Thursday, September 1, 2011

Kink: A Straight Girl's Investigation, by Stephanie Clifford-Smith

Description from Amazon.com:

From bondage parties and peeping toms to plushies and foot worshippers, one woman's sometimes mind-boggling, mostly hilarious, always fascinating investigation into sexual fetishes.

Turned on by something unusual? Interview subjects required for ultra-confidential research into fetishes. Call Sandra.

Stephanie Clifford-Smith was fascinated by fetishes. She wondered what happens the first time someone with a sexual fetish shares it with their lover? Do they risk their lover running screaming from the room by asking to lick their eyeballs? Or do they find some oblique way of bringing it up—perhaps when they're struggling with a stray eyelash? Or is it easier to just go behind their back and find a willing partner on the internet? Are sexual fetishes widespread, or are they only the domain of a kinky minority? And how has kinkdom changed over time? So Stephanie assumes an identity, puts an ad in the local paper, and sets off to find out for herself. She infiltrates the scene, goes to bondage parties, and watches grown men as they have their diapers changed. She thought nothing could shock her, but she was wrong.


Amazon lists this book as being available only in Paperback format.  I own it in paperback.  I bought it at Dymocks.

This is an okay book.  First of all, let me warn you, if you are already kinky then perhaps not much in this book will shock you.  I was only shocked twice, and I've been actively kinky for ten years.  I had heard of all of the kinks Clifford-Smith investigates, but perhaps not to the extent she describes them.  Even the kinks I'm not into myself, I found her writing of them enlightening.  Clifford-Smith is also quite amusing - I was laughing out loud at certain points!

Mostly I found that this book would be a great one to give to Vanillas, to introduce them to the idea of "alternative sexuality".  It might be a good "shock absorber", in that if you are into something relatively "tame", such as domestic discipline for example, then giving this book to your vanilla partner could possibly open their eyes to the fact that your kink isn't all that out there, compared to some others.  After all, Kinky is Relative!

Overall, as a primer for vanillas entering kink, I'd have to give it four cocks.  But for existing kinksters, it might be just a little bit tame.

EDIT:  Just re-read it.  Have to admit, upon re-reading, the author comes off as even more whiny and self-absorbed.  She lets a lot of her own personal prejudice get in the way of her writing, which, as a journalist, she really shouldn't be allowed to do.  She even gets a little too into the scene and runs away scared, which really turned me off.  Come on, girl, can't you take a little dog sex in your little vanilla world?

Overall, I'm changing my review.  I had given it three cocks, but I'm going to have to change it to 2.5 cocks.  Not good enough, Ms Clifford-Smith.  Leave your squicks at the door, please.


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