Hart included The She-Devils by Pierre Louÿs, a friend of Claude Debussy’s who wrote book-length erotica from 1896 until 1917. (Louÿs didn’t make the Guardian’s 2005 list of “the top 10 sexy French books.“) Susan Sontag said that Louÿs’ book is “one of the handful of erotic works that achieve true literary status.” There’s an on-line catalogue of his works. Over the years, artists have provided some great illustrations for his books. Here’s an example from a book of poems called Pibrac. Here are some more pics by various artists.
Probably the best known work by Louÿs is his sapphic Songs of Bilitis (available on-line), an edition of which was illustrated by a Hungarian artist named Willy Pogany. Louÿs initially passed off Bilitis as the long-lost poems of one of Sappho’s courtesan friends.
Eric Berkowitz’s new book on the history ofSex and Punishment: “Berkowitz, a lawyer-cum-journalist, has used both his skills to extremely good effect. … Early on, when comparing Mosaic law with that of the earlier Middle Assyrians, and noting almost identical concern about what should happen if a woman attacks a man’s balls when fighting, Berkowitz observes that Deuteronomy was not necessarily dictated by God, but that “it appears that this Hebrew law was a reflection of a regional testicle fixation”.”
A collection of French surrealist texts on sex: “At one point, a heated debate takes place on the desirability of having sex with women who can’t speak French. In the end, all that’s established is that any consensus on these matters is impossible.”
Nava Renek reviews The Unbearables Big Book of Sex: “The book is roughly divided into thematic sections; it moves from the human condition, reflected in sex, to the mundanity of the act, to the opposite of erotica, deviant behavior, sexual violence, some verse, and finally essays about sex or sexual behavior.”
What do Swedes read? Elfriede Jelinek. “The novel runs wild and rampant, spilling sex into every crevice. It’s not a dirty book—it’s filthy. And while this is the opposite of the primness in some recent American fiction, it isn’t exactly the opposite of troubling.”
“The third and fullest section is devoted to ‘The satyr’s scene and Tasso’s Aminta‘, and is divided into three chapters. The first treats of the ‘return of the satyr’ and opens with a survey of this figure in the realm of the visual arts …. The second chapter treats of ‘Decorum and licence at court’, opening with the bronzes of fauns and satyrs owned by the Este family …. The third, and longest, chapter treats of ‘the satyr on stage’ and is an impressive analysis of this theme, from Giraldi’s Egle to Beccari’s Il sacrificio, Lollio’s Aretusa, and Argenti’s Lo sfortunato with their individual combinations of decorum and licence; [Fabio] Finotti closes with Tasso’s Aminta.”
After ‘The Mason Satyr’ by Agostino Carracci (c. 1578)
Aminta by Torquato Tasso (1573): “The closest Tasso come to license is the Satyr’s near-rape of Silvia (reported by Tirsi). But Silvia is saved by Aminta. In the end, although the lovers have been brought together, they will wait for the permission of Montano, Silvia’s father, before completing their bliss.”
“Taking Positions is an innovative exploration of the place of the erotic in Renaissance art and culture …. [Bette] Talvacchia explores how sixteenth-century discourse used the terms onesto and disonesto–roughly analogous to the terms natural and unnatural in Catholic teachings about sexual sin–to distinguish between the erotic and the obscene. … She shows how explicit sexual representation was legitimized with a cover of ancient mythology.”
Cupid, Satyr and the Golden Age: “The book concerns the comparative exegesis and the narratologic analysis of major dramatic scenes from three pastoral tragicomedies: Tasso’s Aminta, Guarini’s Pastor Fido, and Antoine de Montchrestien’s Bergerie.”
“The nonverbal behavior of women toward men according to their menstrual cycle has not been previously explored. In this study, the gait of women walking ahead a male confederate was recorded with the help of a spy-camera. … Comparisons were performed according to the women’s ovulation phase measured with an LH salivary test. Near ovulation, it was found that women walked slower and their gait was subjectively rated as sexier.“
“This article looks at the position of the drag king in Hungarian lesbian culture. It focuses on Bandage, Socks and Facial Hair (2006), a documentary about a drag king workshop. The film documents the historical moment when the Hungarian workshop participants encounter the drag king as a lesbian tool for parodying and repoliticizing mainstream masculinity.”
“Traumatic penile amputation is a rare condition requiring urgent surgical consultation with almost immediate surgical intervention. … These injuries are penetrating in nature, usually occur with the organ flaccid and most are self-inflicted by mentally unstable patients. … This report describes penile replantation in a 24-year old mentally challenged patient using 4.5× loupe-magnification to restore a functional, fully erectile penis without tissue loss and a 20-year problem free follow-up.”
“Research has shown men and women of all ages and sexual orientations to use the Internet for sexual purposes. For example, the Internet is used to access pornography, to find sex-related information, to purchase sexual merchandise, and to find partners for romance and sex. … The purpose of this chapter is to provide the reader with an empirical and theoretical overview of the first 15 years of research in the field of Internet sexuality.”
But the characters in this Dr. Seuss book are nude: “In 1939, when [Theodor] Geisel [aka Dr. Seuss] left Vanguard for Random House, he had one condition for his new publisher, Bennett Cerf—that he would let Geisel do an “adult” book first. The result was The Seven Lady Godivas: The True Facts Concerning History’s Barest Family.”
Doonesbury banned: “Young woman arrives for her pre-termination sonogram, is told to take a seat in the shaming room, a middle-aged male state legislator will be right with her.”
““It was five or six years ago that I first began to notice more elderly men were going to soaplands,” the unnamed artist, a resident of Tokyo’s former licensed brothel quarters for over half a century, tells Sunday Mainichi (Jan. 29). “At one shop near Ueno, I’d say about 60 percent of the customers are seniors.”
Lezard on Violette Leduc’s Thérèse and Isabelle: “So we are, in fact, a long way from pornography, although perhaps not too far from what pornography (written pornography, that is) tries to do: which is to make us believe in plausible minds behind the genitals, so that there is some agency behind the act. Anaïs Nin, obliged to write porn to make ends meet, had a natural instinct to make it more “artistic”; here, the art is the point. And it’s funny how the people who do this kind of thing best are the French.”
From the FAQ section at Science Cheerleader: “The Science Cheerleaders are professional cheerleaders pursuing science careers who playfully challenge stereotypes, turn everyone onto science by encouraging participation in citizen science activities, and inspire the 3-4 million U.S. cheerleaders to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and math.”
“Now, thanks to The Icelandic Phallological Museum, it is finally possible for individuals to undertake serious study into the field of phallology in an organized, scientific fashion. The Icelandic Phallological Museum contains a collection of more than two hundred and fifteen penises and penile parts belonging to almost all the land and sea mammals that can be found in Iceland.”
On Ken Russell’s Lisztomania (1975): “The girls tear and claw at Liszt, who whips a harp from out of nowhere [and] … inspires them to summon out his trouser snake with a sweet siren’s song. Their lilting calls yield totally unexpected results as Liszt’s member expands and expands, finally ending up at a length of about ten feet.” Liszt is played by Roger Daltrey, the Pope is played by Ringo Starr. Somehow, Wagner and Hitler also get into this movie. Here’s a frame that I copied from the previously linked Cine-Miscreant:
The Rhine maidens in "Lisztomania"
“After outlining Marcuse’s theory of the role of Eros in social life, I discuss two pornographic Web sites that combine eroticism and social critique. I argue that Marcuse’s work is valuable for its emphasis on the intersection of sex, technology, and capitalist economy, but that it needs to be supplemented by a focus on masculinity and the male body in Internet pornography.”
“Jacobs describes an experiment in which she and a group of her students went to a Starbucks coffeehouse in Shenzhen to search for sexually explicit media on the Internet. The aim was to see what they could access through mainland China’s Great Firewall. “We were there for 30 minutes and we found all this porn using an Internet connection in a public space.” Pornography has been officially banned in China since the foundation of the People’s Republic in 1949. …
Subcultures of user-generated or DIY pornography have evolved on the Internet as a result.”
From Dyan Elliott’s The Bride of Christ Goes to Hell: Metaphor and Embodiment in the Lives of Pious Women, 200-1500: “The impact of Bernardine spirituality among the early Beguine mystics provides the impetus for a sensual, embodied, and ultimately eroticized bride of Christ. The tendency to express this spirituality somatically perhaps culminates in the matrimonial embellishments of later pious widows such as Bridget of Sweden and Dorothea of Montau.”
Karmen MacKendrick: “It is hard to see how one might have an obligation to others to feel the bite and burn of a well-wielded whip …. It is just as hard to see how it makes sense to say that one could have the right, just for oneself, to be broken out of that self, slammed against the sturdy boundaries of the ego until they break. … This shattering, exteriorizing intensity is an otherness that arises from within the focus on the body and its pleasures. … We, at least since Leopold von Sacher-Masoch first eyed the Lives of the Martyrs … have been inspired by images of the saints: Teresa, unspeakably joyous as the cherub’s arrow pierces her entrails; … Sebastian, serene with his multiple arrow-piercings; Catherine stretched and broken on the wheel.”
“Although neither Severin nor his creator [Sacher-Masoch] appears in David Ives’s wildly intelligent and sometimes frightening new play, “Venus in Fur” (at the Classic Stage Company), it helps to have some knowledge of the novel and its author …. This sexual roundelay about power and powerlessness, about the imagination butting up against so-called “reality,” is played out by two contemporary characters.” That review’s a couple of years old.
Have you seen the article in the Atlantic about Jaroslav Flegr’s work, which links schizophrenia and car crashes to a brain parasite that we can get from cats? According to that article, male rats that have the parasite behave in more risky and even self-destructive ways and are more attractive to female rats than the more prudent males are. Well, now the folks at Improbable Research have linked to another of Flegr’s papers, which is called “Dominance, submissivity (and homosexuality) in general population. Testing of evolutionary hypothesis of sadomasochism by internet-trap-method,” (here’s the pdf of that paper).
“Subcutaneous Penile Insertion of Domino Fragments by Incarcerated Males in Southwest United States Prisons: A Report of Three Cases: … In each case, an incarcerated Hispanic male or fellow inmate filed a domino into a unique shape for placement under the penile skin. Utilizing the tip of a ballpoint pen or a sharpened shard of plastic to create a puncture wound, each man inserted the domino fragment into the subcutaneous tissue of the penis. … Conclusions: Incarcerated males put themselves at risk for injury and infection when attempting penile enhancement with improvised equipment.” (via Improbable Research)
“The distinction drew a line between sex and gender. Sex referred to the reproductive categories of male and female, and it was a useful biological concept, applicable to humans, nonhuman animals, and plants. Gender, on the other hand, indicates the socially constructed roles, behaviors, and traits of male and female. … The French philosopher Michel Foucault set the agenda when he lamented … that “the notion of sex made it possible to group together, in an artificial unity, anatomical elements, biological functions, conducts, sensations, and pleasures, and it enabled one to make use of this fictitious unity as a causal principle.”"
Nijinsky as the Faun about to pounce on a nymph's scarf
“Barmaid’s risqué outfits cause gender divide in Italian town: … The female mayor of the town has called the 34-year-old barmaid a threat to public order, because her miniskirts, high heels and skimpy tops are drawing male customers from up to 70 miles away, who clog up the nearby streets with their cars and park illegally.”
Here’s a kinky scene from the 1963 film of Jean Genet’s The Balcony. The cast included Peter Falk, Leonard Nimoy, and Shelley Winters. The actors in this scene are Ruby Dee and Peter Brocco.
“Reframing sexual differentiation of the brain: … The dominant model of sexual differentiation stated that genetic sex (XX versus XY) causes differentiation of the gonads, which then secrete gonadal hormones that act directly on tissues to induce sex differences in function. This serial model of sexual differentiation was simple, unifying and seductive. Recent evidence, however, indicates that the linear model is incorrect and that sex differences arise in response to diverse sex-specific signals originating from inherent differences in the genome and involve cellular mechanisms that are specific to individual tissues or brain regions.”
“Disrobing Associated with Epileptic Seizures and Forensic Implications: … Two cases involving disrobing associated with seizures …. An additional case reveals the legal consequences endured by one patient who experienced a nocturnal seizure and began wandering in an unclothed state. Collectively, these cases illustrate the medical reality of seizure-related disrobing and the related adverse effects on patients’ quality of life.”
“Sex Differences in Sports Across 50 Societies: … In all 50 societies with documented sports, there were more male sports than female sports; hunting and combat sports were almost exclusively male activities; and the sex difference in sports was greater in patriarchal than in non-patriarchal societies. These results show that a robust sex difference in direct physical competition co-occurs with meaningful variation in its expression.”
“The origins of [circumcision] are lost in antiquity. It was performed since 3000 BC by the Egyptians for hygienic and religious reasons. … Nowadays, circumcision is performed as a routine procedure by the Jews and the Muslims for religious reasons. The world prevalence of men with circumcision is 12.5-33%, especially in USA, Canada, Islamic people and Africa; in Europe the prevalence rate is low (in Great Britain it is 1.5%).”
“Ethical and Legal Implications of Sex Robot: An Islamic Perspective: … This study first review the state of the art in sex robot and its associated ethical and legal issues. Secondly the issue is evaluated from Islamic perspective together with position of Islamic law (Shariah) towards the deployment of robot in sexual activities. The social effect of robot sex to the institution of marriage in particular is examined.”
“Swede shocked by backyard elk ‘threesome’: … While he’s used to seeing elk get tipsy from eating fermented apples, Lundgren said he was wholly unprepared to have a front row seat at an elk sex show taking place in his backyard. “I’d never seen anything like it. Not with elk, at least,” he said. … “An older bull would never try to mount a cow in a wide-open residential backyard at this time of year,” [said Pär Grängstedt, researcher at the Grimsö research station].”
On Magnus Hirschfeld: “This article considers the two major biographies of sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld, MD (1868—1935), an early campaigner for ‘gay rights’ avant la lettre. Like him, his first biographer Charlotte Wolff (1897—1986) was a Jewish doctor who lived and worked in Weimar Republic Berlin and fled Germany when the Nazi regime came to power.”
Berlin’s Lesbische frauen — on a 1920′s guide to Berlin’s lesbian clubs: “Equally chic, but definitely more late-night was Le Garconne on Kalkreuthstrasse, owned by Susi Wanowski, the former wife of a Berlin Chief of Police but now the lover and manager of Wiemar-era wild-child, Anita Berber.”
Some info about Berber in a clip from Berlin — Metropolis of Vice:
“The Man Who Started the Sexual Revolution”: “Twenty years later, his curia-like Vienna Psychoanalytical Society was attracting a new generation of followers after the war, among them an impecunious student from the provinces, Wilhelm Reich.”
“Verfolgt takes place in present-day Hamburg and tells a story about fairly ordinary people under extraordinary circumstances. It shows their discovery of sadomasochism – gritty, awkward, human, unpretentious, and ardent.”
Guide to 150 NY brothels in the 19th Century: “Only this palm-sized book, published in 1870 and long hidden away at the New-York Historical Society, did not confine its anonymous critique to the quality of wines or the ambience of the 150 establishments listed between its covers. Rather, it defined its role as delivering “insight into the character and doings of people whose deeds are carefully screened from public view.””
Addresses of 135 San Francisco brothels in 1937: “The San Francisco Examiner reported in March 1937 that private investigator Edwin Atherton, hired by the city to investigate police graft, delivered a list of 135 long-term brothels, called “resorts,” to the Grand Jury investigation police corruption, finding bordellos in neighborhoods from South of Market to North Beach.”
Image from here. “Workers restoring a medieval communal fount … in the Tuscan town of Massa Marittima discovered a curious mural hidden behind a whitewash layer. It depicts a tree heavily laden with … phalluses under which eight or nine women stand in various poses and large black birds fly. Experts think the fresco dates to 1265 …. The experts who carried out the restoration have been accused of sanitising the mural by scrubbing out or altering some of the testicles, which hang from the tree’s branches along with around 25 phalluses. “Many parts of the work seem to have been arbitrarily repainted,” said Gabriele Galeotti, a town councillor who has called for an investigation after seeing the finished work.”
“Albrecht Classen argues in his recent monograph that the chastity belt is nothing more than a myth that has been propagated throughout the centuries. To prove his point, Classen meticulously retraces the making of this myth by carefully reading the relevant secondary literature dealing with the chastity belt literature that dates from the eighteenth century onward.”
Scene from ‘Up the Chastity Belt’ (1971)
“Gerald [of Wales] sexualizes this bond between the Irish and their culturally revered beasts, insisting that through coitus with their livestock Irishmen had engendered numerous man-animal hybrids, Hibernian minotaurs. … Gerald also wrote of a woman who had sex with a lion and another who lay with a goat. So great was his distaste for the subject that he even illustrated the bestial encounters in prurient detail.”
Tony Perrottet on the Vatican’s pornographic bathroom: “Like his peers, Bibbiena was entranced by the ribald pagan imagery that was being unearthed in Imperial Roman ruins. He asked his friend Raphael to decorate his lodgings in the fashionable classical style, complete with naked nymphs being spied upon by lusting satyrs, with no anatomical detail hidden. Subsequent residents of the Vatican Palace were unimpressed.”
“One was the burial of a female, with which archaeologists found a bag of 17 dice. It was prohibited for women to play dice in the Medieval era, so … she may have been a prostitute, buried with a symbol of immorality. The other burial … may have been that of a witch. … Seven curved nails, each about 4cm long, were found in her mouth. In addition, 13 more nails were found in an outline around her body, which the archaeologists suggest reflect her being nailed to the ground by her clothing.”
Hildegard of Bingen’s 12th-century description of orgasm: “When a woman is making love with a man, a sense of heat in her brain, which brings forth with it sensual delight, communicates the taste of that delight during the act and summons forth the emission of the man’s seed. And when the seed has fallen into its place, that vehement heat descending from her brain draws the seed to itself and holds it.”
“The inquisitional register of Jacques Fournier from the years 1318-1325 … reaches far beyond the topic of heresy. It encompasses various details about the common life, including sexuality and sexual morals. This case study reconsiders the normdeviation model on the basis of four Fournier’s trials dealing with sexual morals: that of Beatrix of Lagleize, Peter Vidal, Arnold of Verniolles, and Grazida Lizier. Sexual morals of these four people are certainly very different from the morals required by Jacques Fournier.“
At Abebooks, Beth Carswell lists “7 erotica books that are actually good.” 
Brooke Magnanti’s 
“Reexamining Weimar Germany via the Politics of Prostitution”
