Bonk by Mary Roach: book review

 1/28/11 update: I reviewed Bonk with great enthusiasm in 11/08. I've just started listening to the audiobook in the car, and it's so much fun that I had to bring back this review, in case you missed it the first time.


Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach is the most entertaining -- and, in a madcap way, the most informative -- book I’ve read in years. Filled with the weirdness of both the procedures and findings of sex research, Bonk combines arcane details with amazing facts and research tools (e.g. the “penis-camera).

Regale your friends with anecdotes from this book, and you’ll be the life of the party – as long as the party is filled with open-minded friends who enjoy zany details about sex.

Mary Roach writes in a clever, often hilarious style, which makes her books a pleasure to read, whether she’s writing about cadavers (Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers ), the afterlife (Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife), or, in this case, sex. My copy quickly became spotted with Post-Its as I read, marking passages I simply had to tell you about, but numbering an impossible 45 markers by the time I finished.

Here’s just a small sampling of the facts I learned:

Princess Marie Bonaparte (great-grand-niece of Napoleon) blamed her inability to orgasm during intercourse on the fact that her clitoris was three centimeters away from her vagina. She did her own research in 1924 with a ruler and interviews and discovered that “téléclitoridiennes,” women with more than 2.5 centimeters between clitoris and vagina, were incapable of orgasm during intercourse. So she employed a surgeon to relocate her clitoris. (No, sorry, it didn’t work for her.)

Women don’t like men’s cologne, according to their rate of vaginal blood flow. The scent of men’s cologne actually reduced vaginal blood flow, as did the smell of charcoal-barbecue meat. Oddly, what increased vaginal blood flow the most (by 13%) was a mixture of cucumber and Good’n’ Plenty candy. Hmmm.

[describing one of many sex machine inventions:] “The motor housing is the size of a lunchbox and is raised on one end, like a slide projector. A flesh-colored phallus on a stick slides quietly in and out. The erotic appeal seems limited. It would be like dating a corn dog.”

[describing another sex machine invention, called “Therapeutic Apparatus for Relieving Sexual Frustrations in Women Without Sex Partners”:] “At the base of the penial assembly was a wide, black, wiry cuff of fur-like or hair-like material. For the partnerless woman who wants not only the ultimate climax or orgasm, but also the feeling that she is having sex with a shoe buffer.”

You’ll learn about “uterine upsuck” in pigs and how Danish farmers increased their pigs’ fertility by sexually stimulating their sows to “upsuck” the semen better. Why it rarely worked to use an MRI to study couples having sex. How porn stars make extra money by having their orifices replicated into plaster casts which are then used for sex dolls. And what Mary Roach and her husband did in full view of scientists to further sex research.

Some of the most intriguing diversions are found in the footnotes. Did you know that Victorian gynecologists and urologists wouldn’t look at the nether parts of the women they were examining? Can you guess why men land in emergency rooms when they can’t remove their improvised cock rings? Or the strangest foreign objects that have been removed from rectums? (I can’t decide whether to vote for the frozen pig tail or the spectacles.)

I highly recommend Bonk for your own delight and as gifts for your sex-minded friends.

[Read my interview with Mary Roach here.]

Do you have a G-spot?

Do you have a G-spot? I do -- or at least I think so, a particularly sensitive spongy spot that, coupled with clitoral stimulation, helps take me to the moon. A recent British study says I probably don't have one, and if you don't think you do, don't worry about it.

Actually, I'm not worried. As Dr. Petra Boynton says in her astute blog post today that's as smart as it is entertaining -- "Where have all the g spots gone?":

It’s pretty simple. Women are diverse. Some of us really enjoy vaginal stimulation by finger, penis, sex toy (or other item). Some women prefer clitoral, anal, breast or other stimulation. Research that tells us we should focus exclusively on one spot or ignore it completely does little to reassure us or enhance our sex lives.

We're all different, and other than the brain and clitoris being our #1 and #2 pleasure organs (in that order), we all experience sexual pleasure a bit differently, sometimes a lot differently. Maybe, Boynton suggests, the G-spot has become the subject of so much media attention because "as any journalist will tell you it’s much easier to get a g spot past your editor than mention the clitoris."

In this study, "Genetic and environmental influences on self reported g spots in women: A twin study," soon to be published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine,1875 women, aged 22-83 with a mean age of 55, answered questions about sex in a mailed questionnaire. Women were asked about their sexual practices and activity, and how frequently they experienced orgasm during intercourse and through masturbation.

The study used twins because, supposedly, if the G-spot is truly genetic, then both twins would report having one, which apparently did not happen. Does that mean they don't, though? I didn't get in touch  (so to speak) with mine, if indeed I do have one, until a digitally dexterous lover pointed it out (again, so to speak) to me. Did these twins share lovers?

I was surprised to learn that only the answers of heterosexual women who engaged in vaginal intercourse were counted -- why was that? 71 lesbian and bisexual women were excluded "because of the common use of digital stimulation among these women, which may bias the results." Wait a minute. Can't we learn the most about the elusive G-spot from women whose primary sexual expression is digital? I'm confused.

For me, the bottom line is this: Whether the G-spot exists or not, I hope you're enjoying yours!

Don't miss this spoof from the Daily Mash, MEN WHO CARE ABOUT THE G-SPOT ARE A MYTH, SAY EXPERTS.

Thank you, Dr. Petra Boynton -- researcher, sex educator, and "agony aunt" -- for your blog post that spurred mine, and for the diagram above.

“I am not easily repulsed”: interview with Mary Roach

Mary Roach writes books on weird scientific research about subjects we’ve all wondered about. She is the author of Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, and – her latest and my favorite – Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex. I’ve long enjoyed Roach’s quirky style that often has me chortling as I read. Reading a whole book about my favorite topic (sex, not cadavers) was delicious.

In a separate blog post, I've reviewed Bonk and quoted delightful tidbits that will send you running to read the book and give it to all your friends. Here with my interview with the author, Mary Roach:


JP: As cool-headed and sharp-witted as you are, some parts of your research must have embarrassed or repulsed you. What do you wish you had never done or learned, and why? Tell the truth!

MR: As readers of Stiff have probably figured out, I am not easily repulsed. At least not by the physical. I am repulsed by close-mindedness, petty hatred, greed, intolerance, ignorance. But not penises or vaginas or sex. But bear in mind, I was hanging out in sex labs, not fringe sex clubs South of Market. Honestly, it's pretty tame stuff. Embarrassment-wise, well, there was the Dr. Deng scenario. Ed and I were scanned in 4-D ultrasound in the act. That was awkward, for sure, but I knew how much fun it was going to be to write it up, and so it hardly bothered me. Mostly, I felt guilty for dragging my husband into the fray.


JP: What have you seen or learned since you finished the book that you wish you could have included?

MR: Oh, people are always emailing me or coming up to me at talks and dropping all manner of irresistible tidbits that I wish I'd known about while working on the book. One man raised his hand and said, "Are you aware of the phenomenon of surfing sperm?" Apparently they surf the secretions on the vaginal walls. Another man, a gynecologist now in his seventies, emailed to tell me a story that William Masters had told him about meeting a bishop or cardinal, I forget which. His Holiness had asked to hear about the research Masters and Johnson were doing. He listened quite intently, and when Masters had finished speaking, he said, "Very good. Your work might serve to prevent a lot of divorces. Of course, if I am asked about it in public, I will condemn you." Would have loved to include those!


JP: My blog is directed at older readers (most are 60-80) who are interested in sex. What did you learn specific to elder sex, aside from Viagra? If little or nothing, can you talk about why you think scientific research is NOT being done on elder sex, other than taking surveys? Is it the "ick factor," as I call it?

MR: There was a large survey that was published not long ago about frequency of sex and satisfaction levels among people over 75, I think it was. The problem, as I recall it, was that so many of the women at that age were widows. I didn't cover this because as you know it's a book about laboratory-based sex research -- the physiological stuff: arousal and orgasm and such. Rather than the behavioral issues. I cover the two physiological old-age biggies -- erectile dysfunction in men and libido issues in women. I had wanted to include a chapter specifically on sex in the upper reaches of old age, but physiologically speaking, it seemed to be a matter of degree, rather than unique issues. In other words, more ED and lower libido... I don't think of sex researchers as people who easily succumb to the ick factor -- my god, look at Marcalee Sipski and her orgasm work with quadriplegics. If they were, they wouldn't have gotten into arousal and orgasm research in the first place. Then again, I think old age is actually more of a taboo than sex these days, so perhaps it is the ick factor that keeps researchers away.


JP: What's the most unusual experience you had while promoting this book? I imagine people came up to you and told you all sorts of things you'd rather not know.

MR: Call-in radio shows are always entertaining. The DJs will often bill me as a therapist or a researcher, and then open up the lines and say, "We'll be taking ALL your questions on sex!" And I'm in the studio with this panicked look, mouthing NOOOOOO! Because I'm a writer -- I only know about what I wrote about in the book. I don't know, say, whether it's a myth that the Hoo-ha tribe in the Amazon has blue testicles or what the best natural alternative to Viagra is. People do come up after readings and confide all manner of intimate things. It doesn't bother me. I guess I'm used to it. I just wish I had better answers for them.


JP: What's the next book (if you've decided)?

MR: Yes, I'm writing about the fabulous insanity of space travel, of staying alive in a world for which we are utterly ill-equipped. Lots of fun aeromedical history stuff, field trips to Moscow and the Japanese Space Agency, etc.


[Read my review of Mary Roach's Bonk here.]

ABC: Seniors Get It On

There's a terrific interview on ABC News with sex therapist Laura Berman, LCSW, Ph.D., about the New England Journal of Medicine study. Berman gives an overview of the findings and comments on the important messages, such as the importance of sex throughout life, medical implications, and resources for help.

I loved the many visuals of older people hugging, kissing, and smiling romantically at each other. Ah, it's about time we got to see this reality! Check it out. (You may have to navigate several obtrusive ads as you try to view the video clip.)

New England Journal of Medicine: Seniors having sex despite "bothersome problems"

When the news splashed all over the media today that older adults are, indeed, having sex, my first reaction was to laugh and say, "Duhhh!" The idea that senior sex is alive seemed to me as much a news story as the revelation that most people find feet at the end of their legs!

But there was much more to the story. "A Study of Sexuality and Health among Older Adults in the United States," published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, was a major study of 3005 U.S. adults (1550 women and 1455 men) 57 to 85 years of age which revealed some fascinating facts and a few surprises:

The majority of older adults are sexually active and regard sexuality as an important part of life. The prevalence of sexual activity declines with age, yet a substantial number of men and women engage in vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and masturbation even in the eighth and ninth decades of life.

The frequency of sexual activity reported by sexually active older adults (age 57+) is similar to the frequency reported among adults 18 to 59 years of age.

The study reported that 78% of men 75 to 85 years of age, as compared with 40% of women in this age group, had a spousal or intimate relationship. Since women live longer, and on average, older men marry younger women, this disparity can be accounted for by the lack of available men for the older single women.

The sexually active people in the oldest age group interviewed -- 75 to 85 years of age -- reported having sex at least two to three times per month, and 23% reported having sex once a week or more.

About half of the sexually active men and women reported at least one "bothersome sexual problem," and almost one third reported having multiple problems. The women's most prevalent sexual problems were low desire, difficulty with vaginal lubrication, inability to climax, finding sex not pleasurable , and pain, usually during entry. The most prevalent sexual problems for men were erectile difficulty (14% of all men interviewed reported using medication or supplements to improve sexual function), lack of interest in sex, climaxing too quickly, anxiety about performance, and inability to climax.

About one quarter of sexually active older adults with a sexual problem reported avoiding sex as a consequence.

Most surprising, given the extent of these problems that prevented sex from being satisfying or pleasurable, was this fact:

Only 38% of men and 22% of women reported having discussed sex with a physician since the age of 50.

The study suggests that the reasons for poor communication include the unwillingness of both patients and physicians to talk about sex and the gender and age differences between patients and their physicians.

Negative societal attitudes about women’s sexuality and sexuality at older ages may also inhibit such discussions.

When I give workshops and talks, both women and men frequently bring up physical problems that affect their sexuality and want me to provide a solution. I always say, "Please get a diagnosis from your doctor." I emphasize that the problem may be caused by retreating hormones, or by an underlying health condition that you don't know you have, or a medication, or interactions of medications. You can't treat a problem until you know what's causing it.

As the NEJM article states,

Sexual problems may be a warning sign or consequence of a serious underlying illness such as diabetes, an infection, urogenital tract conditions, or cancer. Undiagnosed or untreated sexual problems, or both, can lead to or occur with depression or social withdrawal. Patients may discontinue needed medications because of side effects that affect their sex lives, and medications to treat sexual problems can also have negative health effects, yet physician–patient communication about sexuality is poor.

I invite your comments!