Reviewed by Liz Lipman-Stern, L.C.S.W.,
Certified Sex Therapist, IPG Staff Therapist
Women’s Anatomy of Arousal: Secret Maps to Buried Pleasure
by Sheri Winston, Mango Garden Press, 2010
You might think the discovery of the “G-Spot” and female ejaculation gave the world the most comprehensive information possible about female sexual anatomy. If so, you’d be wrong. Sheri Winston’s book recently won the 2010 Book of the Year award from the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT), the organization through which those of us at IPG who are certified Sex Therapists got our certification. And it richly deserves this honor.
Winston’s book delivers important and generally unavailable (and unknown) information about female genital anatomy in a style that is entertaining and accessible to lay readers, thereby helping to pull back the curtain of cultural ignorance about female anatomy while also enabling women and their partners to enjoy more connected and orgasmic sex. In addition, in a society that tends to separate birth and sex, it makes the crucially important -and, again, often unknown- point that women have a single, elegant, integrated system for sexual pleasure and reproduction. The uterus, for example, often thought of as an organ ‘dedicated’ to gestation, also contributes to sensual/sexual sensations. Women’s Anatomy of Arousal is an empowering book: it supports sex-positive attitudes and behavior in a context of deep personal responsibility
Winston’s book is not only full of information, it also has original, high-quality anatomical illustrations done by the author. The graphics contribute significantly to our visual understanding of female sexual anatomy. The design is beautiful and the concept is original. It is lavishly illustrated, with examples of erotic art from different cultures as well as anatomical renderings. It is one part self-help book, one part science/anatomy book, and one part erotic art book — and the pieces fit together seamlessly. Highly recommended!