The Joy of Sex
An updated edition of The Joy of Sex is being published to coincide with the original book's 30th anniversary. The new version still uses line drawings to illustrate positions and techniques, but "the notorious bearded man" has been replaced by "a cute, toned, hairless, boy-band type of guy, all pecs and six-pack, a more appealing prospect for women." (Sep 2002)
The Age has a lengthy feature article (with no byline) about the original publication of The Joy of Sex by Alex Comfort in 1972.
The Joy of Sex set out to demystify lovemaking, but also to allow it to be regarded as something else: a recreation. It was not to be regarded any more as a duty, a guilty secret, a quick one at the end of an evening, a stab in the dark or a silent embarrassment. From now on, Comfort decided, it was going to be something more akin to a banquet. It was subtitled A Gourmet Guide to Lovemaking and divided into small chapters like a succession of dishes - ingredients, appetisers, main courses, sauces . . . The book suggested that having sex involved a great deal more than, well, having sex; that making love was not, as commonly perceived, two-and-a-half minutes of frenzied activity followed by an apology and a cigarette, but should be a sensuous excursion - part ballet, part workout - lasting several hours and reaching several levels of rapture.
Comfort was a stylish writer with a gift for the breezy one-liner. . . . It wasn't just the wit that surprised the reader, but his warm, benign tone of voice, with its occasionally crackpot enthusiasms (Comfort was terribly keen on group sex and the Californian "swinger" mentality), its muttered warnings about things he didn't like or found distasteful (he was never very keen on homosexual anal sex, which he thought best avoided), and its glancing political asides.
This piece includes lots of fascinating behind-the-scenes detail, including the identity of the models in those notorious soft-pencil drawings. (Jul 2002)
The New York Times has a good-natured profile of Nick Comfort, son of The Joy of Sex author Alex Comfort. "Nick was in his mid-20's and married to his first wife when 'Joy' came out (his father did not follow his only editorial suggestion, that the book should be printed on wax paper). Sadly, he did not find it much of a babe magnet." The younger Comfort played a big role in preparing the new edition of his late father's book. (Sep 2002)
Ellen Goodman talks about the difficulty of talking to your kids about sex. The column begins with the telling irony that Joy of Sex author Alex Comfort "stirred the international pot of sexual liberation. But he didn't exactly do any home schooling. Sex ed for his son Nick consisted of one awkward 'talk' after the son's headmaster said the boy needed to know about personal hygiene. That was about it." (Oct 2002)
Charles Taylor reviews the updated edition of The Joy of Sex. "Cheeriness is not sexy. A smile -- salacious, conspiratorial, sly -- is. And so are shared jokes, dirty or otherwise. But cheeriness, which can imply a sort of pep-talk falsity, is a real turn-off. And 'The Joy of Sex,' just reissued in an edition said to be 'Fully Revised & Completely Updated for the 21st Century' (of which more later), fairly reeks of cheeriness." (Nov 2002)
Another NPR program, The Connection hosted by Dick Gordon, did an hour-long show about The Joy of Sex last week. Guests on the show included Nicholas Comfort, Constance Penley and Jack Murnighan. (Nov 2002)
