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Sexy Origins and Intimate Things: The Rites and Rituals of Straights, Gays, Bis, Drags, Trans, Virgins, and Others
Has there ever been a gay pope? What is history's first love poem? Why do men have nipples? How did "drag" come to mean cross-dressing? Who was the first prostitute? At what age does a man's penis stop growing? Do female animals have orgasms? How long have people been giving the finger? Charles Panati explores hundreds of racy and "unmentionable" subjects, including words, practices, and taboos. Obsessed with getting to the root of things, Panati reveals facts that will surprise even the most informed reader.
432 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1998
20 people are currently reading
764 people want to read
About the author
Charles Panati
31 books17 followersCharles Panati is a former college professor, industrial physicist, author, and science editor of Newsweek.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 16, 2022
this fascinating book is 500+ pages, so the topics can get wonderfully specific. Examples:
--"Italian Teens with Shaved Heads in Bicolored Tights; 14th Century"
--"Deflowering Brides with Sacred Dildos; Greece, 600 BC to 19th Century"
--"The 13 Stages of Male Orgasm"
--"Islamic Ideal of Female Beauty"
--"The Last Palace Eunich; China, 1996"
topics are usually arranged by the origin of objects (e.g., chastity belts, condoms, the bra), the history of sexual acts (e.g., prostitution, circumcision, sex in the bible, using poppers), or the linguistic origin of sexual terms (e.g., "knocked up", "screw", "hooker", "hump"). no stone is left unturned.
the book covers each topic scientifically, anthropologically, statistically, and linguistically. you also get to learn about the details of famous people's sexual lives -- such as JFK, mary magdalen, lots of popes, charlie chaplin, and frank sinatra.
as the book's title implies, people of all sexual orientations will love this book. i've had this book in my bathroom for 5 years, and it STILL manages to keep me entertained! love it!
this isn't a book to read from beginning to end: you can flip through it until you find an intriguing topic, which won't take long. each subject is in easy-to-read (and often humorous) segments that range from 1 paragraph to 2 pages.
it also includes AMAZING black-and-white illustrations on almost every page. this is infinitely more interesting to read than, say, the kinsey report. highly recommended! (also makes a great gift for your open-minded friends!)
--"Italian Teens with Shaved Heads in Bicolored Tights; 14th Century"
--"Deflowering Brides with Sacred Dildos; Greece, 600 BC to 19th Century"
--"The 13 Stages of Male Orgasm"
--"Islamic Ideal of Female Beauty"
--"The Last Palace Eunich; China, 1996"
topics are usually arranged by the origin of objects (e.g., chastity belts, condoms, the bra), the history of sexual acts (e.g., prostitution, circumcision, sex in the bible, using poppers), or the linguistic origin of sexual terms (e.g., "knocked up", "screw", "hooker", "hump"). no stone is left unturned.
the book covers each topic scientifically, anthropologically, statistically, and linguistically. you also get to learn about the details of famous people's sexual lives -- such as JFK, mary magdalen, lots of popes, charlie chaplin, and frank sinatra.
as the book's title implies, people of all sexual orientations will love this book. i've had this book in my bathroom for 5 years, and it STILL manages to keep me entertained! love it!
this isn't a book to read from beginning to end: you can flip through it until you find an intriguing topic, which won't take long. each subject is in easy-to-read (and often humorous) segments that range from 1 paragraph to 2 pages.
it also includes AMAZING black-and-white illustrations on almost every page. this is infinitely more interesting to read than, say, the kinsey report. highly recommended! (also makes a great gift for your open-minded friends!)
September 13, 2009
Wowie! There is a lot of information packed into this book.
Want to know the origins of dildos and who used them? Check here.
Want to know who first used the word "poontang?" Look it up here.
Want to learn about love chemicals? This is the book for you.
It's a big book. You don't have to read it from cover to cover. Skip around. Sample the info. Enjoy.
Want to know the origins of dildos and who used them? Check here.
Want to know who first used the word "poontang?" Look it up here.
Want to learn about love chemicals? This is the book for you.
It's a big book. You don't have to read it from cover to cover. Skip around. Sample the info. Enjoy.
May 25, 2019
Many anecdotes are arranged into 20 thematic chapters. Each chapter, though, feels a bit scattered and some of the thematic connections were forced, and I wonder if it would not have been better to alphabetize the entire >500-page book and arrange it more like an encyclopedia.
The chapter on eunuchs is titled "John Wayne Bobbitt: Eunuch to Castrato." This may accidentally convey that Bobbitt began as a eunuch and became a castrato, which would not make sense. Bobbitt is an American man whose penis was severed by his wife in 1993. The chapter opens with his story, then rewinds to talk about castration in the ancient world, and ends up discussing several of the most famous Italian castrati singers (a career in which the testes, not the penis, are the relevant parts). Thus: Bobbitt, eunuch, castrato. It also talks about punitive mutilation and sex-reassignment surgery. The chapter covers all these subjects in 31 pages. It is the final chapter in the book, and the book does not have a conclusion.
Rushing through the material like this is facilitated by the author's flippant tone. For example: "The reasons [for male genital mutilation] are as numerous as the benefits. A man without balls is uniquely qualified for many purposes; without his penis, he's qualified for even more." I don't think we want to say that castration — particularly the compulsory kind — is an actual qualification for whatever activity someone is being forced to do or not do, nor that his kidnappers' "reasons" are valid, nor that the outcome is properly understood as a "benefit." I don't believe the author wants us to think that that is his opinion. The reader has to mentally edit: the author is repeating what he thinks someone else might have argued. Similarly, in another chapter, a transgender man is referred to as "she" and then as "he" two paragraphs later. The book was written in 1998 and maybe there was less sensitivity around pronouns then, but, still, it's hard to tell exactly what's being conveyed there. My sense is that the author was working quickly and that this was meant to be a light, entertaining survey rather than provide deep insight in any one area.
The chapter on eunuchs is titled "John Wayne Bobbitt: Eunuch to Castrato." This may accidentally convey that Bobbitt began as a eunuch and became a castrato, which would not make sense. Bobbitt is an American man whose penis was severed by his wife in 1993. The chapter opens with his story, then rewinds to talk about castration in the ancient world, and ends up discussing several of the most famous Italian castrati singers (a career in which the testes, not the penis, are the relevant parts). Thus: Bobbitt, eunuch, castrato. It also talks about punitive mutilation and sex-reassignment surgery. The chapter covers all these subjects in 31 pages. It is the final chapter in the book, and the book does not have a conclusion.
Rushing through the material like this is facilitated by the author's flippant tone. For example: "The reasons [for male genital mutilation] are as numerous as the benefits. A man without balls is uniquely qualified for many purposes; without his penis, he's qualified for even more." I don't think we want to say that castration — particularly the compulsory kind — is an actual qualification for whatever activity someone is being forced to do or not do, nor that his kidnappers' "reasons" are valid, nor that the outcome is properly understood as a "benefit." I don't believe the author wants us to think that that is his opinion. The reader has to mentally edit: the author is repeating what he thinks someone else might have argued. Similarly, in another chapter, a transgender man is referred to as "she" and then as "he" two paragraphs later. The book was written in 1998 and maybe there was less sensitivity around pronouns then, but, still, it's hard to tell exactly what's being conveyed there. My sense is that the author was working quickly and that this was meant to be a light, entertaining survey rather than provide deep insight in any one area.
April 14, 2023
I was introduced to the existence of the this book by Dr. Lindsay Doe the host of the YouTube channel "Sexplanations" which has been a fantastic resources for sexually curious people for many years.
At first I wasn't really too sure what the books would be about, but found it to be a fascinating review of how words came to sexually charged, and their real origins, various rituals that are common (and some that are not so common) throughout the world's different cultures both today and historically. He also looks at courtship, history of pin-ups and how that morphed into what we commonly term pornography today, prostitution, and so much more.
This books was a real eyeopener, and I think it should be on most peoples read me list especially in today's world where many people have little or no understanding of how the world really works when dealing with people who don't fit into their microscopically narrow viewpoints.
Mr. Panati is a former physicist and was science editor for Newsweek for six years. He is the author of a number of other books, and I will be reviewing a couple more of these in the future.
Highly recommended
At first I wasn't really too sure what the books would be about, but found it to be a fascinating review of how words came to sexually charged, and their real origins, various rituals that are common (and some that are not so common) throughout the world's different cultures both today and historically. He also looks at courtship, history of pin-ups and how that morphed into what we commonly term pornography today, prostitution, and so much more.
This books was a real eyeopener, and I think it should be on most peoples read me list especially in today's world where many people have little or no understanding of how the world really works when dealing with people who don't fit into their microscopically narrow viewpoints.
Mr. Panati is a former physicist and was science editor for Newsweek for six years. He is the author of a number of other books, and I will be reviewing a couple more of these in the future.
Highly recommended
May 22, 2025
Some of this information is dubious and just poorly put. I had to fact check the tidbit about African penis stretching and the practice of double knotting the penis. It sounded like BS and I can't find anything to back up that it's true, only a single web page that is full of others talking about how they too couldn't find a reference. Referring to well sexed women as "well used" is tacky, no way around it. I've had several problems with the text already, 80 pages in. It's a fun read but I call into question the validity of it all, and I recommend reading with a grain of salt and a thick skin if you're a woman. The author also references an inborn desire for males of most species to prefer young mates, including humans. You know, because as socially motivated, emotionally complex creatures we can't override a "natural predilection" for the young tied into antiquated notions of fertility. It's an excuse I'm very tired of hearing from grown men, so to read it in a reference book about sex is disappointing.
February 8, 2010
I read this book slowly over a few months, picking it up in between books and when I wanted light-hearted reading. I did learn a lot and envy the author getting to research this topic. Some of it was depressing but it showed when it comes to sex we've come a long way...but we have a long way to go.
February 16, 2009
This was a Christmas gift one year. Interesting...
January 16, 2013
I was going through a shelf of books I had read years ago and came across this one. A very informative book about the history of things and terms we take all know a little about.
June 25, 2022
Lots of new info and insights for me.
November 4, 2009
One of my reference books.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews