Photo credit: Pedrosimoes7, via Creative Commons. Sixth in a series based on the new book, Fifty Shades [...]
Posts Tagged ‘eros’
Eros, thanatos, and Sunday afternoon
(Part 3 of a series prompted by Vanessa Woods’ Bonobo Handshake.) Across the river and into the trees One day last summer my son came home from a birthday party covered with bruises, bleeding, and looking very proud of himself. Happily examining his wounds in the bathtub, he explained that he’d been playing paintball, which [...]
Edith Wharton and the Nine Rooms of Happiness
Sex and Eros The average adult heterosexual man, in the average relationship with an adult woman, doesn’t ask for so much - and doesn’t have so much to give. He’d like a good meal, a little appreciation for how well he replaced the lightbulb in the bathroom yesterday. Then he wants to be left alone [...]
The Nine Rooms of Happiness: What does a woman want?
What does a woman want? Freud, famously, claimed not to know. In a letter to his student Marie Bonaparte, he wrote, ‘The great question that has never been answered, and which I have not yet been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, is ”What does a woman want?”‘ I think [...]
Sexual arousal for its own sake
Simmering: A two minute technique for nourishing the erotic bond between partners. Useful for modern couples for whom the idea of leisure time is a quaint memory, but who’d like to stay in touch. A modern dilemma Recently I had lunch with my colleague Eric Amaranth, and the conversation turned to the subject of polyamory — [...]
Sexuality, simmering, and the B train back from the beach
Photo credit: Pedrosimoes7 A train in motion On the B train, one hot summer Sunday afternoon. I’m bringing my children and a few of their friends back to Manhattan, after a long day at the beach in Brooklyn. There’s a young couple standing near the exit door, sharing an ipod headset. Each with an earpiece [...]
Contemporary sexuality and the Brazilian wax
Photo credit: Pedrosimoes7 Does she, or doesn’t she? “When I was teaching the class of fifteen-year-olds and it was time for the girls to ask their questions of boys, they wanted to know this: ‘Do you prefer girls who have a little hair or a lot of hair?’ I thought they meant hairstyles, as in [...]
Our sexual culture and The New York Times
The latest public figure to make journalistic hay from the flibanserin controversy is Camille Paglia, whose editorial in The New York Times, ”No Sex Please, We’re Middle Class, “ seems to be getting some play on my twitter feed. It’s a fun read, but she throws a lot of things together that I’m not sure really [...]
