| THE NEW MALE SEXUALITY: The Truth about Men, Sex, and Pleasure Bernie Zilbergeld, Ph.D. New York: Bantam Books, 1992 |
Rating: 5.0 High |
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| ISBN-13 978-0-553-56259-0 | ||||
| ISBN 0-553-56259-2 | 645pp. | SC/GSI | $6.99 | |
Dr. Zilbergeld is a San Francisco psychiatrist with long experience in dealing with psychosexual problems. This revision of his Male Sexuality (1978) was occasioned by some new developments coming onto the scene — not only AIDS, but the complicated changes resulting from the sexual revolution and the feminist movement.
This edition is written for young men who have just become sexually active. It explains normal functioning in a logical, step-by-step sequence. Along the way, Dr. Z humorously contrasts this honest advice with the exaggerations purveyed by men's magazines and cheap novels.1 One example deserves special mention. On page 58, he quotes a passage by an un-named writer:
| Alice felt as if she had been thrown into a fire...felt as if her bones were melting. She could not catch her breath. She had never felt such overwhelming pleasure. |
"Once her bones start melting," Dr. Zilbergeld drily observes, "you know you're doing it right."
Having covered the way things work in real life, Dr. Zilbergeld turns to the ways they fail to work, and the solutions for those problems. This includes not only common dysfunctions like impotence or premature ejaculation but relationship problems such as excessive arguing and its opposite, excessive silence. He sets forth a lot of useful exercises for dealing with these attitudinal problems. An appendix covers the effects on male sexuality of many drugs (prescription, over-the-counter, and street).
The book is written in a straightforward, no-nonsense style. It is well illustrated with quotes and case studies from the doctor's friends, colleagues and patients. A few graphs and line drawings are supplied to aid understanding. The index is good, and an extensive list of references is included.
To contact Chris Winter, send email to this address.