The Men in Your Life
- 23 Comment(s)
- 2248 Total Views
This is an excerpt from "The Men in Your Life", by Genevieve Antoine Dariaux, copyright 1968.
Some how this book ended up in my house. I certainly didn't go looking for this one! With all the packing we're doing lately, it surfaced and, of course, I had to skim through it. Whoa.
The last line of the preface, after taking into account the "favorable equilibrium" that "The Pill" has wrought regarding male and female reproductive rights, actually says (and I quote!), "So, let's take good care of our men - they are still the most interesting things in our lives."
I won't dissect this book word-for-word. We'd be here until next year... who am I kidding, I'd have lost you, my reader long before that! I will quote a direct passage that piqued my interest.
It is regarding sex! <gasp!> See what you think of this one, ladies! (warning: it's a little long)
" I sincerely believe that by abandoning all their former modesty women are preparing a disillusioned future for themselves.
By trying to persuade women that they can feel the same pleasure as men and that they have the same right to it, certain shrewd "doctors" have undoubtedly made fortunes, but they have done their patients no real service (because it simply isn't true). Besides, they haven't invented anything new, anything not covered by the Kama Sutra, the erotic Chinese and Japanese prints, etc., which amply illustrated the thirty-two positions. At the risk of being considered irretrievably old-fashioned, I cannot conceive of love as a form of Swedish gymnastics or a cooking recipe to be followed faithfully from a book.
The very basis of feminine seduction is mystery, and the shy virgin in a long-sleeved nightdress of the Victorian era seems to me the more seductive to a man than the disheveled mare who insists on so many orgasms per hour because she has read that she has a right to them. Besides, if women continue to take the initiative and use men to arrive an their ends, who knows whether, as the men become less and less consenting, someone will not eventually offer for sale a gadget, "AC-DC" or even transistorized, for "liberated women"?
There is not a single example of Don Juanism bringing happiness to men or, with even more reason, to women. If men are becoming more and more disinterested in women - and the increasing number of homosexuals is proof of it - it is because women openly display all of their charms and because there is nothing left for the men to teach them.
Finally, it is unimaginable that the centuries of poetry should be erased by this clinical conception of love, and that a good lover should no longer be anything more than a specialist who has made a study of the correct reflexes, exactly like the doctor who knows where to hit with his little hammer in order to make your leg rise.
If Frenchman enjoy a l flattering reputation as lovers throughout the world, I do not think it is because they have greater endurance in bed than other men, but because they have always known how to surround the act itself, which is the same for all mammals, with embellishments of wit, imagination, and tender phrases, all of which are more effective than mere technique. It is a well-known fact, moreover, that streetwalkers, who are crammed with technique - and for good reason - are almost always frigid.
So instead of rushing to buy all of those handbooks that can only result in disappointment, women would do better to content themselves with the men whom they have chosen - wisely, I hope - and to make them happier by letting them discover little by little all that they are capable of giving them."
I must admit to laughing to the point of tears when I was done reading that particular passage! Needless to say, this book is staying in my library right next to the other comedy titles.
Thoughts?
Comments:
|
1968! That's really much more interesting when you take this passage as a time capsule and flash forward to our present day desensitivity towards modesty and intimacy. |
|
I think most of my girlfriends, save one, have had this book or something similar beaten into their psyches. They spend their lives waiting for their husbands to read their minds and find that magical spot that will send their toes a-curlin' and make their hair stand on end - just like they've read in romance novels. My grandmother's talk with my mom included this statement: "Sex is a man's priveledge and a woman's obligation." That says a lot about that era, doesn't it? I don't think my friends know that it can be so much better than it is for them. My husband didn't come out of a box knowing how to please a woman. I taught him that. If you like it (and especially if you don't), SPEAK UP! If they can't find their keys, do you really think they know where your g-spot is? Jeez, men and directions! Great food for thought, Moon. Makes me appreciate what I've got. :) |
|
Wow. That was hilarious. |
|
I don't even know what to say... I think Zen summed it up WOW |
|
There is some truth to this statement. (No, don't kill me yet.) The art of seduction has been lost. Now, this doesn't mean that we shouldn't ask for what we want and need. Perhaps too much information here, but my pelvis is tilted, and my G-spot is not located in a typical place. I commented last night that I thought that had kept our sex life interesting--we have to work to keep things interesting; the one position that stimulates MY G-spot, would get very boring if that's all we did. However, there is something to be said for a certain mechanical aspect to sex these days. Just watch some porn. It's ALL pretty bad, and aside from the absence of that oh so enchanting bam-chicka-wah-wah music, it seems that the purpose isn't to enjoy sex, it's to see how many positions we can come up with on marble fireplaces and stairs. Aside from the ouch factor, I have to ask, what's the point? Sex should be an act of joy; NOT an olympic event. |
|
If men are becoming more and more disinterested in women - and the increasing number of homosexuals is proof of it . That's it! That's why gays are gay! Because women have come into sexual liberation and have all their wares on display! This is a revelation ladies! : ) Okay, but with all seriousness. A man once told me once that a woman singing in a jazz bar with a long red dress was sexier than any chick that would have been standing there naked. |
|
At the risk of being considered irretrievably old-fashioned, I cannot conceive of love as a form of Swedish gymnastics or a cooking recipe to be followed faithfully from a book. For one thing, she's confusing sex and love. Two different topics, and two totally different approaches. And the last time I checked, Sweden wasn't real high on the world gymnastics rankings. Now, if it comes to Russian gymnasts teaching how to ride a "pommel horse" <snicker>, I'll definitely listen. Those girls are flexible. As for the seductiveness of clothing vs nudity, she's got a half-truth kicking around in there. A woman in garters and a bra will be seen much more attractive than one who is fully naked. However, "the shy virgin in a long-sleeved nightdress of the Victorian era seems to me the more seductive" is completely wrong. People fantasize about Catholic schoolgirls, honey. Not the nuns. |
|
Besides, if women continue to take the initiative and use men to arrive an their ends, who knows whether, as the men become less and less consenting, someone will not eventually offer for sale a gadget, "AC-DC" or even transistorized, for "liberated women"?
Is she foreshadowing the invention of a vibrator? |
|
Lovely... that is hilarious. True, though that modesty has been lost. I've known some men to not go out on a second 'date' with a woman because she kept her pants on throughout the first. I'm all for trying the merchandise before buying into it long term, but not immediately! I used to have delusions of being swept off of my feet by a romance novel like hero... but I think that may have something to do with reading romance novels all throughout middle school. TheUsualSuspect, the vibrator has actually been around since the 1800s and was sometimes 'perscribed' to get rid of "Hysteria" which amounts to being more than likely just PMS. There was even a model sold through the Sears in 1918, for a mere $5.95. |
|
|
Wow, someone research vibrators much? |
As a member you can:
- Start a journal to ask for advice, share stories, or just vent.
- Join groups to meet moms with similar interests and issues.
- Stay in touch with friends and reconnect with old friends.
- Personalize your homepage - express yourself!
