Hump Day Reviews: B is for Bonk
Lest you jump to the erroneous conclusion that I’m all about ass, I am eschewing the obvious “B is for Buttplug” entry today in order to post a B book for my Hump Day Review.
Today’s sex toy is Mary Roach’s 2008 book, Bonk. Though it’s not a sex toy that can be inserted into any orifice (or, anyway, one I would not recommend inserting into any orifice), this book will certain stimulate your largest erogenous zone: your mind.
With the provocative subtitle The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, Mary Roach explores the scientific study of all things sexual. This may, at first, sound like a researcher’s wet dream come true, but in the end Roach often finds that sexual research is an underfunded area of scientific inquiry – not to mention the fact that sex researchers often have a difficult time gaining the respect of their scientific peers.
In her previous books, Roach has tackled the subjects of cadavers (Stiff) and the possibility of an afterlife (Spook), thus making this her first book about living subjects. And, indeed, considering the fact that most living people do have sex, it’s quite a wonder that the kind of research being done in this field isn’t considered more mainstream or important.
The most well known sexual researchers are, undoubtedly, Alfred Kinsey, William Masters and Virginia Johnson, though Roach was unable to interview any of them for her book (Kinsey and Masters are, alas, deceased; Johnson declined Roach’s interview requests). Instead, she relies on discussions with more marginal researchers, like Ahmed Shafik, who has mainly studied various bodily reflexes, and Geng-Long Hsu, a Chinese doctor who performs urological surgery on men in order to cure impotence. These researchers and their subjects of study are certainly by turns amusing and grotesque, though they appear to have little practical value for the average man or woman wishing to improve their sex life.
Roach notes that the most popular research into sex and its accompanying problems currently surrounds erectile dysfunction drugs like Viagra, which are almost entirely useless to women. In an effort to dig deeper into the subject of female sexual dysfunctions, Roach mentions an unusual variety of tests and research studies, including one that ultimately finds that the smells of cucumber and Good ‘n’ Plenty candy increase blood flow to the vagina and therefore turn women on. What smells turn women off? Everything from the scent of cologne to cherries to “charcoal barbeque meat.”
Curious indeed!
If you’re interested in sexual research, scientific inquiry on unusual subjects, or just want to read a book that will fulfil a desire to load up your brain with useless facts about sex, this book is a terrific choice. Roach is at times truly hilarious, and her footnotes at the bottom of most pages are always worth reading. Nothing is beyond the scope of her research, and while some might figure a book about sex research could be as dry as the original Masters and Johnson reports, Roach proves this is not at all the case. Bonk is definitely worth picking up, especially for the odd looks you’ll garner when reading it on public transportation.
(Originally reviewed at Black Heart Magazine)
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