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Vagina: A New Biography

by Naomi Wolf (Goodreads Author)

3.49 of 5 stars 3.49 · rating details · 490 ratings · 127 reviews

An astonishing work of cutting-edge science and cultural history that radically reframes how we understand the vagina—and consequently, how we understand women—from one of our most respected cultural critics and thinkers, Naomi Wolf, author of the modern classic The Beauty Myth.

When an unexpected medical crisis sends Naomi Wolf on a deeply personal journey to tease out the...more An astonishing work of cutting-edge science and cultural history that radically reframes how we understand the vagina—and consequently, how we understand women—from one of our most respected cultural critics and thinkers, Naomi Wolf, author of the modern classic The Beauty Myth.

When an unexpected medical crisis sends Naomi Wolf on a deeply personal journey to tease out the intersections between sexuality and creativity, she discovers, much to her own astonishment, an increasing body of scientific evidence that suggests that the vagina is not merely flesh, but an intrinsic component of the female brain—and thus has a fundamental connection to female consciousness itself.

Utterly enthralling and totally fascinating, Vagina: A New Biography draws on this set of insights about "the mind-vagina connection" to reveal new information about what women really need, and considers what a sexual relationship—and a relationship to the self—transformed by these insights could look like.

Exhilarating and groundbreaking, Vagina: A New Biography combines rigorous science, explained for lay readers, with cultural history and deeply personal considerations of the role of female desire in female identity, creativity, and confidence, from interviewees of all walks of life. Heralded by Publishers Weekly as one of the best science books of the year, it is a provocative and deeply engaging book that elucidates the ties between a woman's experience of her vagina and her sense of self; her impulses, dreams, and courage; and her role in love and in society in completely new and revelatory ways sure to provoke impassioned conversation.

A brilliant and nuanced synthesis of physiology, history, and cultural criticism, Vagina: A New Biography explores the physical, political, and spiritual implications of this startling series of new scientific breakthroughs for women and for society as a whole, from a writer whose conviction and keen intelligence have propelled her works to the tops of bestseller lists, and firmly into the realms of modern classics.(less)

Hardcover, 400 pages

Published September 11th 2012 by Ecco (first published January 1st 2012)

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Oct 16, 2012 Osho rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

One wonders what factors other than randomness lead to winning this book as a Goodreads giveaway. I look forward to carrying this around at work.

***
While reading: While some reviewers find this "dry," I'm not finding it dry enough, as in: Science. I'm in a chapter on neurotransmitters that contains much information that appears to be overgeneralized or just misunderstood. Wolf begins many sections with a piece of science, then rapidly draws overinclusive or anecdotal conclusions from it. It's bo...more

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Dec 14, 2012 David rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: rereading

Why is this book not a must read for everyone who owns a vagina and everyone who does not own a vagina but hopes to have a partner who will share hers? The biology is important to Naomi Wolf's argument, as is the chemistry, but if you don't like that sort of thing, ignore it and focus on The Goddess Array. What woman does not wish to be treated according to the Goddess Array? If treating a woman that way makes her happier, healthier and more willing to share (I mean her life, not just her vagina...more

Why is this book not a must read for everyone who owns a vagina and everyone who does not own a vagina but hopes to have a partner who will share hers? The biology is important to Naomi Wolf's argument, as is the chemistry, but if you don't like that sort of thing, ignore it and focus on The Goddess Array. What woman does not wish to be treated according to the Goddess Array? If treating a woman that way makes her happier, healthier and more willing to share (I mean her life, not just her vagina), then what man in his right mind would not be willing to study the Goddess Array, learn it and apply it throughout his life?

That said, there appear to be doubters everywhere, many of them women beginning with the female critic who savaged the book in the New York Times. I turned to GoodReads and also found reviews by women readers here who savaged "Vagina". (As if enough vaginas had not been savaged already.) What am I missing here? Why am I so attracted to this book which others find badly researched, badly thought out and badly written?

Perhaps at this point I need to establish my bona fides as a man. I am a husband of 43 years, father of three, grandfather of 7. I was an infantry platoon leader in the 101st Airborne in Vietnam. Since then, I have been a bicycle racer, a coach and a scoutmaster. When I read "Vagina", I realized that, simply put, I could have easily treated my wife better, making both of us happier throughout our marriage by making the Goddess Array a part of our everyday lives. What woman does not want candles and flowers, to be touched lovingly, to have her man look deeply into her eyes and tell her every day how much she is loved and valued and how beautiful she seems to him. What woman does not want to be taken seriously, to truly be listened to when she speaks and to be treated with decency and honor?Why do American Men treat their women like Goddesses when they are courting them and then ignore them, denigrate them and treat them like the hired help after the honeymoon?

Ms. Wolfe has her theories, and they may or may not be valid, but I found the arguments in Vagina compelling. I have asked my wife to read it but whether she does or not, I intend to let the Goddess Array guide me for the rest of our marriage or until she tells me to just quit telling her that she is loved, touching her,listening to her, lighting candles and bringing her roses. I don't think that Ms Wolf expects her to tell me to stop. I don't expect it either.(less)

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Jan 08, 2013 Henry Le Nav rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed Naomi Wolf’s new book, Vagina: A New Biography. Of course I would, I am a heterosexual, male, monogamist and a first class flake, so I was like a kitten with a bowl of warm milk. It puts me in mind of that song from The Sound of Music, These Are A Few of My Favorite Things. In a way, I wish some one else beside Wolf had wrote the book, then I would not be forced to acknowledge that much of the world thinks this is a silly book and most of the people who think that are women.

I...more

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Apr 24, 2013 Carolyn rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: science, feminism

EDITED/I CHANGED MY MIND: Naomi Wolf in general and this book in particular have been mired in controversy and showered with praise alternately. I find myself somewhere in the middle; I see its limitations and problems, but don't think its entirely harmful and Wolf herself does try to acknowledge any flaws or biases her and her book may have.

Overall, I learned some things I'm shocked aren't routinely taught to both men and women, and am confirmed in my suspicious that the Western mode of thinkin...more

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Henry Le Nav Lovely review! I agree with you on the "new agey" language. If she had chosen some less moonbeamish terminology, I think her message would be taken mo...more Lovely review! I agree with you on the "new agey" language. If she had chosen some less moonbeamish terminology, I think her message would be taken more seriously, this said by a somewhat new age flake, me that is. Well I can compartmentalize and while I loved the message, the scientific compartments were cringing. The sad thing is the message was very down to earth, it just come of like she wrote it while riding her unicorn.

One of the things I think you have to accept about this book, is that it is a book about Naomi Wolf's experience with vaginas not just a generic book about vaginas. As such the book is neither clinical nor generic. Depending on how well one likes Naomi Wolf will probably influence one's thoughts about the book. I happen to like that she very much included herself in this account. Masters and Johnson it is not, but on the other hand about 10 pages of purely clinical read can get boring even about sex. So to me one has to recognize that it is a book about Naomi Wolf's vagina more so than the generic vagina. This of course has strengths and weaknesses.

Considering the above, the book like Wolf is western and hetero, but that to me that might be a strength and not a weakness. She identifies very early on that the orientation of the book is hetero and that a corresponding book appealing to same sex relations is in order. I think that the hetero orientation of the book is a strength because there is much value in this book for men as well as women. Trying to get a man to read a book on vaginas may be tricky, but to get him to wade through LGBT issues will almost be impossible. No one expects a book geared for LGBT sexuality to give heterosexuality a nod much less equal time, and frankly I don't see anything wrong with a book geared to heterosexuality as long as it states so (which she did) and it is respectful. Can we not respect other sexual orientations without feeling guilt?

I like your thoughts expressed in the last two paragraphs of your review. It sounds as though this book has given you some definitive ideas for further investigation in your own life, and that to me is the true success of a book. I also agree with your thoughts about the limited archaic knowledge base that we operate under. We need more research in both female and male neurobiology and neurochemistry. I believe that most of the things that she said about women also apply to men. Men may not be as sensitive as women are to the biochemistry of sexual contact due to the nature of the contact, but I definitely believe that men can benefit from the biochemistry of coitus. I think that should be a call for more research to understand the biochemistry and learn methods to maximize the neuro-chemical benefits for both men and women to improve the quality of long term monogamous relationships.

Excellent review, I enjoyed your thoughts and look forward to reading any additional thoughts you may have after your rumination!(less)
Jan 09, 2013 09:50am

Carolyn Thanks for your thoughts! Yes, I definitely agree with you and she was very clear about the limitations of her book and her experience with vagina(s)...more
Jan 17, 2013 04:57pm

Nov 17, 2012 Dorianna rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

Naomi Wolf was very distraught when she noticed that her sex life lost its poetic dimension. One night, out of desperation, she prayed next to the stove. In case you were wondering, the stove was cold, ironwood, and completely irrelevant to the content of this book. Bargaining with the universe and any deity willing to listen to her plight, she promised that if she could be healed, she would share the experience and what she learned from it with everyone else, ~~and she would make money off of it~~....more

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Jan 14, 2013 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars

It definitely enlightens you about what it is that makes women's sexuality so different from their male counterparts' and how the physical gets to influence the mental - how the vagina is all wired up to trigger phychological responses not only regarding the automatic and obvious realm of sensations but also regarding emotions.

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Apr 28, 2013 Niadwynwen Koch rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book is problematic, annoying, and surprisingly boring. She spends about two thirds of the book using hyperboles that keep reinforcing the obvious truth that our sexual health is related to our emotional health. Because I was in a serious bike accident eight years ago, the interesting parts, for me, we're about variations in pelvic nerves and the complexity in healing pelvic floor muscles.

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Jun 09, 2012 Brett Axel is currently reading it · review of another edition

Of All the books I brought back from BookExpo, this is the one I've started reading first. For such a common thing, there are litterally billions of them out there, in fact, half of the people I know own one, and yet I know so little about them. Of all of the people that could be the author of such a book I am so glad it is Naomi Wolf. I'm also glad it is set up as a biography. I love biographies and I think the style works for the subject matter. I'm 20 pages in and so far it is as good a read...more

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Feb 21, 2013 Sarah Frey rated it 5 of 5 stars

Generally when approaching literature that speaks to female sexuality and female genitalia, I have become used to sifting through pages and pages of "goddess circle" and "lotus flower" metaphors that paint the vagina in an completely over the top and unrelatable context.
Naomi Wolf successfully throws this entire dialogue out the window and take a firm and direct approach explaining the brilliance and history of this organ.

"Vagina: A New Biography" is the first piece of literature that has truly...more

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Feb 16, 2013 Sharon rated it 5 of 5 stars

I would have to say that this book is revelatory in many ways for both sexes, not just for those of us blessed with a vagina. Naomi calls her book a biography, a history of female sexuality that gives a definitive story of the vagina from ancient times to the modern--fascinating stuff. Backed up by modern research and a personal medical crisis that led her on this exploration, she talks about 'the mind-vagina connection'. The vagina's 'experiences' can boost women's self-confidence , or not, and...more

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Feb 07, 2013 Al rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

...more

When an unexpected medical crisis sends Naomi Wolf on a deeply personal journey to tease out the intersections between sexuality and creativity, she discovers, much to her own astonishment, an increasing body of scientific evidence that suggests that the vagina is not merely flesh, but an intrinsic component of the female brain—and thus has a fundamental connection to female consciousness itself.

Utterly enthralling and totally fascinating, Vagina: A New Biography draws on this set of insights about "the mind-vagina connection" to reveal new information about what women really need, and considers what a sexual relationship—and a relationship to the self—transformed by these insights could look like.

Exhilarating and groundbreaking, Vagina: A New Biography combines rigorous science, explained for lay readers, with cultural history and deeply personal considerations of the role of female desire in female identity, creativity, and confidence, from interviewees of all walks of life. Heralded by Publishers Weekly as one of the best science books of the year, it is a provocative and deeply engaging book that elucidates the ties between a woman's experience of her vagina and her sense of self; her impulses, dreams, and courage; and her role in love and in society in completely new and revelatory ways sure to provoke impassioned conversation.

A brilliant and nuanced synthesis of physiology, history, and cultural criticism, Vagina: A New Biography explores the physical, political, and spiritual implications of this startling series of new scientific breakthroughs for women and for society as a whole, from a writer whose conviction and keen intelligence have propelled her works to the tops of bestseller lists, and firmly into the realms of modern classics.

Review

Naomi Wolf has tried hard to look at female sexuality as it really is, not as pop culture or political correctness would like it to be... The science of female arousal is complex and woefully neglected, and Wolf has done us all a favour by trying to drag it into the mainstream -- Jemima Lewis The Mail on Sunday Wolf's tome could not be better timed... at a time when Western women's bodies have never been more highly politicised, the one person who might be able to shine a ray of light... has to be Wolf. Perhaps this history will do for 21st century activism what The Beauty Myth did for 1990s feminists... Wolf is exploring territory we haven't heard about since Germaine Greer in the 1970 -- Viv Goskrup Independent on Sunday Worth respecting, even celebrating... there is [here] a very intriguing thesis about love... If you are one of those School of Cosmo feminists who has been arguing for decades that women should be more like men sexually... then Wolf's take is genuinely revolutionary -- Sarah Vine The Times Part memoir, part cultural history and part scientific journey around women's sexuality, the best elements of which illuminate how little women generally know about their own anatomy... -- Emma Brockes Guardian

About the Author

Naomi Wolf is the author of Promiscuitties and Fire With Fire, and her essays have appeared in The New Republic, Esquire, Ms., The Washington Post, and The New York Times. She holds a degree from Yale University and New College, Oxford University, and lives in New York City.

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Jan 02, 2013 Kathleen Brugger rated it 2 of 5 stars

Overview: Ms. Wolf had a unique experience that could have been an extremely useful contribution to our understanding of the mind-body connection. Unfortunately she misinterpreted it due to her feminist biases and made this experience all about women.
A few years ago Ms. Wolf began to notice that after having sex she didn’t feel the deep sense of well-being she had always enjoyed post-coitus. Slowly she stopped feeling joy, confidence, or creativity in her everyday life, and instead experienced i...more Overview: Ms. Wolf had a unique experience that could have been an extremely useful contribution to our understanding of the mind-body connection. Unfortunately she misinterpreted it due to her feminist biases and made this experience all about women.
A few years ago Ms. Wolf began to notice that after having sex she didn’t feel the deep sense of well-being she had always enjoyed post-coitus. Slowly she stopped feeling joy, confidence, or creativity in her everyday life, and instead experienced increasing depression and despair. She went to her gynecologist, who suggested this was caused by compression of her pelvic nerve. It turned out that Ms. Wolf’s vertebrae were degenerating, her condition was so advanced the doctors were incredulous that she didn’t have any pain. A surgeon inserted a 14-inch hinged steel plate in her back, which cured the nerve compression. When she was eventually allowed to have sex again, her sense of well-being returned.
I admire her for having the courage and honesty to talk to her doctors about a problem that centered on sex.
Her conclusion from this experience was that input from her pelvis was vital to her mental health; without it she grew depressed. With it she felt well and creative.
But instead of seeing this as a new dimension to the understanding of the mind-body connection, one that would be incredible useful to so many people—our sexuality is a vital part of our mental health—she seems to have concluded that women’s minds are in their vagina. She says things like, “women are more like animals.” To be honest, her thinking seemed so odd I skimmed much of the book.
I heard of this book in an article about how some authors have been misconstruing the latest findings of neurobiology. She has been skewered for her science by many different reviewers.
I think it’s a shame that she didn’t stick to her experience and discuss some of the things she learned along the way. For example, one of the doctors who specialized in nerves told her that all women are wired differently—some have more nerve connections going to the clitoris, some more to the perineum, others to the vagina, etc. This explains why women differ in their sexual response, and it seemed to me that many women could find this information liberating (I did.)
Men are much more similar in their wiring, which is somewhat simpler than the female branching. You can see exquisite diagrams of the nervous system at: www.netterimages.com/image/5101.htm, Female: 5101 and 2992, male: 2910.
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Nov 16, 2012 Lena rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed reading this book. I was dissapointed to hear it tirn to shreds on my NEW YORKER podcast for it's lack of appreciation for rational scientific discourse and it's endoresement of psuedoscientific terminology. It was said that Wolf distorted the scientific data that she discussed. While this may have been true in several areas ( though I didn't personally look into it), I think the overall message of the book was a powerful one that needed to be vocalized.
I think it was very str...more

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Oct 05, 2012 Katie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Yeah, that's right. I read a book called "Vagina."

Naomi Wolf and I have a complicated relationship. "The Beauty Myth" changed my life when I read it as a teenager. But then she broke my political heart when she became pro-life after being pregnant. Still, I feel compelled to read her books based on that early and powerful influence.

But this one was a dud. She gets two stars instead of one because she's Naomi Wolf, but, I really didn't think this was a very good book. Essentially, I felt like she...more

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Sep 12, 2012 Viola rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Vagina Myth
Jaclyn Friedman
September 11, 2012
The American Prospect
http://prospect.org/article/vagina-myth

Naomi Wolf's yoni worship isn't just silly—it's dangerous.

This summer, Michigan state representative Lisa Brown was banned from the House floor when she dared to say the word “vagina” in a debate about proposed restrictions on abortion. Just three weeks ago, Todd Akin revealed what many Republicans believe: If you get pregnant, it can’t have been rape. It’s been a year of politicians tryin...more

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May 21, 2013 Bianca rated it 5 of 5 stars

A multidisciplinary look at the vagina that I think should be utilized in sex-ed courses (at least portions of it). From the lengthy history of attitudes and treatment of the female reproductive system, to modern media studies on acculturation Wolf weaves in the scientific with the phenomenological successfully. She openly admits to faults in her studies and the studies she includes (like limits to heterosexual couples, Western women and lack of male consideration in some), which really serves t...more

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Oct 08, 2012 Aspasia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: health, non-fiction

Vagina: A New Biography is not as scandalous at the title appears. The book came about because of a health issues the author, Naomi Wolf, faced. Once she had healed from her surgery, Wolf vowed to learn more about the vagina and its place in history in an effort to help other women. She learned that all women have their own unique neural pathways in the vagina. This means that every woman has the ability to orgasm and in different areas. The womens' magazines never mention this!
Naomi Wolf also d...more

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Nov 25, 2012 Rambles Corbeau rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: cultural-critique, 2012, neuroscience, sexuality, feminism, gender, binary-bullshit, evolutionary-psychology

Okay, so I drafted 3 versions of a review with quotations including page references and it was getting to be quite the essay. I scrapped it. I've scaled back to my main points.

I loved this book and I hated this book.

There were many things I learned that I wasn't previously aware of. It was well worth my time to read it.

Many of the problems I have with this book are not unique to this book. I encounter them most of the time while reading. Most glaringly, I don't believe it is helpful to think abo...more Okay, so I drafted 3 versions of a review with quotations including page references and it was getting to be quite the essay. I scrapped it. I've scaled back to my main points.

I loved this book and I hated this book.

There were many things I learned that I wasn't previously aware of. It was well worth my time to read it.

Many of the problems I have with this book are not unique to this book. I encounter them most of the time while reading. Most glaringly, I don't believe it is helpful to think about the human race as two generally homogenous groups each having more similarities with those in its own group than those of the other. I'm speaking here of the ideas of "men" and "women." It's an oversimplification of the truth of the matter and the damage it does isn't worth the convenience it offers, IMHO.

I also have problems with citing research as truth when the researchers involved in said research structure studies within a framework that assumes divisions along xx/xy lines.

Main points specific to the book:

*The loss of self and feeling of oneness with the universe are not unique to female orgasm. People with a y chromosome are quite capable of attaining this state both within and outside of sexual experience. I assure you.

*Echoing sentiments of evolutionary psychology will never win any points from this reader. Tearing that framework to pieces, however, is quite another tangent.

*While I'm sure there are things (specifically techniques) I could glean from tantric practice, I hate the language of it. It's shitty poetry. Perhaps it's better when not translated into English. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt on that. I just can't get past the part of it that is so wrapped up in binary ideas of gender. Sorry, but I will never call a lover "goddess." ...and that tantric teacher who said that he "helped" women who came to him who were scaring off men and his solution was getting them out of the parts of their selves that were too much in the masculine and getting themselves aligned back into the divine feminine that is their true nature... or some bullshit along those lines. Seriously? Puke. How could one's "true self" be divided along constructed gender lines?

*There is one point where she hints at being opposed to sex work

...There are so many more points to consider. My writing time is finite though. I'd love to talk to people in person who have read this book.

There's some good stuff in here... It just isn't my brand of feminism.(less)

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Oct 28, 2012 cat rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

I loved this book. I also hated this book.

It is a rare and powerful book that can have me bouncing up and down with excitement and urgently reading aloud a passage on female physiology to my wife one minute, and leave me embarrassed for the author and wondering if I was reading satire the next. Naomi Wolf’s Vagina: A new Biography had me jumping back and forth between the two fairly regularly. Within the first few pages, I had decided that this was not the book for me, so filled were they with...more
I loved this book. I also hated this book.

It is a rare and powerful book that can have me bouncing up and down with excitement and urgently reading aloud a passage on female physiology to my wife one minute, and leave me embarrassed for the author and wondering if I was reading satire the next. Naomi Wolf’s Vagina: A new Biography had me jumping back and forth between the two fairly regularly. Within the first few pages, I had decided that this was not the book for me, so filled were they with the woo and mysticism of the vagina, the use of the term goddess, and other new-age language . All this despite my absolute feminist/goddess-loving/serious woo beliefs. Which should tell you something right there.

But then, BLAM, Wolf moves into the realm of science and starts unpacking the big picture of female lust and sexual response, including orgasm. And I was hooked. She explores recent research and physiological realities to detail the ways that “even though we talk about sex all the time, the information we have about female sexuality is generally out of date. If women had easy – or at least easier- access to and could draw on the new scientific discoveries about female sexuality, which have not been widely reported, they would have a much deeper understanding of their own sexual and emotional responses” (p75, Vagina). Toni Bentley’s review in the NYimes puts it well, “Wolf’s ideas and suggestions in “Vagina” are valuable ones, and she repeats much truth, particularly in the territory of Helen Fisher and Louann Brizendine, about the full-body, chemical grenade that is lust. Her premise is that “the vagina is the delivery system for the states of mind that we call confidence, liberation, self-¬realization and even mysticism in women.”

I consider myself very well educated about female sexuality, and this book was a fabulous eye-opener of all of the information that I did NOT have ( please, please google Netter image 5101 and read Wolf’s explanations of the sexual neural network and it’s role in pleasure and orgasm -- and the ways that much of our sexual response variability can be due to our physical wiring) about neural responses, the autonomic nervous system, and the role of dopamine and opioids in sexual pleasure. BUT all of this fabulous information should have been the base of the whole book – I could have read much more about the science of it all – and instead Wolf veers far afield. Again, Bentley in the NYTimes hits it on the head when she says, “Herein lies the problem of Wolf’s admirable attempt to straddle two worlds. She wants to connect the science of female sexuality to tantric sexual knowledge to prove that this knowledge is indeed true and effective. Now, any man or woman who has experienced sexual tantric practice knows it is irrefutably powerful (guilty and charged) — but it’s a tough sell to everyone else, because even the best literary attempts to teach it appear silly or simply absurd.”

Overall, I recommend that you read at the very least pages 1-124 which explore the science of female sexual response. If you venture beyond that, it is at your own risk. As Bentley said “Wolf’s scattered new tome wants to be that scream, but instead it provides a blueprint, a valuable negative example, for the important book that will be written one day.”
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Aug 04, 2012 Vikki VanSickle rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: all-time-favourites, women-s-interest

Naomi Wolf is one of my favourite people. I have read everything she has ever written and credit her for my interest in women's issues. I have loved her since stumbling upon an excerpt of Promiscuities in a women's fashion magazine (something like Marie Claire or Glamour) when I was thirteen years old. It was the first time I had ever read anything feminist and it opened a whole new world for me.I include Wolf on my list of smart, interesting female pop-cultural role models such as Nora Ephron a...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Courtney rated it 4 of 5 stars

Vagina, vagina, vagina! I really enjoyed this book. Did you know that throughout your vagina is a unique tree - a network of nerves that differs woman to woman? Did you know that women who have been verbally and sexually abused are literally easier to knock over than those who aren't? This is biologically true because it actually affects inner ears. Also, that when the birth control pill tricks your body into thinking it's pregnant, it also causes women to more attracted to men with more similar...more

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Mar 28, 2013 Lucy Wright rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: smart-thinking

'A woman's cultural "take" on her vagina also shapes her brain.' This is one of many statements in 'Vagina' that, for me, fluctuates between unchecked enthusiasm and stating the obvious.

Saying that, I devoured the book like a lover supping cunni, so Wolf at least got the storytelling part right. It's just a shame that the dynamic narrative isn't always supported by verifiable science. ('Science' being a word that is hurled back and forth with confidence, especially in regard to the 'vagina-brai...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Gail rated it 4 of 5 stars

I’m not sure what I expected from Naomi Wolf’s “Vagina”; I certainly didn’t think it would be so satisfying, so revelatory, that I’d recommend all my friends have a go at it, despite its dryness.

Wolf’s primary thesis in a nutshell: The vagina is wired to the female brain. As a result, after a top-shelf orgasm (i.e., dopamine-releasing one) a woman is more creative, confident, and sociable (while a woman deprived of sexual satisfaction will find life increasingly meaningless, intimidating, and jo...more I’m not sure what I expected from Naomi Wolf’s “Vagina”; I certainly didn’t think it would be so satisfying, so revelatory, that I’d recommend all my friends have a go at it, despite its dryness.

Wolf’s primary thesis in a nutshell: The vagina is wired to the female brain. As a result, after a top-shelf orgasm (i.e., dopamine-releasing one) a woman is more creative, confident, and sociable (while a woman deprived of sexual satisfaction will find life increasingly meaningless, intimidating, and joyless). In order to attain these orgasmic heights, she must feel fully safe and relaxed (because of the way the autonomic nervous system works); and that requires a set of behaviors Wolf deems the “Goddess Array,” more familiarly termed “foreplay.” Because “our culture’s conventional model of [heterosexual] intercourse . . . is quick, goal-oriented, linear, and focused on stimulation of perhaps one or two areas of a woman’s body,” “the Western sexual revolution sucks. It has not worked well enough for women.” On the other hand, “Tantra . . . is . . . a form of applied neuroscience.”

According to one of Wolf’s sources, “‘A man takes four minutes to reach orgasm on average, . . . a woman, sixteen minutes.’” I always thought women take longer to get revved up; Wolf’s revelation that the reverse is true – and women need the time to wind down – is rather mind-blowing. (“Many women learn to have . . . four-star never-ending orgasms, by actually directing themselves to relax and lose consciousness . . . rather than tensing up and focusing on sexual thoughts or fantasies . . . .”) Another shocker: while men are pretty much wired the same sexually, each woman is different; thus, as a woman “how you climax and . . . whether you climax easily or not” is “largely due to basic neural wiring” not other explanations that “heap[] vast unnecessary guilt and shame on millions of women” (and men). Trudging through Wolf’s rather long and periodically boring (yes, even considering the subject matter) tome yields lots of other unexpected scientific findings like “pornography leaches men’s virility” and “an episiotomy will sever a sexual nerve system.”

In parts two and three, Wolf spends a lot of time tracing historic perceptions and treatment of the vagina as well as engaging feminist theory (e.g., “Th[e] male-model ideal of not-caring, take-it-or-leave-it sexuality is . . . setting up yet another impossible ideal into which women are supposed to shoehorn their actual needs, at some violence to themselves,” and “We misunderstand women if we see their interest in romance as being only about the ‘other’; if a male or female lover can help a woman get to this trance state, that love is not just compelling to her because of the ‘other’: it is compelling to her because, through this sexual experience, she is awakening and engaging with profoundly important dimensions of her own self.”). If you’re short on time, skip these middle sections.

Part four returns to the modern bedroom and soars, discussing women and men’s “neurobiologically stressful” mismatch thanks to a woman’s desire for “deep interactive gaze” and verbalization while her partner “may feel perfectly companionable, while she begins to seethe, because side-by-side activity with eyes averted from each other is how men happily spend time.” For the typical heterosexual couple, at the end of the day “her brain is agitated and desperate to talk things through, which is how it calms down and feels better, while his is desperate to have some downtime doing nothing, or in front of the TV, which is how his brain calms down and feels better. She feels bored, thwarted, if he won’t or can’t just keep talking to her – and he feels invaded by her need to talk.” Wolf concludes, “To manage social arrangements, as we do in the West, in such a way that a woman has to get most of her touch, gaze, and attention needs met in the few hours after work, and by only one person – and, most implausibly of all, by a tired male person . . . , who just as desperately needs the opposite, for a while at least – is a recipe for conflict and frustration.”

The big payoff, however, comes in the form of the “Goddess Array” that Wolf assembles from surprising sources – like new evolutionary biology showing that women are predisposed to be attracted not to money and power but to “investment behavior” (that is, “behavior from men that indicates that they are cherished”) and studies showing the effect of women smelling their male mates’ armpits. What are these mystical tricks? “Bring her flowers, . . . dim the lights, . . . relax her, . . . hug her, . . . cuddle her, . . . take her slow dancing, . . . gaze into her eyes, . . . talk to her, . . . listen to her, . . . stroke, . . . don’t snap, . . . find her [G-spot,] then hang out there far longer than you think reasonable, . . . tell her she’s beautiful, . . . don’t be scary, but don’t be boring, . . . do whatever she likes to her nipples, . . . [and] ejaculate.” What’s that you say? The secret sauce in this recipe is not so secret? The real revelation is not what these “‘little’ gestures and flourishes, which are so often relegated to the category of ‘things that people do in courtship and stop doing in a long-term relationship’” are, but the fact that “[t]he latest science confirms that . . . those sexual or romantic ‘extras’ that are sort of nice to dole out to women but are not deemed essential – are in fact physically and emotionally fundamental to women’s vibrancy.”

That’s right, according to Wolf a woman is not lucky to receive such attention or pushy to request it; every woman deserves this treatment and one who is deprived of it is in a downright neglectful – and borderline sexually abusive – relationship. Her not-so-subtle message to men is that women won’t put up with it forever: “to keep a woman interested and faithful for life . . . never give up your role as seducer . . . .”

Wolf’s paradigm-shifting book doesn’t provide the rollicking good time of Caitlin Moran’s “How To Be a Woman”; rather, slogging through the book is hard work – normally a disqualifier for a positive review from me. Yet quite like an obese person discovering the gym, what seems difficult and annoying in the moment promises to provide enormous benefit for both the physical and mental health of readers and their partners. Please take the time to check out Naomi Wolf’s four-star “Vagina.”(less)

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Oct 02, 2012 Claire rated it 4 of 5 stars

Basically, about the body-mind connection and how a woman's vagina (vulva, womb, everything around there) is just as important to her state of mind and wellbeing as it is to her sex life. There's a lot of talk about the culture we've grown up in, as well as views on the vagina and womanhood in history; the "yoni" and other positive names to call the vagina are presented, along with Eastern views. There's a warning on the use of pornography (ie causing a dopamine dependence, which ends up causing...more

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Feb 07, 2013 Miles rated it 3 of 5 stars

I liked this book very much. It was enjoyable and easy to read, informative, and generally thoughtful. It probably deserves five stars for helping me develop new ways to think about female sexuality (and sexuality in general), as well as for initiating some great discussions with my significant other. However, the book critic in me can't give it higher than three stars.

While the first and last parts of the book offer a nice synthesis of science, cultural criticism, and history, the middle third...more I liked this book very much. It was enjoyable and easy to read, informative, and generally thoughtful. It probably deserves five stars for helping me develop new ways to think about female sexuality (and sexuality in general), as well as for initiating some great discussions with my significant other. However, the book critic in me can't give it higher than three stars.

While the first and last parts of the book offer a nice synthesis of science, cultural criticism, and history, the middle third takes the reader through some ideas and arguments that really frustrated me. Wolf's critique of pornography is both shortsighted and poorly argued, which is surprising given how well she handles many other subtle and difficult issues. As a man and regular user of pornography, I think it's obvious that there is plenty to criticize. But I don't think it makes sense to level a blanket condemnation of pornography, especially since it's here to stay whether we like it or not. I would have preferred that Wolf at least make the attempt to show the ways in which pornography can be a positive presence in people's lives, or at least acknowledge that there are myriad different kinds of pornography and just as many individuals who use it in very different ways. Instead, she invokes the tired scare tactics about its addictive qualities and detrimental effects on the "real" sex lives of men (and, consequently, women as well). While I admit that pornography use poses real risks for some people, I don't think they affect the vast majority of men. Too often it felt like she was identifying the exception as the rule.

I was also put off by a couple interviews Wolf conducted with individuals who work in sex therapy. When approaching a field absolutely awash new age lingo and pseudoscience, I had hoped Wolf would bring the skepticism of someone in step with current science (which she certainly is). Instead, she allows these individuals to trot out their infuriatingly vague, feel-good messages with hardly any resistance. It feels like she was swept up in their spell enough to silence the small alarms that should have been sounding in her mind. I don't think she should have portrayed these people as complete hacks or frauds; it actually seems like they do a lot of tangible good for many of their clients. But it would have been nice to see her acknowledge a simple truth that seemed obvious to me: by and large, these people are peddling ways of interaction and thinking about sex that are available to people and shouldn't require a lot of money to procure. They make a living charging large sums for doing things that most thoughtful people could learn to do own their own or with their partners. Instead of giving their clients the tools to improve their overall sex lives, it seemed like time and time again they were invested in creating the illusion that people ought to return over and over to "sex professionals." That's how they make their living, so I guess I can't blame them. But I do blame Wolf for not directly addressing this obvious conflict of interest. (less)

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Sep 20, 2012 Dani GR Motherfuqqer rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: i-won-this-yay, favorites, arc

This is going to be a difficult one to review. There is so much information to speak of and so much research has gone into this book. It is amazing. All women over 18 should read it as well as all straight men who wish to please their women and it should be mandatory reading for men who've been in long term relationships. This book is amazing.
Full review to come, hopefully I can do it justice.

If you're sensitive to language just go away. I don't want to hear it and I'm sure neither does the auth...more This is going to be a difficult one to review. There is so much information to speak of and so much research has gone into this book. It is amazing. All women over 18 should read it as well as all straight men who wish to please their women and it should be mandatory reading for men who've been in long term relationships. This book is amazing.
Full review to come, hopefully I can do it justice.

If you're sensitive to language just go away. I don't want to hear it and I'm sure neither does the author.

~Let's get started~
5 Intellectually Amazing Stars
I learned so much about the vagina-mind connection it's almost unreal. This book is like the Learning Channel and History Channel for women and today's specials are all about the ah-mazing Vadge. This book goes through the history of the vagina. I bet you're wondering, "there's a history of the VJJ", well yes there is actually and it goes far back into antiquity. The vagina used to be worshipped and revered among men, and women were respected as the givers of life. Over time women were attacked and made to feel dirty if they were sexual in any way. We're still sort of in this weird vagina's are dirty phase and we need to get out of it quickly.
This book goes through the psychological implications of women that have been raped whether it's due to an act of war or a woman living in a city who's been accosted by a random rapist. There are psychological things that happen in a woman's brain who's been hurt in this manner and it does have an effect on the vagina and it changes the vagina physically. Yes the vagina and the brain are interconnected and this book will give you the scientific rundown on it as well. Science has made many breakthroughs in the area of the vagina recently but you won't see the majority of it on the news.
This book speaks about the psychological effects of pornography on women and their vaginas, whether they have a partner who watches it or they watch it themselves. It goes in depth and gives many examples for every single item being researched. This book leaves no stone unturned when it comes to the elusive vagina, g-spot, clitoris, cervix, and uterus. Here's a kicker for all you women and men out there, yes, women DO think with their vaginas. LOL. I know it's crazy but it's all explained in here. It's what helps us make decisions when it comes to love and sex and memories, and many of the important decisions we women make daily. If we paid more attention to our vagina's we'd realize, it's pretty damn smart. It's when we go against the vadge, we find out just how wrong we were.
Oh yeah, I can't leave this out of the review, the author even goes into the history of words used to describe the vagina, whether vulgar and abhorrent, or beautiful and luscious. It will give you a fairly good rundown on how these words came about and how they've been used in history and in some cases turned into bad words which didn't start out that way long ago.
And most importantly in this book, Naomi speaks about the connection a woman feels to the world and to herself and to her creativity and strength, when she's fulfilled sexually and has a loving partner who makes her feel beautiful, safe, loved, and protected. When a male partner spends time loving his female and her vagina and helps her to reach amazing orgasms, he will reap huge benefits. I would go into detail but that would defeat the purpose of you discovering the amazing things you will find in this book. I will tell you though she has many great examples of very famous women who were able to tap into their creativity after having amazing sexual affairs. Famous authors and artists who've used their sexual encounters unknowingly to do some of their greatest and most popular works.
There are so many other things in this book that are spoken about and brought to light. You will have to take some time reading this book because it is a lot to digest and you will want to do your own outside research. It is so interesting and thought provoking as you read that you will want to learn and keep learning about these awesome topics. This book is probably the most well thought out and insightful work I've ever read into a woman's sexuality and about the amazing and wonderful vagina. Enjoy!

Review also found at myKindle Book Love Blog.(less)

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Jan 29, 2013 Timothy rated it 2 of 5 stars

This is a difficult review to write. I absolutely LOVE reading about sexuality, neuroscience, tantric practices, and perceptions about orgasmic pleasure, these are incredibly important topics. We carry such burdensome beliefs concerning human sexuality, barbaric beliefs that cloud our minds from what is otherwise life affirming bliss-- we are born judgment free and open, unburdened by the labels and divisiveness that so many of us learn throughout life-- we learn dogma and ego and certainty, sha...more

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Mar 10, 2013 Louise Silk rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

This book has pluses but the minus that Wolf is way too committed to telling every single historical facet of this organ brings the book down. It seems like she's trying too hard to prove her trustworthiness in all aspects of her knowledge on the subject.

I preferred the portions of the book about her individual exposure and personal experiences with expansion techniques like tantric sex and how they brought her to the discovery of the science of vagina/nerves/brain connections.

Wolf proves beyo...more

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Mar 19, 2013 Katie rated it 2 of 5 stars

It's as if Wolf's thesis had way too much fun. It's as if this book was written by a twenty year old college student who had a lot of excitement and enthusiasm to share an exhaustive list of "stuff" she knows about her self. I had to motivate myself to get through this book setting little benchmarks along the way. I enjoyed some of the interpretation of women's sexuality as presented through the literature of the ages. I enjoyed description of the chastity belt. I did not enjoy- anything having...more

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Mar 01, 2013 kat rated it 2 of 5 stars

It's an enlightening read, and challenges views on females and the vagina. BUT the author flat-out ignores what her theories mean to trans* people, and asexual people. And while she always clarifies everything here is presented about heterosexual couples, she could have easily added +insight into bisexual/lesbian couples and women.

And, the text always seems to tilt in the direction of the 'old school' or 'vanilla' idea of sex which is had by a long-term heterosexual couple that light candles an...more

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About Naomi Wolf

Naomi Wolf is the author of seven books, including the New York Times bestsellers The Beauty Myth, The End of America and Give Me Liberty. She has toured the world speaking to audiences of all walks of life about gender equality, social justice, and, most recently, the defense of liberty in America and internationally. She is the cofounder of the Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership, which te...more

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Books by Naomi Wolf

The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty are Used Against Women

The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot

Misconceptions: Truth, Lies, and the Unexpected on the Journey to Motherhood

Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries

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“Every woman is wired differently. Some women's nerves branch more in the vagina; other women's nerves branch more in the clitoris. Some branch a great deal in the perineum, or at the mouth of the cervix. That accounts for some of the differences in female sexual response.” — 6 people liked it

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