Customer Reviews

Deviant Desires: Incredibly Strange Sex

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Think you're odd? Do you like to do "strange" things in bed? Have you ever found yourself fantasizing about something that you know is bizarre? Welcome to the real world, honey, where "deviant" sex is the norm. You may think that your penchant for panties or wish to squish is something no sane person would contemplate but you'd be wrong.

In Deviant Desires, author Katharine Gates goes for the jugular. Leaving the relatively "normal" realms of BDSM (Bondage & Discipline/SadoMasochism), transgenderism, and shrimping behind, the topics explored in Deviant Desires are completely "off the map" in comparison. Ranging from in-depth chapters on Pony Play to Balloon Fetishes with stops along the way about Giantesses, Crushing, and Fat fans, Gates raises the bar with each chapter. Even our old pal Romain Slocombe (see above) makes an appearance with his Broken Dolls photography near the end of the book.
My favorite chapter has to be the "catch all" finale to the book that addresses (among other things) attraction to androids ("My Living Doll" anyone?) and erotic fan fiction. The drawings of popular science fiction characters in compromising positions aren't easy to forget.

Gates is highly respectful of her subjects, neither exploiting them nor psychoanalyzing them. The fun the people have with their fetishes is apparent and rather "normalizing"! While the idea of people enjoying themselves while not indulging in "vanilla sex" may be offensive to some, this book is for the silent, (a)moral majority! (ISBN: 1890451037)

This book is exceptionally sensitive and non-judgmental anthropologic-style review of sexual fetishes that are far from the usual mainstream discussions of sexual proclivities. If you have had literally no exposure to these fetishes or if you are a devotee of something explored here, you will appreciate the friendly and compassionate tone that Ms. Gates brings to her catalog of sexual fringe behavior.

S&M is too mainstream for this book, it is not another tired recounting of leather clubs or bondage practices. Explored here are people who are imaginative enough to use a big #10 can of Pork & Beans as a sex toy, or balloons, or those who are creative enough to construct elaborate fantasies involving normally chaste fictional characters (Spock does Kirk), or those who enjoy role play as domestic animals.

A very sensitive and compassionately written chapter on Fat Admirers and those they desire was of particular interest to me as a lifelong overweight man. It is indeed rare to find these issues discussed with respect and kindness in any published media, much less in a book on sex.

Ms. Gates makes a contribution to our knowledge about ourselves that is fun to read and interesting to explore. The illustrations she has collected here alone make the book worth having in any library. This book would make a great gift for anyone with an abiding curiosity about what goes on behind the neighbor's closed doors. Indeed, I look at popular advertising with an entirely new awareness these days. These fetishes are everywhere.

I was attending an erotic/adult expo in San Francisco in spring 2000 when I saw a woman sitting at a nearly deserted booth, holding a copy of this book, which I had just bought and read the week before. "Isn't that the best? I got that last week and just devoured it, it's amazing!" I exclaimed, not realizing I had just approached the author and totally made her day. Humans come in an incredible array of shapes and sizes, and so do their turn-ons. Katherine Gates, known for her past collaborations with porn-performance-artist Annie Sprinkle, overviews a variety of practices that occupy the outer edges of sexuality, but flourish on the Internet. Balloon fetishists (to pop or not to pop, that is the question), people who like to pretend they are ponies, fat admirers and messy girls are all collected here, shown in happy, consensual pictures and interviews. This book will be of interest to fetishists, social anthropologists, sex counselors/educators and collectors of the unusual.

A fun-loving, sympathetic, open look at the vast possibilities of the human psyche. Katherine Gates has done more than open a new psychological door on previously unexplored fetishes, she has presented the stories, wishes & secret playtimes of ordinary people with extraordinary directness. In the sexual world nothing is sacred - horses, balloons, stuffed animals - and for the most part, nothing needs to be! The book is about unusual fetishes, but it is fair to say that "Deviant Desires" is just as much about people as it is about psychology. Read it! Your own "deep, dark, secret wish" may not be as secret as you think!

Opening this book is like discovering buried treasure: Every paragraph and photograph is a gem. With the creation of Deviant Desires, author Katharine Gates has not only produced a work of art -- which one would imagine to find in a museum gift shop at triple the price -- but she has also done the world a mitzvah, by shining the light of day into the hidden corners of our darkest sexual desires, and revealing that much of what actually dwells there is childlike innocence, wonder and playfulness. A completely engrossing and refreshing book, written with unflinching candor, lighthearted humor, and a sense of deep respect for these everyday people who indulge in fantastic sex practices.

this has been the most theoretically and erotically exciting book I have seen in AGES. I have to wander around with my head in a daze for an hour after each chapter. My hat is OFF to Katherine, this is the cutting edge book on sex and the human mind right now, and she has used "fetish" as a way to explore things that are absolutely universal.

Gates has hit on a real thread here! She explores a side of people, everyday people, that is rarely aired outside of closely held groups, clubs and/or fetish sites. Such as: balloons and popping them, playing with them by adults and to turn adults on? Wow!

I now have seen more about the fetish lifestyle then I ever knew existed. This is, it goes without saying, very adult. I couldn't put it down but make sure the kiddies are outta the room when you start turning the pages.

I have been wanting this book for quite some time now. I must say, I was rather disappointed when I received it. I picked up the book and I flipped through the pages to get a feel of it. I was shocked to see not one color photograph illustrating the various sexual deviances. However, the book is highly informative. One other gripe I may have about the book is that the chapter on ponyplay is much too long. I would have preferred a shorter chapter on this topic and the introduction of a new topic instead. The chapter on sploshing was great.

This is an almost encyclopedia book that attempts to cover some of the non-normative ways in which folks get turned-on and get off. Warning: there are lots of picture here so if you find yourself upset by any of the subject covered, either don't read those chapters or don't buy the book. Gates does an excellent job of letting those with these desires speak for themselves without making many judgemental statements. In nine chapters and 235 pages she covers alot from human ponies to balloons and to fat fetishes or robot lust. A great exploration but perhaps not one most of us would want to read over and over.

This is a book that's fun to read, informative, and great at parties. As a sexuality researcher, I did not find this book to be too helpful academically, but it was so fascinating and fun that I could not put it down. Fantastic!