First, a word about the authors. 
Vera and Steve Bodansky claim to hold Ph.D. degrees in "sensuality"
from More University.  A Google search turned up no trace of such an
institution, and Departments of Sensuality are surely few and far between.  In
the Question and Answer section of the book, Vera discusses the final exam she
passed to win her degree — having a three-hour orgasm in front of the
faculty.  The Bodanskys conduct workshops in which they perform public
demonstrations of their techniques, giving an extended massive orgasm to a
"trained" female for the edification of the audience.  (The course
costs $300 at Mama Gena’s School of Womanly Arts in New York City.)  They also
run seminars from their home to facilitate "enjoyable communication"
and "networking" with respect to their methodology.  Didn’t that used
to be called "swinging?"

Now, about the book.  Orgasm isn’t
just the intense release we all thought it was, the Bodanskys explain.  If one
simply surrenders to the ministrations of a trained "doer," one
experiences the whole process of sexual arousal as one long orgasm, with
"peaks" along the way.  The recipient of this treatment (the "doee")
must be trained as well (preferably by the capable, altruistic hands of a Bodansky,
one presumes).

From there we learn the proper
techniques for "doing" and "being done," including
"teasing," "anatomy," and "overcoming
resistance."  Illustrations include line drawings of the required body
parts, and a series of photographs of a hand practicing "doing" a
woman by manipulating a pencil eraser. 

Many books discuss sexual
techniques and offer tips for pleasuring your partner.  This one proffers a
rigidly delineated method in excruciating detail.  It states, for example, that
a woman’s most sensitive spot is the left upper quadrant of the clitoris.  It
demands that the "doer" perform an action that the authors
acknowledge some women find uncomfortable or even painful. Those women just
haven’t been doing it right, the Bodanskys insist!

It’s not all bad.  The book places
an emphasis on constant communication.  It discourages men from pursuing the
"goal" of ejaculation and missing a deeper, more sensuous
experience.  But somehow, even though it’s all about sex and the authors
conscientiously use hip, slang language, the overall effect of the book is
coldly clinical.  And the "doing" method discussed for both men and
women is entirely manual (using hands).  Other popular methods of lovemaking do
not produce the sought-after extended massive orgasm.

Maybe the faculty of More University
should figure out how to get an EMO from intercourse and add it to the
curriculum.

© 2004 Jodi Forschmiedt       

Jodi Forschmiedt reads, writes,
and teaches in Seattle, Washington.