Women Who Love Sex: An Inquiry into the Expanding Spirit of Women's Erotic Experience (Paperback)

by Gina Ogden (Author)
Key Phrases: sexual imagination, extragenital stimulation, ecstasy connection, The Big, Other Thoughts, Betty Dodson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A masterpiece of affirmation-refreshing, moving, and extraordinarily liberating. For sexuality professionals, for our students, patients, and clients, for anyone who loves women, and especially for any woman who loves sex (or wants to love sex), Women Who Love Sex is the freshest breath of air to come along in years." -- The Journal Of Sex Research

"An affirmative, useful guide for both women and men, enriched by smart clinical insights." -- Publishers Weekly

"An innovative approach. A truly significant contribution to the way in which we think about human sexuality." -- Wardell B. Pomeroy, Ph.D., co-author of the "Kinsey Reports"-Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female

"Fascinating, affirming, and down-to-earth. Gina Ogden skillfully weaves together women's stories with insight and wisdom to explore the magnitude of women's sexual experiences-their power, importance, and connection to spirituality. This book will get a lot of women talking about sex!" -- Charlotte Kasl, Ph.D., author of Women, Sex, and Addiction

"In my work with college women, I am witness to the wrestling match between young women's evolving self-definition and the relentlessly constricting messages imposed upon them by society. Women are warned about sexual negativity, but by refusing to acknowledge that women also possess the capacity for deep sexual joy, we have allowed only half the truth to be told. Women Who Love Sex tells the long-denied other half of that truth. Reading it was extraordinarily freeing, both for me and my students." -- Mary Krueger, Ph.D., Founding Director of the Bowling Green State University Women's Center

"This book is a remarkable contribution to the literature on female sexuality. Ogden sets out to destroy stereotypes of female sexuality, whether they are found in pop culture, the world of professional sexology, or in current, politically correct 'feminist' ideology. She succeeds by situating women's sexual phenomenology within an appropriate, theoretical context and by substantiating her propositions with empirical support." -- Canadian Journal Of Human Sexuality

"This is a warm, innovative book, full of sexual poetry from women's own stories about their lives. Ogden has an important message. Sex, especially woman-affirming sex, is about a whole lot more than intercourse and orgasm. It is about trust, sharing, spirituality, love, whole-body sensuality, and letting go of restrictive sex roles and oppressive sexual scripts." -- Naomi B. Mccormick, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at the State University of New York at Plattsburg, and author of Sexual Salvation

Review
"Originally published in 1994 and updated in 1999, this classic exploration of terra femina redefined sex based on how women really experience sexual pleasure. These affirmative portraits, plus Ogden's commentary, broaden readers' understanding of female sexuality beyond stereotypes, whether from pop culture, sexology, macho patriarchy, or feminsim. The complex, regenerative power of pleasure that she describes offers women hope that it is good and healthy to 'love sex.'"—Library Journal

“Ogden’s celebration of female sexuality places her in the tradition of Lonnie Barbach, Shere Hite, and Betty Dodson.”—Kirkus

“An affirmative guide for both women and men, enriched by smart clinical insights.”—Publishers Weekly

"A masterpiece of affirmation—refreshing, moving, and extraordinarily liberating. For sexuality professionals, for our students, patients, and clients, for anyone who loves women, and especially for any woman who loves sex (or wants to love sex), Women Who Love Sex is the freshest breath of air to come along in years."—The Journal of Sex Research

"This book is a remarkable contribution to the literature on female sexuality. Ogden sets out to destroy stereotypes of female sexuality, whether they are found in pop culture, the world of professional sexology, or in current, politically correct 'feminist' ideology. She succeeds by situating women's sexual phenomenology within an appropriate, theoretical context and by substantiating her propositions with empirical support."—Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality



“This book explores a whole new landscape: the sexuality and sensuality of healthy women on their own terms—not simply in relationship to the male norm. You will find inspiration and affirmation in this book.”—Christiane Northrup, MD

“This woman-affirming book breaks new ground with its broad understanding of the nature and power of women’s sexual pleasure.”—Our Bodies Ourselves

"An innovative approach. A truly significant contribution to the way in which we think about human sexuality."—Wardell B. Pomeroy, PhD, coauthor of the "Kinsey Reports"—Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female

"In my work with college women, I am witness to the wrestling match between young women's evolving self-definition and the relentlessly constricting messages imposed upon them by society. Women are warned about sexual negativity, but by refusing to acknowledge that women also posses the capacity for deep sexual joy, we have allowed only half the truth to be told. Women Who Love Sex tells the long-denied other half of that truth. Reading it was extraordinarily freeing, both for me and my students."—Mary Krueger, PhD, Founding Director of the Bowling Green State University Women's Center

"This is a warm, innovative book, full of sexual poetry from women's own stories about their lives. Ogden has an important message. Sex, especially woman-affirming sex, is about a whole lot more than intercourse and orgasm. It is about trust, sharing, spirituality, love, whole-body sensuality, and letting go of restrictive sex roles and oppressive sexual scripts."—Naomi B. McCormick, PhD, Professor of Psychology at the State University of New York at Plattsburg, and author of Sexual Salvation

"Fascinating, affirming, and down-to-earth. Gina Ogden skillfully weaves together women's stories with insight and wisdom to explore the magnitude of women's sexual experiences—their power, importance, and connection to spirituality. This book will get a lot of women talking about sex!"—Charlotte Kasl, PhD, author of Women, Sex, and Addiction

"Gina Ogden writes with scientific accuracy, care, and passion, and her writing flows."—Ted McIlvenna, MDiv, PhD, President of the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality

"This superb and powerful book provides a format for women to understand their own sexuality from a woman's perspective rather than trying to fit into a model defined by men. It exemplifies why qualitative research provides important insights into the study of human sexuality."—Beverly Whipple, RN, PhD, President of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists, and coauthor of The G-Spot --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Womanspirit Press; Revised edition (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967270502
• ISBN-13: 978-0967270500
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #709,293 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Women reclaiming sexuality, May 16, 2000

By A Customer

Gina Ogden is opening this dialogue for women in a new way. It has long been OK for men to love sex. Locker room talk does not stay in the locker room. Men like sex and like to brag about liking it. A woman who admits to liking sex is likely to be labeled a loose woman or a hoar.

As a survivor of incent I was put off by the title thinking this was one more book about an area of my life that was uncomfortable, unsafe, unfulfilling. At a friends recommendation I read it, and I felt it was written for me.

These are women ranging in age from maiden to crone who love sex as an expanded term that takes in comfort and ease in talking about it, and the many hungers women feel for touch and emotional connectedness that are not included in the male performance model the word sex usually conjures.

The book is also told in womens way - as story. These are real women and the stories and experiences shared are wide ranging. It is a book that adds many new questions to the emerging dialog about a sexuality of women defined by women.

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book on sexuality I've ever read, June 25, 2000

By A Customer

This book was very, very liberating and affirming for me. I have read many books on sexuality in an attempt to better understand my own experience. I found that most, no matter how broad-minded and inclusive they purport to be, tend to pathologize behavior that the authors don't define as sexually "correct" in some way. Also, if they include spirituality at all, it is corralled into a limited definition, such as "tantric" sex. Such books encouraged me to define my own sexuality as largely dysfunctional. By reading this book, which describes the experiences of women who define themselves as loving sex , I was able to recognize kernels of my own experiences in their's. For instance, I may not be able to "think myself off," as some of the women Dr. Ogden interviewed are able to do (have a no-hands orgasm) , but , by reading about them, I was able to better appreciate that I can "think myself on!" Dr. Ogden appreciates a wide variety of experiences as completely valid ways of loving sex. (For instance, there are women who take an hour to have an orgasm, who define themselves as being "highly orgasmic." A more conventional "expert" might deem that time frame as being sexually dysfunctional, and try to fix something that Dr. Ogden assures us ain't broke!) I'm sure that many men would recognize their experiences in this book as well as women. In fact, I've read many passages aloud to my husband. Thanks, Dr. Ogden, and all blessings to you.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A surprising and eye-opening book, May 15, 2002

By	Rob Dingman (Herkimer, N.Y.) - See all my reviews

I bought this book to "prove" to my wife that there are Women Who Love Sex. I was also hoping to get some ideas for improving our sex life. I was pleasantly surprised at what I found.
I am a male, 52, who's been married for 29 yrs. I started out liking this book and ended up loving it. The information and ideas presented deepened my understanding of, and respect for, all women. At my age I thought that I had learned quite a bit about female sexuality. However, Dr. Ogden took me on a tour into the depths of women's sexuality and showed me things beyond what I could have imagined. You come away from the book realizing that women are more "advanced" sexually and emotionally than the vast majority of men. A careful reading of the book will also show men that women are equal to men intellectually and "deeper" than us spiritually. Yes, guys, these things must be said. It's time that we gave women their due.
I highly recommend this book for women and men everywhere. I honestly believe that no man can consider himself to be sexually mature in his interactions with women until he understands and puts to use the revelations in Dr. Ogden's book.