Sex, Lies And Stereotypes [Paperback]

Kim Ficera (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2003

Dusting the Virgin Mary. Crashing a lesbian drumming circle. Offending Mormon missionaries. It's all in a day's work for Kim Ficera. In this corrosive, hilarious, and ultimately humanistic collection of essays and performance pieces, the larger-than-life humorist takes on such disparate topics as why size matters to God, lesbian break-up parties, being called an "older woman," and embracing the C-word. (No, it's not cous-cous.)

It's a wild, strange trip through a uniquely American, pop culture wonderland where cloning is one step away from a November sweeps event and fake breasts threaten to overtake Vegas in Twilight Zone fashion.

Like a female David Sedaris - but definitely not like a virgin - Kim Ficera is the woman our mothers warned us about...and more dangerously fun than they could have possibly imagined.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Ficera's rambling, loosely connected memoirs proceed chronologically, their chatty, humorous tone and stand-alone structures reflecting her experience as a columnist and performance artist. They open with a hilarious recollection of a hunting trip to Maine with her father, uncle, and male cousin when she was a child. When her dad stopped hunting long enough to pay attention to his 10-year-old daughter, his idea of spending special time with her consisted of a trip to a toxic waste dump, followed by a visit to an area slaughterhouse--"bonding" just doesn't get any better 'n that, eh? Later, Ficera lightheartedly recounts more recent experiences with dyke dating, personal ads, Superbowl parties, and her failing gaydar (it's like radar, and Ficera wishes bar patrons would just wear different hats to designate preferences), all lived out in a "neo-lesbian mushroom cloud of femininity" that threatens the extinction of pool-table dykes. She blithely manages to get a laugh out of every experience. Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"[Ficera's] willingness to disrobe, physically and emotionally, in these pages, offers the best laugh-out-loud moments..." -- The Fairfield County Weekly, April 3, 2002

Ficera can be so wickedly funny - and she is so charmingly unrepentant. -- Washington Blade, July 7, 2003

Ficera's voice is direct, using pop culture references and a 'play-by-play' commentary style to deliver her sarcasm and honest opinions. -- Out Magazine, May 2003

It's a peek into the thoughts of a dyke-next-door with a singular sense of humor. -- Girlfriends Magazine, May 2003

Like the best of humorists, and she is that, Ficera draws ably on her own life, rendering the personal universal. -- Planet Out, May 2003

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Kensington (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 075820177X
• ISBN-13: 978-0758201775
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,250,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Read it, read it, read it, July 21, 2003

By 

Peggy Vincent "author and reader" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sex, Lies And Stereotypes (Paperback)

Raucous and witty, this loose memoir is constructed as a series of stand-alone short pieces that go down smoothly - if you can stop laughing long enough to swallow. Reading this aloud to someone else is like experiencing what a stand-up comedian must feel when her audience is completely on her wave length.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bought it. Read it. LOVED IT! Bought 3 copies for friends!, August 29, 2003

By 

Catherine Tanelli (Rye Brook, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sex, Lies And Stereotypes (Paperback)

This book is a must-read! The essays have me laughing out loud and leave me shaking my head in amazement. Kim Ficera is a talented writer and a gifted story-teller. I can't wait for her next book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dangerously funny-read at your own risk!, July 15, 2003

By 

Jill Franco (New Milford, CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sex, Lies And Stereotypes (Paperback)

For those of you who have noticed that, yes, your butt looks HUGE in hotel room mirrors, whose repressed Catholic upbringing instilled 'cleanliness is next to godliness' in your crucifix-ridden brain, and who have always wondered, why God why does the Mullet survive as a hairstyle, Kim Ficera's collection of essays will answer these questions and more. Ficera's truthful, and at times, self-deprecating humor make you laugh out loud and realize that you are not alone!