Sacred Pleasure: Sex, Myth, and the Politics of the Body--New Paths to Power and Love | 
|  | | | Title: | Sacred Pleasure: Sex, Myth, and the Politics of the Body--New Paths to Power and Love | | Author: | Riane Eisler | | Publisher: | HarperOne | | Type: | Book / Paperback | | Publication Date: | 14 June, 1996 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0062502832 / 9780062502834 | | List Price: | $18.95 | | You Save: | $6.06 | | Amazon Price: | $12.89 | |
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Product Description
Riane Eisler shows us how history has consistently promoted the link between sex and violence--and how we can sever this link and move to a politics of partnership rather than domination in all our relations.
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Customer Reviews:
• Accentuate The Positive 24 July, 2004
The premise of this book -- the sacredness of sexual union and the importance of gender equality, is noble indeed and warrants a great deal more attention by society. But I found the author to be far too negative in spite of some excellent comments. It was painful to me, a man, to have to wallow through an extended chronicle of relatively obscure examples of misogyny, used to make a case for change that is probably self-evident to anyone reading this book. Had the author devoted more of her research to the positive to which we may all intrinsically aspire, it would have been a more valuable read. The world can benefit enormously from a deep respect for all creation that transcends the sordid, selfish history upon which she dwells.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1M1XY6NR9PMNV
• Well-meaning, I'm Sure, But Boy, Does It Have Problems 18 November, 2003
I looked forward to reading this book for a long time. I am deeply interested in connections between sex and spirituality, and I am also in agreement with Eisler about the problems that patriarchal society has created in both of these areas and especially the place where we try to integrate them. I was deeply, deeply disappointed by this book. I believe that many of Eisler's theories are correct, but she simply doesn't cite evidence that supports them. The structure of the book seems to work like this: 1) Present theory. (Example - children are frequently abused in patriarchal society.) 2) Give a piece of evidence that might be related. (For the theory given above, Eisler writes that several Victorian doctors wrote in their journals that many children of parents with venereal disease also have venereal disease.) 3) Re-state theory. (Patriarchy is terrible for children!) The trouble is, frequently the evidence does not say what she claims it says, and even when it does, it's only a tiny piece of a very large puzzle that we can't see. In the example above, for instance - venereal disease is often passed from mother to child during the birth process. Also, lower hygiene standards in the Victorian era means that it was very easy to pass all sorts of diseases. Touch your genitals while passing urine, touch your child's hand, your child touches their genitals and voila! We now have disease transmission. And, even if this piece of evidence had said what Eisler claimed it said, that's two doctors talking about the patients that they saw in their lifetimes - that doesn't allow for the specific demographic of patients they saw, geographical differences, differences over time, or pretty much anything else. It's close-up photography - what we see may reflect what's going on in the big picture, but it may not, and there's no way of knowing. This is just one example - I could cite twenty more, and I'm not a serious student of history. That makes me very concerned - I worry that for every error I noticed in this book there could be five more that I just didn't have the background to recognize. I was also deeply frustrated by Eisler's PC attitude towards sex. Sex is essential and wonderful, she writes, but pornography and BDSM are inherently tied to "dominator culture." If we live in a dominator culture, which I believe we do, isn't everything going to bear its taint? If negativity about sex is a significant part of what sustains dominator culture, which Eisler did convince me of, shouldn't we be doing all we can to validate diverse forms of sexual expression? She winds up giving a very mixed message. "Sex is great, but only if it's the right kind of sex!" That's not actually going to get us anywhere, that's the message we've been getting from our culture all along. "Sex is okay, but only if the husband is in the dominant position... sex is okay, but only if you're married... sex is okay, but only if you're straight..." Haven't we heard this before? It's really a shame that the book isn't better written - there's so little material written on this topic that to have even one piece be sub-standard has a serious adverse effect on the available body of work.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3LQBTXB1E7HG8
• Brilliant 02 November, 2007
Riane Eisler is a treasure. In SACRED PLEASURE, she meticulously documents the corrosive nature of the male dominance that permeates all aspects of human society. Eisler makes a strong case that there is a better way, one that is based on mutual respect and partnership between the sexes. Creating a sustainable future for humanity depends on making peace with the natural world. A crucial step in making that happen is for men and women to learn to live in harmony while joyfully valuing the things that make each sex unique. An engaging and very worthwhile read.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1V10IKGER3MW
• Woman Heal 29 December, 2001
A very interesting and enlightening book for anyone seeking to understand World Sexuality and Sexuality in our own lives. Modern times show us everything from burka's to genuine hard-core pornagraphy that in American is a multi-billion dollar a year industry. How does one make sense of all this?? KNOWLEDGE Eisler's book is a good place to start. As with "The Chalice and The Blade", there are a lot of proven historical facts. Makes one take a closer look.... especially in regards to what we consdier "sacred". 5000 years of historical information will make one rethink their own personal values.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1QANKB6T6TRMF
• Probably The Best History Of Pleasure 10 December, 2004
In this book Riane Eisler focuses on the issues surrounding joy. Why, she asks, are love and evil, cruelty and pleasure, so confounded in our private and public lives? Her answers involve a journey through the heart of civilization as we know it:
"...it may well be that at least in some instances the Christian condemnation of sexual "licentiousness" was due to the ... all too common association of sex with violence and domination. ... But the Church did not then - any more than it does now - condemn the association of sex with violence... Instead, it condemned sexual pleasure."
Eisler sets out to reconstruct the history of sex and love, starting with the bonobos chimpanzees. She traces the biological evolution of pleasure and the "chemistry of love". Endorphins become a powerful pleasure-reward for social bonding. Sex takes an importance far beyond reproduction. A different Darwinism emerges, stressing the survival of those with the greatest capacity for joy, love and mutual care. In Eisler's critical path, the future belongs not to those with the greatest means of coercion, or even with the best means of production, but to those able to inspire partnership between former competitors.
It may seem odd, but the view that love and joy are central in human development is a dubious and unproven theory. Before it can be taken seriously, it must be backed with "hard" scientific and historical evidence. Eisler therefore supports her observations with a respectable 54 pages of reference notes.
Most of the book comes under the heading, "Where Do We Go From Here?", in which Eisler spins her distinctive moral vision. To her mind, the modern media link of sex with violence:
"...is not (as is often claimed) a product of modern sexual "laxness", but imbedded in ancient dominator traditions - this is not "the sexual revolution". It is the dominator sexual counter-revolution."
She turns to praising real people who are building families of mutuality, politics of compassion, or to use Hazel Henderson's term, "the love economy". Through her Partnership Studies Center, Eisler works with like-minded people around the world. She introduces some of them: the Ecopolis Culture and Health Center in Moscow, a network called Women Living Under Muslim Laws, the Oakland Men's Project, the Mothers of El Salvador, Business for Social Responsibility, the Defense of Children International, the Prague-based East-West Gender Studies Center, or the Partnership Research Group at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing (which has produced a book called The Chalice and the Blade in Chinese Culture). As she writes, Eisler's sentences grow longer, with the cadence of someone excited. The sympathetic reader may feel walls crumbling. If the sentences are run on, who cares?
In her last section, Eisler looks to myths and stories for a reconstruction of love. Among the stories she shares is a poem by her partner David Loye, transforming the tale of Adam and Eve into a tender touch after a bad dream.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2AU7EFI21JONP
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