Mommy's Little Girl: On Sex, Motherhood, Porn, and Cherry Pie

by Susie Bright

Susie Bright has gained a reputation as one of the world's leading writers on sex and sexual politics. Bright's stories in magazines like Salon, Playboy, and Bust have drawn cultish followings, and her books are national bestsellers. Mommy's Little Girl contains selected writing since the birth of Bright's now twelve-year-old daughter, Aretha. Challenging the idea that a woman cannot be a mother and sex goddess at the same time, this book positions Bright as a beacon of hope for women who feel that their days of openness about their sexuality must come to an end after they have a child. Bright describes how her daughter and her classmates have made her aware of how sexually charged children are these days, yet dangerously lack a proper education about their own bodies. From reminiscing on her role as "lesbian consultant" to the directors of The Matrix to her hilarious instruction for both men and women on how to ruin their sex lives in twelve easy steps, Bright's always provocative, often hilarious prose is sure to appeal to anyone with a heartbeat, and tops it off with the perfect end to perfect sex — a recipe for lustful cherry pie!

Genres: Sexuality, Erotica, Nonfiction, Essays, Feminism, Memoir

172 pages, Paperback

First published December 23, 2003

About the author

Susannah "Susie" Bright (also known as Susie Sexpert) is a writer, speaker, teacher, audio-show host, performer, all on the subject of sexuality. She is one of the first writers/activists referred to as a sex-positive feminist.

Reviews

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I had liked this book more, but unfortunately the subtitle should have included "and book tours, friends who die, open relationships, and a bunch of other random stuff with no thematic link that Susie Bright happened to think was notable at the time."

I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it, just that the essays were a little hit-or-miss. I really enjoyed the first two essays on motherhood, and then was disappointed when it never came up again. I may make the cherry pie, though.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been following Bright's blog for a little while, so I finally decided to read one of her books. This one is a collection of articles she's written. I'm probably going to end up re-reading the book in smaller doses instead of one sitting. Some require contemplation. I don't actually know much of the sexual revolution that she mentions, I wasn't born until the late 80s and spent most of my childhood in a foreign country with different social mores. So it's fascinating the things she's done. The book ends with a recipe for cherry pie and since cherry season isn't for a few months I suppose I have to wait to make it.

[Colelea · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were a couple of good stories but certainly not her best work and actually it seemed sort of like she was like

"hey I have a bunch of essays and articles laying around... why the hell not throw a book together"

not very cohesive. If you are going to read one book by Susie Bright, don't settle for this one. Maybe if yr kid has a book report due and they are doing research at the public library, read a couple of the stories to kill time.

[M. Todd Webster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bright is an engaging writer, and her prose goes down quickly, like a cool drink on a hot day. I confess, though, that I always feel taken aback when it's obvious she assumes everyone would be happier if they would just sensibly be a pansexual polyamorous uninhibited atheist like herself. Still, she has a lot of interesting things to say about teaching your daughter about female sexuality, making cinematic lesbian sex look realistic, and baking a kick-ass cherry pie.

[Carolamex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, that was interesting and not at all what I expected. A series of essays from a sexpert and poliamorous author. Sometimes I even surprise myself by what I am reading. 3 1/2 stars because it has a bunch of typo's (otherwise 4 stars). How hard is it to proofread and fix those? But the subject matter was very interesting and good theories/ discussion topics here.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it quite a bit. Need to follow-up on several things in it.

I got the Kindle edition for free a while ago and you get what you pay for. It was clearly a lightly to not at all edited text version that had been OCRd. "die" for "the" frequently and lots of missing punctuation and so on. Still decipherable but somewhat harder than it should have been.

[Kristal · Rating 3 out of 5]

First For Me!

This was my first Susie Bright read. And although occasionally I found myself lost wondering why is she telling this, for the most part I found humor and maybe even learned a little about the way others think and view sex. I think what drew me in and kept me reading was the amount of confidence I felt this woman exude. Even gave me a boost!

[Christyc · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far so good. Bright is smart and interesting, but she needs to fire her proofreader. Either that, or the wrong file went to press.
That said, I look forward to reading it every night. Something I haven't done in a while.

[HeavyReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another friends of the public library book sale score. Good read. Susie Bright is funny and smart and sexy.

[Purlewe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember reading this and wanting to give it to every woman I knew who had children.