The Pleasure Gap, Katherine Rowland
The Pleasure Gap, Katherine Rowland
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The Pleasure Gap
American Women and the Unfinished Sexual Revolution

Author: Katherine Rowland

Narrator: Suzie Althens

Unabridged: 11 hr 9 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Seal Press

Published: 02/04/2020

Synopsis

American culture is more sexually liberal than ever. But compared to men, women's sexual pleasure has not grown: Up to 40 percent of American women experience the sexual malaise clinically known as low sexual desire. Between this low desire, muted pleasure, and experiencing sex in terms of labor rather than of lust, women by the millions are dissatisfied with their erotic lives.

For too long, this deficit has been explained in terms of women's biology, stress, and age. In The Pleasure Gap, Katherine Rowland rejects the idea that women should settle for diminished pleasure; instead, she argues women should take inequality in the bedroom as seriously as we take it in the workplace and understand its causes and effects. Drawing on extensive research and interviews with more than one hundred women and dozens of sexual health professionals, Rowland shows that the pleasure gap is neither medical malady nor psychological condition but rather a result of our culture's troubled relationship with women's sexual expression. This provocative exploration of modern sexuality makes a case for closing the gap for good.

Reviews

Goodreads review by britt_brooke on January 06, 2022

I hadn’t heard of this one, but was browsing “skip-the-line” library options when it’s cheeky cover grabbed my attention! 👀 A necessary, if sometimes uncomfortable, look at female pleasure. Very science-y, and reminiscent of Mary Roach’s “Bonk,” but lacking the sporadic humor. While interesting enou......more

Goodreads review by Emma on October 13, 2022

This was AMAZING! It was open and honest and I’m going to recommend it to every woman I know. Edit: after taking to many people of a variety of sexualities and genders I need to switch this up a little bit. This book was open and informative and I would like anyone who owns or has any plans of intera......more

Goodreads review by Fabulous Book Fiend on August 05, 2020

This one was a lot more science, studies and information than I expected but on audio it was pretty good. I feel like if I had read the full book I might have skipped some pages with facts and figures on.......more

Goodreads review by Fifi on May 26, 2021

I had to skim the last half of this book as I was reading it for a uni assignment not for pleasure. Having said this is a fascinating case study of female sexuality and the empty promises of the sexual revolution Overall, ⭐⭐⭐⭐......more

Goodreads review by Jonathan David on July 09, 2020

I’m torn about this book. It feels like it’s really two or three separate books. The first of these is a profound look at the “Pleasure Gap” between men and women [the main focus of the book is heterosexual couples]. The second delves into more polyamory, cheating and other things that some would co......more

Quotes

"In The Pleasure Gap, Katharine Rowland takes on a feminist issue that has not received the attention it deserves: the inequality between women and men in the fraught and intimate area of sexual pleasure. Well-written and deeply researched, this book illuminates a topic that has profound implications for women's personal happiness and well-being."—Elaine Tyler May, author of America and the Pill: A History of Promise, Peril, and Liberation

"A joy to read, and an important conversation about our right to pleasure: how we fake and perform, instead of value our actual sensations, cutting ourselves off from our own sexual enjoyment, which is our birthright. No one should deny themselves pleasure, nor the pleasure of this book, and its inevitable aftermath in their lives."—Julie Holland, author of Moody Bitches: The Truth About the Drugs You're Taking, the Sleep You're Missing, the Sex You're Not Having, and What's Really Making You Crazy

"In The Pleasure Gap, Katherine Rowland takes a candid and unflinching look at the factors that drive sexual desire deficits for cis, heterosexual women. Sweeping away the cobwebs of dusty explanations for women's 'loss of sexual drive.' ... She closes the deal with the reader by offering frank insights into ways to close the gap, with a welcome focus on how we can mute the voices of our society and listen to our own bodies and minds."—Emily Willingham, coauthor of The Informed Parent: A Science-Based Resource for Your Child's First Four Years

"If I could force everyone to read this book, I would. All of us, especially men who are confused about their partners' sexual response, need it, and need it now."—Eric Berkowitz, author of Sex and Punishment: Four Hundred Years of Judging Desire

"Tasteful and open-minded . . . Rowland skillfully synthesizes many different ideas and approaches, and encourages women to embrace a broader understanding of their own sexual desire as an ongoing process of self-discovery and self-assertion."—Publishers Weekly

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