A Curious History of Sex by Kate Lister

Book Review 

Title: A Curious History of Sex by Kate Lister 

Genre: Non-Fiction, Science, Health  

Rating: 5 Stars 

This book caught my attention with its title and since I’ve been on a nonfiction kick, I picked it up. The introduction explains that this isn’t an encyclopaedia but rather looking at how sex, its acts and the attitudes towards it have changed throughout history. The first two chapter focuses specifically on words related to sex those being wh*ore and c*nt. The origins of these words are insane since wh*re used to refer to a sexual dominant or promiscuous woman rather than someone who sells sex as it is today. While c*nt was a clinically term used in medical texts for a long time, before slowly turning into an insult often used historically by women to use against other women. Since the author also narrates the audiobook, listening to her explain this and her excitement on the subject made the book more enjoyable. 

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We then turn to the clit as the subject of chapter three. The history of these delightful piece of the female anatomy has had a hard life. Often in history women’s anatomy was seen as abnormal if it didn’t conform to a set size created by men. This would often lead to female genetically mutilation or FGM as a form of treatment for things like hysteria and sexual deviancy and this still exists in parts of the world today despite having no benefits and taking away a woman’s pleasure. However, as medicine and science advance, we did learn that this was the seat of a woman’s pleasure as well as an organ rather than just an attachment to the body making it an important part of female anatomy that deserved more study. It was surprising to learn that we didn’t understand or comprehend the extend the clit radiates through the pelvic area until 2009 which seems so recent in medical history.  

Lister then moves us into racial fetishisation which is something women of colour as well as others still deal with today. She does look at this from a white perspective since she doesn’t have the experience of the same community to comment on it from their perspective. It was relatively short and primarily focuses on the Hottentot Venus archetype that is still reflected in how black bodies, both men and women are hypersexualised today. Following on from this we look at the history of virginity tests and how they’ve evolved over time. Now, these tests didn’t even come in practice until the 15th century before that there were tests for virginity, but none involved the hymen. After the discovery of the hymen, it quickly became the symbol of virginity, even though evidence at the time and today shows that having an intact hymen doesn’t prove virginity. It also calls into question what virginity is since there are large number of sexual acts that can be perform without penetration, so do those classify as sex or not? With some countries today still practicing these outdated tests which results in women being mutilated and even killed when they are proved not to be virgins in the eyes of the testers, it brings into the light that something needs to change on a cultural level. This is because these ideals make virginity something a woman is lacking if she doesn’t have it and that a woman’s worth is pinned on whether she is a virgin.  

We then turn an interesting chapter in my opinion, on orgasms. Both the male and female orgasms are amazing feats of the body that when observed or experienced can provoke so many emotions in yourself and your partner, however, this wasn’t always the case. Historically speaking, men believed and, in some parts, still believe, that orgasming leads to male weakness and they shouldn’t orgasm to be strong. There were even advocates on chastity devices for young boy and providing circumcisions without pain medication to be a deterrent for masturbation. The female orgasm on the other hand, is seen as something mythical for many because most women need at least 20 minutes of sexual activity to orgasm, and most can’t orgasm from penetration alone. The aftermath of the male and female orgasm is entirely different since women have a much shorter refractory period than men despite experiencing the same level of sensitivity in the genital area after orgasming.  

The next two chapters revolve around the same issue, so I will discuss them together. Lister begins looking into the history of testicle transplants and impotency tests. Similar, to virginity testing, the test for impotency were often humiliating and ruined the reputation of the man involved. These tests often involved several matrons inspecting the man’s penis and attempting to arouse him if his wife could not to show that he was able to procreate successfully. Many divorces were granted on these grounds and several men claimed to have been cursed by witchcraft to gain divorces or prove their impotence was temporary rather than permanent. Many treatments were devised for rejuvenation and to cure impotency and these included transplanting glands from other animals into humans. These surgeries claimed to increase libido and make men feel younger which had great success early on with the public but were soon disproven in medical studies. However, this issue did lead to the accidentally creation of Viagra which had the unintended side effect of increasing men’s arousal allowing them to have sex when they couldn’t before as it increased blood flow to the penis. It is thanks to Viagra that erectile dysfunction replaced the term impotency and broken the stigma surrounding men who had these issues.  

The whole next section focuses on food, which was interesting, if a little disturbing in its implications. Beginning with bread and moving into oysters, Lister examines how foods like these acquired a sexual notion to them. Oysters have an obvious answer since the shellfish appears to resemble a specific part of female anatomy and therefore has an easy link to sex. Bread, however, doesn’t although there were reports of women kneading breads with unusual parts of their bodies and given the hygiene in these periods, it is disturbing to think about the implications of this. We also look at anaphrodisiacs, which are things used to dull desire, the opposite of an aphrodisiac. Methods to control and subdue desire in both men and women have been employed for centuries, although debate still rages on about whether these worked. For example, exercise was prescribed to women, but we know today that exercise increases one’s sex drive.  

We then move into sex and machines, which was the most interesting part by far. In this section, Lister looks at vibrators, bicycles and sex dolls which was an odd combination. Now, the use of vibrators and sex dolls during sex acts is nothing new but the history behind these items and how they came into being was interesting to learn about and completely shatters the ideal of Victorians being prudes. However, the bicycle as something sexy was completely foreign to me, as I’ve only ever seen it as a mode of transport. However, during the Victorian era when women were dressed with modesty in mind, it soon became clear that this style of dress was completely impractical and dangerous for women wanting to ride a bike. Due to this, the style of dress changed with more of the woman’s figure on show making the link to sex. The bicycle was also often featured in pornographic photos from the time, which further solidified the idea that the bicycle was sexy.

The next section focuses on the connection between sex and smells. This section is interesting in the fact that smell plays a much bigger role in attraction and sex than most people pay attention to, even more than physical appearance. The way smell plays into attraction in the forms of oils, perfumes and much more was something so unique to read about. The fact that people in the Medieval period were a lot cleaner than we imagine them to be and held cleanliness in high regard especially when it came to intimate encounters. We also look at the history of pubic hair and douching, two things that in the modern era are closely tied to cleanliness when historically they haven’t been. Pubic hair was seen as sexy because it was normal for people at the time and that is partially responsible for current attitudes. This means that because waxing and shaving are so common, whereas having a full bush isn’t, we see it as weird and gross because it isn’t normalised in the same way anymore. However, the historically attitude was the opposite as being hairless was seen as a sign of disease since syphilis and the mercury treatment of the illness led to hair loss whereas having hair was seen as more desirable. 

We then turn to sex and reproduction by looking at the history of the condom. While many might think that contraception is relatively modern, they would be wrong. Condoms especially go back centuries with the first records of condoms being around the 16th century. The reasons these old-fashioned condoms were invented was the same reason they are used today, to prevent pregnancy and the spread of STIs. However, in modern studies, it has been found that more people forego condoms than ever leading to rises in treatable STIs but alongside this, the rate of antibiotics resistance in these diseases is also rising. While not every like them they are necessary. We then move to discussing abortion and menstruation, both of which have been highly taboo topics throughout history. Abortion especially has been something women have been seeking for centuries but with how it has bounced between legal and illegal there have been times where women have been imprisoned and killed for seeking abortions. This is very relevant considering how abortions are being treated in America right now among other places where access to these essential medical services is being withheld for moral and religious reasons when they no longer apply to our society.  

We then dive into a topic that has been brought up a lot in the book, sex work. Sex work is nothing new as it has been around for centuries but the attitudes towards it and the women and men that work in this profession have changed drastically. Historically speaking, sex work was often sanctioned by the State and even if it was encouraged it was accepted as a part of life. In some countries, like India, it was seen as a holy profession dedicating oneself to the goddess and giving their first flowering in her services. Many modern attitudes towards sex work have also omitted that between 20-40% of sex workers are male. Historically speaking, there were just as many male sex workers as females and some like Jack Saul became incredibly famous for being a male sex worker. These men often faced more danger than their female counterparts because homosexuality and sodomy were crimes, punishable by death in some cases, whereas women just faced fines and jail time. When the shift came where sex work was seen as shameful it was driven underground and into a far more dangerous environment, with people still involved in this profession today allowing them the freedom to be open about their work and screen potential clients properly provides safety more than anything else.  

Overall, I found the book to be immensely interesting, with some great social commentary on how our societies work historically and presently. While a lot of attitudes towards sexual issues have become more openly spoken about, others have been driven underground and are seen as extremely shameful like sex work and abortion leading to some dangerous consequences for those still seeking and offering these services. While I agree with the author that we are more sexual open and accepting than we have ever been in history, there are glaring issues that need to be dealt with especially the shame and stigma attached to some elements of sex.

Buy it here: 

Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk                                     amazon.com  

Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk                                        amazon.com