Sex Terror: Erotic Misadventures in Pop Culture [Paperback]

Mark Simpson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2002

In the sexplicit age chastity has fallen flat on her back with her legs in the air--and everyone is queuing up to take advantage. Even presidents. Now that the Oval Office has become the Oral Office, can young people look up to the leader of the free world without imagining a hand around the back of their heads?

In Sex Terror, the follow-up to It's a Queer World, his critically acclaimed anarchic romp through the institutions of normality, Mark Simpson dispenses with the monkey business of sexuality and finally takes on the organ grinder itself: sex.

Simpson argues that we put far too much faith in sex these days, and that in fact sex is messy, confusing, frustrating, and ultimately disappointing. If you're doing it right. Subjecting our saucy new god to his scornful satire, Simpson takes on every new shibboleth about doing the nasty: it must be hot, it must be frequent, it must wake the neighbors, and it must be Who You Are.

In Sex Terror, Mark Simpson explains:

• why bad sex is better than hot sex
• why the best relationship he's ever had is with a neighbor he's never met
• why anal sex 'doesn’t work'
• why hypocrisy is the best aphrodisiac
• why gay men are terrified of women's privates
• why Bill Clinton DIDN'T lie about “That Woman”
• why films like Independence Day and Stargate are even more obsessed with men's bottoms than he is
  
  Along the way he is cruised by 'Galen’ from Planet of the Apes in a Beverly Hills restaurant, gets worked up with Alexis Arquette over Stephen Baldwin's butt, discovers that Eminem's lyrical homophobia barely disguises a rampant homophilia, complains that Brad Pitt is a one night stand that won't leave, confronts Henry Rollins with those 'gay’rumors, and has an hilarious bathetic encounter with a glory hole in a Parisian sex club.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR 'SEX TERROR'

"BRILLIANT. . . . This book is certain to provoke and likely to offend; we would expect nothing less from one of the most important voyeurs of contemporary man-sex-life. Exhaustive and exhilarating . . . a must-read for those who long, for those who belong, and for those who like it wrong." - Bob Mould, Musician, Songwriter(Hüsker Dü, Sugar)

"Simpson's essays produce rancour and hilarious laughter, disbelief and delight. Some call him wonderful, and some call him outrageous, but I call him a true original and you shouldn't miss this book." - Bruce Benderson, author of Pretending to Say No and User "When the culture of sex finally breathes its last Simpson will be there to deliver the eulogy with great zeal. And what a gloriously sardonic and insightful farewell it will be!" - Glenn Belverio, US editor Dutch magazine. "Mark Simpson is a skinhead Oscar Wilde, his bon mots are both alarming and amusing, getting up people's noses and inside their trousers with equal aplomb." - Philip Hensher, author of The Mulberry Empire

About the Author

Mark Simpson's previous works include:

MALE IMPERSONATORS ("BRILLIANT" – Observer)

ANTI-GAY ("The book that divided the homosexual community" – Independent)

IT'S A QUEER WORLD ("You'd have to be a manic-depressive not to laugh" – New Statesman)

THE QUEEN IS DEAD ("A MASTERPIECE" – Independent)

What they say about Mr Simpson

"The gay Anti-Christ" - Vogue

"A brainy thug" - Seattle Stranger

"Brilliantly buccaneering" - Spectator

"A queer Captain Kirk" - Bay Area Reporter

"A male Camille Paglia" - Melody Maker

"An amused, detached Voltaire" – Independent on Sunday

"A c**t" - Boyz

"Simpson has the distinction of being both hated and respected" - Advocate

"I almost hate to agree with anything he says" - London Review of Books

"Joe Don Baker channelling Truman Capote" – Bruce La Bruce

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1st edition (May 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156023377X
• ISBN-13: 978-1560233770
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,371,167 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brit author and journalist Mark Simpson is credited with 'fathering' the metrosexual in the UK's Independent newspaper in 1994 (and also his hairy-backed anti-thesis the retrosexual).

Simpson introduced his insufferably pretty offspring to the US in 2002, naming David Beckham as the prime exemplar and starting the current global epidemic of metrosexmania.

In 2010 the global cool-hunting/trend-spotting website Science of the Time described him as 'the world's most perceptive writer about masculinity'.

Both the New York Times and The London Times acclaimed his saucy new concept of 'Sporno' ('the place where sport and porn meet and produce a spectacular money shot') as one of their 'Ideas of the Year'.

In December 2008 GQ Russia listed him - topless and oiled up - in their top ten Things That Changed Men's Lives, above Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sigmund Freud and even Biotherm Homme.

Publications Simpson has written for include The Times, Playboy, Out, the Independent, the Seattle Stranger, the Guardian, Vogues Hommes International and Details. He is also Senior Contributing Editor at the world's leading men's fashmag, Arena Hommes Plus.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Won't Get You Laid, But Will Get You Fed, June 14, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Sex Terror: Erotic Misadventures in Pop Culture (Paperback)

If you want to eat free for the next few months then read this book and steal Simpson's witty, wicked lines. You'll be invited to every dinner party in town and be the centre of attention. Why Simpson isn't more famous in the US I don't know - but it suits me just fine. All my friends think I'm the new Oscar Wilde.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No Sexual Stone Unturned!, August 2, 2002

By 

Joseph J. Hanssen "Joe" (Upstate New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sex Terror: Erotic Misadventures in Pop Culture (Hardcover)

You either love him or hate him, but one thing is for certain, once you start reading what Mark Simpson has to say about sex you won't be able to stop. I, for one, was never bored or provoked by what he had to say. Simpson has a way of making you think differently about sex. This from an author who is both hated and respected. You may not agree with his comments but you'll think twice about what he has to say. These essays originally appeared in magazines like Attitude, the Independent, and Vogue Hommes International, etc. I found these essays to be funny, sexy, informative, and intelligently written. This book is a great follow-up to his other book, "IT'S A QUEER WORLD".

The book is divided into four sections; Dirty Words, Dirty Thoughts, Dirty Talk, and Dirty Books. There are about forty-eight essays and six personal interviews included in this collection so it's hard to choose favorites. Each and every one is thought-provoking, whether he's talking about President Clinton in "Slick Willy" (the Oval Office has become the Oral Office); or the Republican Reaction in "The Sex Terror"; or Brad Pitt in the "Pittfall of Being Brad Pitt" (a victim of his own beauty); or "Eminem Melts in Your Mouth"(is Eminem really what he appears to be?). There's sure to be some serious eyebrows raised while reading some of these chapters. Simpson's interviews with Aiden Shaw & Julie Burchill are not to be missed, fascinating. He even confronts Henry Rollins with those `gay' rumors.

Simpson argues there is far too much faith put in sex these days, and it can be ultimately disappointing. What is not disappointing is this book and reading his personal points of view. You will certainly be entertained, educated, and never bored. Perhaps you will even finding yourself thinking differently about sex. This is a book that should be read by all. Simpson really puts things in the proper perspective. Highly Recommended!

Joe Hanssen

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly Barbed!, December 3, 2011

By 

Quiet Riot Girl - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sex Terror: Erotic Misadventures in Pop Culture (Hardcover)

Sex Terror is the last of all Mark Simpson's oeuvre I have read.

So I can't help but feel sad as I tear through his 2002 collection of journalism and essays, maybe missing some of the spiky dark humour that I know fills the pages.

My second hand copy, with the obligatory picture of the topless, buff Simpson of yesteryear with his chainsaw on the cover, smells of stale cigarette smoke. I imagine one of the characters in the book having been a previous owner - maybe one of the tarty plumbers, leading the metrosexual revolution, or a gay porn actor, down on his luck and trying to write poetry for a living, or a transexual pop singer, waiting to go on stage.

The loss I feel at coming to the end of the road seems to be echoed in the book itself - as the barbed bard of contemporary masculinity puts a brave face on life as a lonely homo in the Big Gay 20th/21st century world.

It's all good, but the interviews stood out for me here. Mr Simpson is an expert at getting people to reveal more than they intended, whilst giving very little, or just as much as he wants, away himself. He even seems to 'conquer' his subjects at times, as an experienced top might overpower his prey. It is a disgrace that the mainstream (or even the 'alternative') media have not snapped up this talent as chief celebrity interviewer in residence.

And like all good writing (not to mention 'good' sex) does, Sex Terror leaves me wanting more.