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7th out of 33 books
—
35 voters
Sex and The Single Girl
Helen Gurley Brown tells women how to fill their lives with romance and delectable men. Sexual attitudes may have changed, but the art of being a woman has not.
Paperback, 267 pages
Published
January 1st 2003
by Barricade Books
(first published 1962)
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I read the original version, not the revised, post-Sex and the City version. It was a very interesting read from a feminist/historical point of view. Helen Gurley Brown and her book are hard to pigeonhole. On one hand, there is no denying that her book is about teaching "girls" (rarely does she use the word "women") about how to make themselves attractive to, and how to obtain, men (note--they're adults, not "boys"). She devotes many pages to teaching girls how to dress, groom, and even decorate...more
I read this eons ago, when I was in my late teens or early 20s, and I remember being impressed, gaining a lot of good advice from it. So when HGB died last week, I knew it deserved a re-read, and happily, it did not disappoint. It's especially fun to note how much Mad Men took from this book, particularly Peggy's career path and Joan's style.
The title is misleading: only the first 60 pages or so are about sex; basically, It's Good to Enjoy Men, How to Sleep with Married Advertising Executives,...more
The title is misleading: only the first 60 pages or so are about sex; basically, It's Good to Enjoy Men, How to Sleep with Married Advertising Executives,...more
Before Candance Bushnell there was Cosmopolitan's legendary HGB.
Helen Gurley Brown was the original single girl in New York. She was well positioned too. The sexual evolution was her calling card and this book was the first modern guide to living life. HGB was to women what Hugh Hefner in the 1960s was to men. This book, groundbreaking as it was, paved the way for Candace Bushnell and her Sex and the City fame. Sex and the Single Girl is about being a modern woman seeking adventure and passion...more
This professed "cult classic," Sex and the Single Girl by Helen Gurley Brown, was originally released in the 1962. Although if you read the 2003 introduction, you quickly discover that Ms. Gurley Brown feels nothing has changed. Which makes you giggle and you find kinda fun until you actually read the book.
I am not quite sure how much has changed from 2003 to today, July 9, 2011, but I am going to venture to say, "Not that much." Not enough to justify some of these amazing little tidbits.
On marr...more
I am not quite sure how much has changed from 2003 to today, July 9, 2011, but I am going to venture to say, "Not that much." Not enough to justify some of these amazing little tidbits.
On marr...more
Following the death of HGB, I made an effort to seek out Sex and the Single Girl to get a fuller sense of the contribution she had made to women and feminism. This book is full of feminist highs and lows, and it is actually quite difficult to pin HGB down within this. On the one hand, she is still very man- and marriage-centric, despite claims to the contrary; on the other hand, she advocates for women to embrace independence and full and happy sex lives. So this is as much a product of its time...more
All this book was, was a how-to for being everything a man wants and losing yourself and your dignity in the process. I love wearing heels and makeup, and like when guys ask me out, but this books degrades women's brains and tells them to stop thinking for themselves, showing a man that you're smart is unsexy, and to say and wear exactly what men want every second you're around them. If I wanted to read about that, I would buy Playboy or Hustler. It's an embarrassment and incorrect to say that t...more
First published in 1962, this was the shocking guide to being a single woman and having it all - including affairs with married men if you felt like it. Much of the advice is very dated, and all the more interesting as an insight into social and sexual mores in the Mad Men era. It's not all dating though, Brown also gives advice on having a career, living on a budget, decorating your own flat, entertaining and how to choose a wardrobe. Some of her advice is very sensible, and she has a "can do"...more
What a funny book. I like how the whole point is that you don't have to get married in order to have a cool, worthwhile life! Except let's spend a lot of time talking about how to acquire a man, and whether or not he might marry you. I get that the Question of Marriage is a question, especially in 1964, but dang. The point of view is also shamelessly manipulative, cheerfully advocating use of feminine wiles to lure men for your personal and financial benefit, regardless of their marital status o...more
Helen Gurley Brown taught women how to be free in love and work. She told readers how to get everything - money, men, prestige and authority. You can be a sex object and you can also be president of General Motors.
"Don't use men to get what you want in life - get it for yourself."
"Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere."
"Beauty can't amuse you, but brainwork -reading, writing, thinking -can."
"Don't use men to get what you want in life - get it for yourself."
"Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere."
"Beauty can't amuse you, but brainwork -reading, writing, thinking -can."
Funny little piece of background on Mad Men. Some of it is really dated, obviously...mostly the stuff about gay people; this was clearly the prototype for the My Pet Gay behavior now widely copied from SATC ("Tee hee, Gay Friend, show up to talk to me about my problems and pick out shoes for me, but take your unfabulous 'thoughts' and 'feelings' or whatever somewhere else, BORING!"). Gross.
I did the audio which was fun to listen too. It is for a certain type of woman. If you have tunnel vision on getting married this book may not be for you. Some of the info may have seemed dated but I found the book to be filled with great fun advice.
This book was first published in a Romance magazine. Then it went to book form. The author went on to become editor of Cosmopolitan Magazine. I also think this book opened the door for all the steamy sex stuff that was published after this one came out.
In honor of Helen Gurley Brown's recent passing (she was editor of Cosmo for 30 decades roughly), I am reading her books. I rate this book as a 4 star right now....it is quite humorous. I'm enjoying it...She was quite a character.
I thought this book was supposed to be kitschy because it was ahead of its time. I didn't get through the intro. That's how irritated I got. My eyes were rolling in the back of my head. I was bored. It wasn't kitschy! It was crappy.
This is definitely dated, but such an entertaining read. Yes, I was rolling my eyes at some points, but as long as you don't read as a serious self-help book, it's a fun read.
I decided to read this after hearing it mentioned several times on Mad Men. I was interested to learn what it was exactly that Helen Gurley Brown laid out that became such an inspiration to women of the 60s. Suprisingly, I found much of it to be inspirational now, nearly 50 years later. The book gets off to a great, up beat and at times hilarious start that carries on most of the way through. Either the writing dulls out, or my interest waned, but toward the end I had some trouble staying intere...more
My bookclub is reading this now.
I am no longer reading it with them.
I know it is old and outdated, and I love kitsch, but this is just plain awful.
I am no longer reading it with them.
I know it is old and outdated, and I love kitsch, but this is just plain awful.
I thought this was a cheeky book about how a lady should act when dating that was written in the 60's yet still had some parallels to today.
I gave up and stopped reading. I know this is supposed to be a classic and all, and I know it inspired Matt Weiner for much of the female character development on "Mad Men." But, wow, this book is BORING. Also, everything Helen Gurley Brown promotes in it is the exact opposite of how she lived her life, as a career woman who really pioneered a new genre of publishing and put marriage on the back burner for much of her career.
I thought this book would be an illuminating look at the times, but it was so rambling and unfocused that I had to abandon it.
I love Helen Gurley Brown but this book has not aged well. It is so dated but is an interesting look at dating in the '60s.
Read this long ago when I was about 16 or 17. It even told you what color to paint the walls of your apt!!!!
Fairly inane, but also a fairly fascinating picture of what life was like for a woman, single or not, in 1962.
view 2 comments
Apr 22, 2009
Charlene
marked it as to-read
The author sounds interesting (see recently-added bio) and wonder how she talked about such things in the early 60s...
This book was just terrible. When I got to "Chapter 4: How to be Sexy" I finally threw in the towel. I had high hopes for it as the author was one of the first female copywriters in the industry, but that doesn't help disguise how truly outdated her writing is--the original printing of "Sex and The Single Girl" was in 1962. I suppose I thought it was going to be kitschy, but it just left me feeling sad. Alas, from what little I ended up reading I'm reminded of how far working women have come and...more
This book is a hoot. It's dated, obviously, but gives you a glimpse into another time. HGB epitmomizes moxie!
fabulous book. can't believe it was published in 1962. Her career path was the basis for Peggy in MadMen...I get it. I want to meet this woman. she is rad.
As long as you don't take a single word of it seriously, it has its entertaining moments.
A really hilarious read in 2008 and to think it was guidance when it came out!!
If you saw the movie...the only thing they took from this was the title.
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Helen Gurley Brown, is an author, publisher, and businesswoman. She was editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine for 32 years.
Brown's father died in an elevator accident when she was young, and her sister was a polio victim. She was raised in Little Rock, Arkansas.
From 1939 to 1941 she attended Texas State College for Women and Woodbury Business College.
After a stint in the mailroom at the William...more
More about Helen Gurley Brown...
Brown's father died in an elevator accident when she was young, and her sister was a polio victim. She was raised in Little Rock, Arkansas.
From 1939 to 1941 she attended Texas State College for Women and Woodbury Business College.
After a stint in the mailroom at the William...more
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