Showing results for "Pleasure" in Gender Studies

How do we make social justice the most pleasurable human experience? How can we awaken within ourselves desires that make it impossible to settle for anything less than a fulfilling life? Author and editor Adrienne Maree Brown finds the answer in something she calls “pleasure activism,” a politics of healing and happiness that explodes the dour myth that changing the world is just another form of work. Drawing on the black feminist tradition, she challenges us to rethink the ground rules of activism.

In the wake of a disastrous two-year relationship, Melissa Febos decided to take a break—for three months she would abstain from dating, relationships and sex. Her friends were amused. Did she really think three months was a long time? But to Melissa, it was. Ever since her teens, she had been in one relationship or another. It was time to focus on herself and examine the lifelong patterns that had got her to this point. When those three months ended, she decided to extend her celibate period, fearing that she had not yet gained the clarity she was searching for.

More Orgasms Please is an open, honest and at moments hilarious dive into all aspects of sex for women. It covers feminist porn, body image, menopause and much more. Like the podcast that inspired it, More Orgasms Please is like the best sort of chat between friends: punchy and playful, normalising and educating. It is an eye-opening listen that puts women’s bodies and our right to pleasure firmly on the map. Think of it as ‘Couch to 5k’...for orgasms.

'No one else makes history this fun' AMANDA FOREMAN 'All the Rage sits you at the dressing table of history: a place of dreams, doubts, self-harm and hopes' SARAH DITUM, SUNDAY TIMES 'Wonderfully engaging' HARPER'S BAZAAR At the heart of this history is the female body. The century-span between...

American culture is more sexually liberal than ever. But compared to men, women's sexual pleasure has not grown: Up to 40 percent of American women experience the sexual malaise clinically known as low sexual desire. Between this low desire, muted pleasure, and experiencing sex in terms of labor...

Sugar substitutes have been a part of American life since saccharin was introduced at the 1893 World's Fair. In Empty Pleasures, the first history of artificial sweeteners in America, Carolyn de la Pena blends popular culture with business and women's history, examining the invention, production, marketing, regulation, and consumption of sugar substitutes such as saccharin, Sucaryl, NutraSweet, and Splenda.

Praise for Erika Lust: 'The queen of ethical porn' - The Times 'Lust has blazed a trail' - Dazed 'We're so into it' - Cosmopolitan In Lust: Porn, Pleasure, Power, Erika Lust tells the story of how a shy 'good girl' came to create one of the most talked-about studios in the world. She takes us...

A searing portrait of a mother’s body—a resurrection and reclamation of pleasure after abuse, a study of intergenerational trauma, and a love letter to the bodies of women: as alive and unbound as the teeming Mississippi wilds that bear witness Four months postpartum with her second child...

The truth about why straight women aren't satisfied in the bedroom – and what to do about it Pleasure should be a simple thing, but straight women are at the statistical bottom of the pile when it comes to finding a happy ending. There's a name for this phenomenon: it's called the pleasure gap...

"Was macht eigentlich das Unterschichtskind auf dem Roten Teppich?", fragt eine Besucherin auf dem Münchner Filmfest in meine Richtung. Ja, was macht sie da? Sie ist auf einer Mission. Die Tussi suggeriert durch ihre Erscheinung ein grenzüberschreitendes Begehren. Es geht um Kitsch, Glamour, Trash, es geht um Camp. Es geht um Körper, Identitäten. Es geht um Strass, um Klasse und um künstliche Fingernägel. Pleasure ist eine atemberaubend eloquente Tour de Force durch die Luxus-Triade Schlaf (meterlange Hotelbett-Laken!), Nahrung (Schlemmermaus!) und Kleidung (Dior, aber fake!).

“A delight, the literary equivalent of a long catch-up with a brilliant friend.” —New York Times “One of the most talked-about books of the year.” —Gayle King When you’re a woman of a certain age, you are only promised that everything will get worse. But what if everything you’ve...

A bold look at the unexpected ways porn shapes our lives, with a feminist defense, drawn from Erika Lust’s decades in adult filmmaking, that argues for a more ethical porn that can transform sexual politics For more than two decades, Erika Lust has been pushing back against shame and...

After rejecting the ideal white-picket fence life, she embarked on a journey to redefine intimacy in a way that felt true. In the years that followed, Rena defied all of society's sexual norms, built a presence as a global women's intimacy coach, and created the intimate life she craved.

Everyone deserves to enjoy intimacy. Yes, even you. But maybe your pleasure has taken a back seat? Does sex feel like something you should want, not something you actually crave? Maybe you're stuck in your head, disconnected from your body or unsure how to ask for what you want? If so, you’re not alone. With their groundbreaking sexual wellness app, Ferly, Anna and Billie have helped over half a million women overcome these challenges and cultivate more secure, playful and intimate relationships. This book reveals new ways for you to do the same.

A witty, razor-sharp cultural critique of white women’s hair—and the politics it quietly carries In Tangled, acclaimed cultural critic Sarah Mesle unpacks the surprising power of white women’s hair in shaping American identity, politics, and pop culture. From rom-coms to TikToks, blowouts...