June 1, 2024
A sex educator analyzes how and why kinks captivate us. Through a queer feminist lens and suffused with a strikingly authoritative flair, sexuality podcaster Horn, creator of the comic series SfSx (Safe Sex), attentively examines a variety of sexual kinks, including spanking, bondage, and the sexualization of financial domination, among others. Featuring sharp analysis and a solid dose of humor, the opening section explores the eroticization of feet. Elsewhere, Horn examines how group sex, cannibalistic "vorarephilia," and theatrical sploshing ("wet and messy" fetishists) found their way into fetishistic communities. Horn generously interjects aspects of her own kink identity into every chapter, offering anecdotes, intimate stories, erotic musings, and truths about her early beginnings in the sex industry and, later, as a sadomasochistic sex worker. She imparts how the realities of fear, humiliation, and shame became the "fundamental raw materials" of modern-day sex work and, as a professional dominatrix, how she teaches (and learns from) her clients about the "prismatic possibilities of desire." Horn delivers refreshing opinions on gender, identity, and the need for a new societal code of sexual ethics based on imagination, curiosity, and communication. "The danger comes when authority figures think they can control our desires, coaxing our identities into normalcy by censoring our experience," she writes. "But desire, like nature, finds a way." Since there are only nine kinky categories headlined in the book, each one benefits from pages of intriguing, judgment-free inspection, and the author approaches all her material with the authenticity and cultural analysis only a true aficionado of sexual exploration like Horn could deliver. Perfect for kink enthusiasts, the "pervert-curious," and fans of Horn's titular sexuality podcast, the book respectfully isolates a heady collection of fetishes that, for many, represent sexual freedom in all its kaleidoscopic wonder. A probing, sex-positive report on the origins and values of fetishes.
COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
June 1, 2024
A career in sex work and sex writing has taught Tina Horn much about human nature. This book is an expansion of the topics she explores on her podcast by the same name, in which each episode focuses on a different sexual interest and interviews subjects from all perspectives of the topic. What's a certain sexual experience like for a dominant partner versus a submissive one? How does each kink vary across gender identities and cultures? Horn aims to find levity in even the most taboo pleasures and habits. She's clear that readers should find liberation in this deep sexual education and encourages readers to buck their expectations of what's normal. The book follows a similar form as the podcast, with each chapter exploring a topic of kink, from spanking to sploshing, and weaving in cultural background, physiological research, and testimonials. Just as we read basketball players for basketball education, Horn writes, we should be looking to sex workers for sex education. Her book is an inspiration and an invitation to embrace the glorious kaleidoscope of human sexuality.
COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.