| WHAT MAKES A WOMAN GIB* Wendy Leigh New York: Penthouse Press, Ltd., 1977 |
Rating: 5.0 High |
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| ISBN-13 978-0-89110-012-6 | ||||
| ISBN 0-89110-012-1 | 202pp. | HC | $? | |
It is a provocative question. I would be willing to bet that every man over the age of 12 has asked himself that question at least once.
Wendy Leigh's book provides an answer that is probably as complete as any could ever be. And what that amounts to is, there is no single answer — not even any small set of related answers. To put it another way, the answer is: Whatever rings your chimes.
Wendy Leigh is a London-born journalist. Her career includes several books, a variety of undercover assignments for the BBC-TV program Current Affairs, and other radio and television interview projects. According to the book's jacket, she is soon to start a sequel called "What Makes a Man GIB". (AFAIK this sequel was never published. At least, the Library of Congress1 has no listing for it.)1
She relates that the current work was undertaken partly because men she encountered kept asking her the question, and partly to enable her to assuage her own sexual insecurity by giving her some benchmark against which to measure herself. Having found this, she would either find her position on the scale satisfactory, or learn what she needed to do to move higher on that ranking.
It did not work out that way. She interviewed medical experts, psychologists, sex therapists, a number of prostitutes, and a long list of celebrities. Logically, these are the very people who would be in possession of an answer — if there was one to possess. What they told her varied all over the map, and often contradicted other replies. The process of getting the interviews was not always successful, but always an adventure. In the end, she concluded that there are no rules, no rankings. And, she tells us, she was reassured.
Judging by her afterword, the investigation included some practical work with some of the men contacted. All of the interviews chosen for the book are printed verbatim, including any of George Carlin's Seven Words2 where they appear. It is a fascinating collection of insights into certain individuals, but the total picture is just as muddled and contradictory as she avers.
Yet there are common threads. One is that good physical condition makes for GIB. (No surprise there.) Other qualities that foster GIB are a sense of playfulness, a lack of inhibitions, being open to the events of the moment and to the nuances of the partner's responses. Beyond these, there is nothing to which a majority agrees. Beauty in a woman is important to some men, not to others. Some value extensive sexual experience; others like a relative novice whom they can initiate into the mysteries. No magic formula, no universally effective technique. No Venus Butterfly.
To those of us who are insecure, who tend to dote on rules of engagement and scripted performances, it is unsettling — and at the same time... yes, reassuring.
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