Porn for Women - erotic book by Chronicle Books - review by Kayla

"Porn For Women" is a joke book by Chronicle Books intended for females with a sense of humor. It's a softcover book that features full-color pictures of men - not nude or anything. There are 95 pages, and all of the photographs were shot by Susan Anderson. The book is a square six inches by six inches and easily fits into a bookshelf. The pictures almost are all full-page pictures and very clear. The front cover shows a man vacuuming while the back just shows words - honestly, someone might pull this out because of the book's spine, but after they see the actual pictures, it wouldn't be incriminating. This is fine to read in public though you might get a few odd stares.

Some other reviewers do seem to be upset that this book doesn't feature pornography and because of the stereotypes. I think that's something that we, as a society, just need to get over - if we can't poke fun at our ideas of stereotypes, how can we ever expect to become comfortable enough to get over them? While this doesn't really count as "porn", I can't disagree that this makes sense in an arousing-point-of-view. If the house needs to be cleaned, if your husband is calling you fat, and if they refuse to do any chores, it's not arousing nor sexy. If they do, while it isn't porn, I'd say that it's on the right track to helping both of you feel more relaxed and aroused. Is this book intended to bring arousal? No. It's intended more for giggles and laughing at what the book believes women find hot in men. (And a guy that will agree to help around the house and not fit into "stereotypical" male roles? I do find that hot.)

As for it not having actual pornography in it...I would hope you wouldn't expect that when you see the man vacuuming on the cover. Aside from the multitude of shirtless men featured, there isn't much in terms of real pornography in this book. There isn't anything more nude than just shirtless men - the men are mostly dressed in jeans and a t-shirt wearing cleaning gloves or something. This is something you could give your mother (and I honestly do plan on giving her a copy for the Holidays.)

One of the sillier aspects of the book is the "Index". Yes, there's an index. You can look up things like "man asking for directions", "cooking", "cleaning", or anything else that might "get you hot". I think it was a silly little addition that adds a bit to the book itself.

The book is split into three very basic parts: Pictures/quotes, "profiles", and a quiz.

The pictures are full-size pictures, either one page or a two-page spread showing the guys doing different things. All of the guys are model-attractive and usually have a thought bubble or speech bubble above their head to explain what they're doing/thinking. For example, a picture of a guy grooming with "Just because I'm married doesn't mean I shouldn't take care of myself" or a picture of a guy looking at the paper saying "Oooh! The NFL playoffs are today. We shouldn't have any problem parking at the craft fair!" A good 15/16 of the book is of those pictures and captions, and honestly, while they aren't "politically correct", all of the pictures made me giggle or smile in some way or another just because they're so different than the "macho man" stereotype I'd expect.

The second part is the "profiles" where you meet the men who modeled for the book. It gives their name, age, career, who they admire, and their hobbies. All of the items included are usually woman-loved things like admiring Johnny Depp or starting the world's first luxury orphanage. I honestly have no idea if these are the model's true answers or if the book made them up. Honestly. No clue. Either way, they were neat to look through.

The last section of the book is a two-page quiz entitled "Pornometer: How Much Are You Getting?" which is basically a small quiz that measures how many of the things in the book your boyfriend/man does for you. It's just ten questions and really easy with suggestions of whether your man needs to look through the book or not.

The book is extremely heteronormative. It's intended for females looking at the book who are straight and in relationships with males. It could be applied to anyone with a sense of humor surrounding male/female relationship stereotypes, but it still was intended for a marriage/taken female.

Overall, the book is amusing - although stereotypical. If you don't have a sense of humor of the types of things the book seems to present, I wouldn't recommend picking it up since it might annoy you. However, with the tongue-in-cheek manner with which the book was written, it seems like the authors were obviously attempting to poke fun at what we all believe should happen in a relationship - and how females and males differ. Overall, it's a good gag book that is safe enough to give an open-minded parent/friend/co-worker.

This book still makes me giggle as long as you can recognize that it's poking more fun at stereotypes than anything. I actually bought the "Porn for Bride" book as well, and it's just a collection of photos like "Sure, Honey! I'd love to help you pick out the flowers!", and it makes me laugh as well. I still like this book, and I've seen it around quite a few times.