The Sweetness of Venus - A History of the Clitoris

Today I am lucky enough to interview Sarah Chadwick, author of “The Sweetness of Venus”. She is passionate about sex equality, gender studies, humor and learning. Her book is dedicated to: “This book is for all those who have a clitoris, or the opportunity to engage with one.” Why she wrote this book! You talk about how the clitoris is lost and found and lost and found throughout documented history. “17th-century under-the-table narrative about sex has a strong emphasis on mutual pleasure that is noticeably lacking in many of today’s sex-ed books and in too many sex-ed classes.” Why don’t we tell girls and boys about this aspect of a woman’s anatomy? We discuss the female condition of being frigid – now we have a medical disorder if we don’t orgasm with PIV sex. In 1994 U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jocelyn Elders suggested sex should be mentioned as safe and healthy in school curricula. In answer to a question at the UN Conference on AIDS as to whether she thought teaching about masturbation in schools might reduce unsafe sex, she replied: “I think that is something that is part of human sexuality and it’s part of something that should perhaps be taught. But we’ve not even taught our children the very basics.” She was forced to resign by Bill Clinton as a consequence.” 1966 – The sexually adequate female “Frank S. Caprio, M.D., recommends “psychiatric assistance” for any woman who prefers clitoral stimulation to other forms of sexual activity. ” How did views about female morality come to be bound up with women’s sexuality? How is sharing this on social media going? Are we allowed to say clitoris? Can you talk about the American versus UK approach to menopause care? Our emphasis on “natural” and the pressure to be “natural” https://www.instagram.com/its.personalgirls/ The Sweetness of Venus: A History of the Clitoris Sarah Chadwick https://amzn.to/3ppAzd5 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kj-casperson/message Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices