Hannah Frith

Orgasmic Bodies: The Orgasm in Contemporary Western Culture Hannah Frith 1st ed. 2015 edition

Marc Notes: Engaging both with science and popular culture, this book examines the meanings given to orgasmic bodies in contemporary heterosex. Starting from the assumption that orgasm is not a 'natural' or pre-social experience, the book argues that the meaning of 'orgasmic experience' must be learned - sometimes through explicit pedagogical instruction which is wrapped up in gendered ideologies. Biographical Note: Hannah Frith teaches critical psychology at the University of Brighton, UK. Her research examines interrelationships between identity, embodiment and sexuality, including negotiating sexual refusals, clothed identities, a changed appearance, the mediation of dying, and makeover television. She co-edited Critical bodies: Representations, identities and practices of weight and body management (Palgrave Macmillan). Table of Contents: 1. What Is An Orgasm... And Why Does It Matter?2. The Orgasmic Imperative3. Complicated Women, Straightforward Men4. Coming Together: The Timing Of Orgasm5. Orgasmic Labour: Training The Body For Orgasmic Success6. Performing Orgasm: Blurring The 'Real' And The 'Fake'7. Embodying Orgasmic Sensation8. The Climax: Conclusions And ReflectionsEndnotesPublisher Marketing: Orgasmic Bodies explores how bodily experiences of orgasm are worked up as present/absent, complicated/straightforward, too slow/too fast, fake or real, in the doing of masculinities and femininities. Engaging with both science and popular culture it examines the meanings given to orgasmic bodies in contemporary heterosex.