SEXUAL ACUPUNCTURE

Chinese medicine has, for about the past twenty years, been accepted by some Western doctors. Now, along with other alternative treatments (or, in a closer approximation to Official Medical Terminology, complementary therapeutic modalities), it is gaining grudging recognition from the American medical establishment.

Acupuncture, of course, has been portrayed in dramatic fashion on television — but chiefly as an anesthetic. While the authors acknowledge that it was used in ancient China to treat sexual problems, they claim that their organization of the techniques as "sexual acupuncture" is both new and unique. Their stated intent is to leave the emotional concomitants of sex out of the picture, and to focus narrowly on physical aspects. As they bluntly put it on page 5:

This total separation of sex and love may strike many as irresponsible. But I accept the authors' justification for it. The questions I have are how well this mechanistic approach can work, and how well it is explained in the book.

The explanation is mostly done in a "question and answer" format. This makes it easy to home in on a specific topic or problem — but only after you have read through the book and marked the locations of those you are interested in. I would have preferred a better-organized, more tutorial approach. Also, some individual questions seem trivial, and the answers to others are vague, or "off the mark".

Most of the book deals with acupuncture, and the authors correctly advise against trying this at home. But Chapter 7 covers the related subject of acupressure (which uses the same points), and this is intended for home use. There are charts giving the locations of the many "acupoints", but I am dubious of my ability to find them on the body with no better map to guide me. Since this chapter purports to be a do-it-yourself handbook of acupressure, the quality of its guidance leaves something to be desired. Neither is it made clear whether the same sensations of tingling or numbing, which the authors say are essential feedback for practitioners of acupuncture, can be expected when acupressure is used.

Chapter 8 delves into the differences between Eastern and Western medical practices, and gives some historical background for the former. It comes across as somewhat hostile to the latter; I suspect that Dr. Fischman wrote it. It is interesting, but very theoretical, and could easily have been omitted without harming the book. Chapter 9 contains "Miscellaneous Questions and Answers". I feel that these should have been integrated into earlier chapters.

Appendices A, B, and C contain papers by (apparently) foreign physicians on cases of specific problems treated with acupuncture. They are of little value; they are too abstruse and technical for a book of this type. A useful bibliography is provided, but there is no index for the book.

As for the effectiveness of the techniques, I am in the position of having to take the authors' word. But they do give the impression of knowing what they are talking about; they rightly advise that certain conditions will not be helped by acupuncture, avoiding the telltale claims of the charlatan that whatever nostrum is being hawked will cure everything from hangnails to cancer. They have good credentials and extensive publication histories.

Yet my doubts persist. The poor quality of the acupoint charts, the poor organization of the subject matter, the extraneous question, the erroneous answers, the irrelevant chapter and unhelpful appendices, all engender a certain suspicion. I come away with the overall impression that this book was hastily thrown together — and that makes me very reluctant to depend on what it says.

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This page was last modified on 29 August 2023.