Best Sex Writing 2010 - erotic book by Cleis Press Inc. - review by El-Jaro

Best Sex Writing 2010 is a refreshing, educated, and very real attempt at bringing different aspects and views to the table of sex. The term “best” may not fit with every story/essay. However, with only a couple exceptions, I would say it’s not too far off. Some essays really had my rapt and undivided attention; others required a more dedicated effort. All in all, though, I would recommend Best Sex Writing 2010 to people I know because it offers a whole collection of stories and essays that will spur on or start conversations about what I care about: Sex.

When I first got Best Sex Writing 2010, my thoughts were “Great… an erotica book.” I’m not too keen on erotica, just not my thing. What really surprised me though, was that it WASN’T erotica. There were a few stories with some erotica in them, but they didn’t permeate and define the rest of the collection. Since there are 25 entries in the 2010 collection, it’s not feasible to talk about them all. I do have my favorites and my not-so-favorites.

The most important/worthwhile/engaging entry is “Sex Laws That Can Really Screw You” by Ellen Friedrichs. In this essay, Ms. Friedrichs gives a 15 item rundown of what can really get you into trouble when it comes to sex and the law in different places. Not only does she tell you what can get you into trouble for doing, but what can get you into trouble for not doing. This essay teams up well with another selected story: “What’s the Matter with Teen Sexting?” by Judith Levine. In her article, Ms. Levine points out the inequities of the law when it comes to gender of the offender; quite well, I might add.

There were two entries that really pushed my boundaries and comfort zone: “BDSM and Playing with Race” by Mollena Williams and “Toward a Performance Model of Sex” by Thomas MacAulay Millar. In “Playing with Race”, Mollena Williams discusses some pretty hardcore, graphic, and racially charged scenarios that made me feel uncomfortable as a white male. By the end of her essay, I felt a little more comfortable with it. But, it is a very heavy article. In “Toward a Performance Model” by Thomas MacAulay Millar, I got lost. It was the only entry that had direct citations and was way too verbose for me to see the writer’s point. Of all the articles in the book, this is only one I disliked so much that I didn’t even finish reading it. For those not in the know, Mr. Millar is an outspoken feminist whose work can be found online.

Of the 25 entries in the book, my favorite one is really tough to nail down. I really liked the discussion, speculation, and reverse engineering of penises in “Secrets of the Phallus: Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That?” by Jesse Bering. “Bite Me! (Or Don’t)” by Christine Seifert takes on the Twilight novels and what she sees in them (which I agreed with).

I can’t wait to read this collection again in a few years, just to see how things change in the future. Best Sex Writing 2010 is definitely going to be my coffee table book for at least the foreseeable future, spawning intelligent and engaging conversations regarding my most favored topic and leaving everyone involved thinking one thing: Sex is…