , 1981, ISBN 3548 201482
  • The Joy of Sex: A Gourmet Guide to Lovemaking, revised and updated edition, 1986 (revised, regarding AIDS)
  • The New Joy of Sex: A Gourmet Guide to Lovemaking for the Nineties, 1992 (revised)
  • The New Joy of Sex, by Alex Comfort and Susan Quilliam, 2008

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bear, John, 1938-: The # 1 New York times bestseller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been # 1 New York times bestsellers since the first list in 1942 . Ten Speed ​​Press, 1992, ISBN 0-89815-484-7 .
  2. ↑ Caroline Davies: Joy of Sex gets makeover for generation that found Viagra . In: The Guardian . February 9, 2008, ISSN  0261-3077 ( theguardian.com [accessed January 18, 2017]).