Customer Reviews

Orgasms for Two: The Joy of Partnersex

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

 

 

Having followed Betty and her writing for nearly twenty years, I found this to be her most concise and mature writing to date. She is never one to shy away from difficult, controversial, or Politically Correct topics. In Orgasms for Two, Betty tackles the still difficult issues of masturbation, romantic love, relationships, and Politically Correct sexual behavior with her usual no-nonsense, practical approach. Her ideas are based on decades of actual experience, both hers and those with whom she has worked, in addition to current research in sexuality. While not an encyclopedic tour de force of human sexuality, Orgasms for Two speaks to the core issues of sexuality today. Her refusal to blindly adhere to any party line, feminist or otherwise, lends tremendous credibility to what she has to say. She is critical of the Vagina Monologues and G-Spot orgasm fads, but the criticism is thoughtful and intelligent, not vicious or dismissive. Her criticism of "romance," one of my pet peeves, is concise and clear. As usual, she makes one stop and think. (Painful, I know, but good for you, nonetheless.) The description of her relationship with a considerably younger man is an honest and important story for every woman who plans to live past thirty. Having studied Tantric, Taoist, and Sex Magick practices, I agree with her that masturbation and understanding one's own orgasmic nature are vital ingredients to becoming an independent, liberated being. If more people had happier sex lives and a stronger sexual/spiritual connection, the world would be a much better place. Betty's outrageous frankness about sex and her sex life can be very healing for anyone with pain or insecurity connected with their sexuality. I heartily recommend all of Betty's works, and if you are unfamiliar with her work, this book is a great place to start. Good job, Betty Ann.

In today's America, sexual pleasure that takes any form besides the accepted heterosexual-monogamous/religious model is mercilessly persecuted. I read the review posted on Dec 26th by the person in Sausalito bashing Betty. I got an excited glow in my heart and knew I'd found the right book! I bought it instantly!

While reading it I found myself cheering out loud over and over again, "You go girl, say it like it is!"

After reading this book I can testify that Betty does not consider monogamous heterosexuality to be an "invalid life choice", but rather there are real breakdowns within the model (that never gets any press until now) and there are other sexual lifestyles that are just as valid. She has nothing to be bitter about! She's just got the truth that's hard to take. I saw V-Day in Madison Square Garden and read the book. And if the V-Girls can't handle criticism, then get out da' kitchen!

Orgasms For Two is both socio-sexual commentary and Betty's guide to creating sexual pleasure. And what she taught me has revolutionized the sex with my boyfriend. Before, we were resigned to never having orgasms during intercourse. Not anymore!

Nuff' said! We love you, Betty! Peace! --Claire

Betty Dodson begins "Orgasms for Two" with a straight-forward introduction, and by page two, you'll find drawings for new positions. But by page three, you'll find out that Dodson is NOT a supporter of monogamy or heterosexuality, and that she feels that women have been oppressed by men - they're being FORCED to have sex in the missionary position. By the end of the first chapter, you'll learn that she feels the Vagina Monologues were politically incorrect and misleading, and she'll have told you that most men have extramarital affairs, and that this is ok. Well, we were just looking for a book that would help us improve our sex life, not an oppressed feminist's diatribe. If you want a feminist's ranting commentary on sex-in-general, this is the book for you. If you and your partner are looking for new ideas to try in bed, look somewhere else.

Betty Dodson has long been admired as the mother of sex positive feminism. Unfortunately, her true colors show through in this book. It seems that Betty's many experiences have left her bitter and cynical. She speaks about love, long term monogamy and romance as impossible ideas and rarely acknowledges that any view point other then her own might be correct. She even finds the time to bash V-day, the Vagina Monologues and anyone who believes that marriage could be a life choice rather then a death sentence.
A large portion of this book is spent defending her former stance against heterosexual sex, yet even though she admits to changing her ways ( as slightly as it might be) she still can't find it in her narrow view to admit that heterosexual monogamy is a valid lifestyle choice.
Yes, this book does have some wonderful ideas about sexual positions that can greatly enhance your love life. Just please remember to take her militant feminism with a grain of salt and use these techniques along with your own individual spirit to make sex magical.

I have read all of Betty Dodson's books and have alwasys learned something.
She has helped so many men and women.
She's great.
Sherri Rosen Publicity LLC
NYC

I don't think there's much of anything positive to say about this book except the author seems to soften a bit temporarily for chapter 14, that she's good at drawing and she's quite nice looking for her type (not that's about the book, but that explains why maybe this book was even published).
Other than that, this book is a bitter rant that keeps on contradicting itself, for example, one minute partner sex isn't enjoyable to women than the next saying the opposite, saying if women act a certain way, they're 'just jealous', yet if men act the same, they're 'concerned' (and I thought feminism was supposed to try to tear down double-standards, not create more of them) and taking opinion as fact, as in using one study to 'prove' a hypothesis (not very scientific, is it?), etc. As far as any sort of slant, there are plenty of other guides that don't have any and are much better than this, like Violet Blue's guides.

As the author states right at the beginning, she thinks that a woman requires clitoral stimulation to have an orgasm. Later on she states that sex, for women, should mimic masturbation and not the other way around.

Women's lack of orgasm via penetration is not necessarily a reflection of the women's biology as it is the man's. (Or rather, a man's failure to control his biology.) While the author bashes men in several places in the book, she misses her one true opportunity here. The reason more women don't have more internal orgasms is because men fail to take the time to allow their partners to be pleasured that way. The correlation (the rarity of such orgasms) does not prove that that this is the inherent outcome. Basic science 101.

The idea that sex should mimic women's masturbation is surely a real killer to intimacy. There's no reason why one has to mimic the other. What's wrong with them being just different? This kind of approach might work for one night stands and flings, but couples in committed relationships are going to want more. Of course, this view would be lost on the author because she's already stated her belief (not the fact) that these kinds of sexual encounters aren't really possible in the first place.

This author has had her own experiences and this has biased her views about sex. If you want a scientific apporach to the topic you'll want to look elsewhere.