Imaginative Sex

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Imaginative Sex (1974)

Title

Imaginative Sex

with 53 detailed scenarios for sensual fantasies and a revolutionary new guide to male-female relations

Author

John Norman

Date

1974

Editorial

DAW Books^[wp], ISBN 0-87997-146-0

New American Library, ISBN 0-87997-912-7

Penguin Publishing Group, ISBN 0-87997-546-6

Pages

?

Imaginative Sex is a non-fiction book by John Norman which includes a list of male-dominant heterosexual BDSM-type sexual fantasy scenarios, and suggested guidelines as to how a couple can act them out in order to improve their sex life. First published in paperback form 1974 by fiction publisher DAW Books, the then-publisher of Norman's Gor series (and distributed through the same channels as the science-fiction and fantasy paperbacks in DAW's line), the book was republished in 1997 with a new foreword by noted BDSM author Pat Califia^[wp]. According to Califia, the original 1974 edition of the book "was one of the first above-ground nonfiction books to offer a rationalization for dominant/submissive role-playing and some instructions about how to do it". However, the book does not use the terminology which would later become common in BDSM circles "for the very simple reason that the jargon and conventions we take for granted had not been created when he wrote the book". While Norman focuses exclusively on male-dominant heterosexual couples, "Imaginative Sex could, however, be used by readers of any sexual orientation or gender", according to Califia, since "Norman is very good at pinpointing archetypal situations that are ideal for building the tension and polarization crucial to a good scene" and "It's fairly easy to adapt these scenarios to any S/M or D/s relationship".

In the book, Norman states that one of his goals as a writer is to allow people's imaginations to become "sexually liberated". He encourages married couples to use sexual fantasies and rôle playing in order to enliven their sex lives and explore the mental and spiritual aspects of sexual intercourse. While Norman defends his male-dominant psycho-sexual theories (which also underlie the Gor books), it is notable that he does not advise couples to attempt to adopt the customs and institutions of the fictional planet Gor in any literal or simplistic way. Norman places more emphasis on "pair-bonding" and stable heterosexual relationships than in the Gor books, and when fantasy-scenario whippings are to be enacted, for example, Norman recommends that the man sharply clap his hands together, "while the slave reacts as if being whipped".

Rezensionen

Die Geheimnisse des Autors der Geschichten von Gor

Reviewed in Germany on 3 December 2012

Viele Jahre standen die phantastischen Geschichten auf dem Planeten Gor auf dem deutschen Index, dabei sind es lediglich Science Fiction-Romane mit einem allerdings deutlichen sexuellen Unterton, allerdings genauso mit einem deutlich ökologischen, sehr "grünem" Unterton! Es gibt nur wenige Autoren die so deutlich wie John Norman ihr Unbehagen an der Umweltverschmutzung und dem Raubbau der Natur in den USA äußern.

Mittlerweile, der Autor ist schon über 80 Jahre alt, erleben die über 30 Bände in den USA eine Rennaissance mit weiteren erfolgreichen Fortsetzungen. Die Romane sind nicht jedermanns Geschmack, manche bekritteln seinen Satzbau und die (beabsichtigten) Stereotypien, jedoch sind einige Bände wie "Captive of Gor", einer der Glanzpunkte der Roman-Serie, für alle gleichermassen genießbar.

Hier, in diesem leicht zu lesenden Buch, erzählt der Autor, um was es ihm in seinen Romanen geht: Phantasie in das privateste Leben zu bringen, die Menschen auf Ideen zu bringen, Spaß und Freude am Miteinander, Lust an der Liebe... und das ist ihm in meinen Augen auch gelungen. John Norman, im Hauptberuf Philosophie-Professor, versteht es dabei hervoragend, sein Thema zu illustrieren - man merkt sehr schnell, er kennt die Menschen und ihre Charaktere zur Genüge.

Ein Ratgeber, der hält was er verspricht und sich wirklich lohnt. Mir gefällt an diesem kleinen Buch besonders, dass er fast keine praktischen Tips ("nehmen sie den Vibrator in die linke Hand...") gibt, sondern im Gegenteil die Phantasie anregt, die, das gebe ich gerne zu, bei Männern dann am Besten funktioniert, wenn es um Thema Nr. 1 geht.

Translated into English

The secrets of the author of the stories of Gor

For many years, the fantastic stories on planet Gor were on the German index, but they are only science fiction novels with a clear sexual undertone, but also with a clearly ecological, very "green" undertone! There are few authors who express as clearly as John Norman their unease with environmental pollution and the robbery of nature in the United States.

Meanwhile, the author is already over 80 years old, the more than 30 volumes in the USA are experiencing a renaissance with further successful sequels. The novels are not everyone's taste, some scribe his sentence structure and the (intended) stereotypes, but some volumes like “Captive of Gor”, one of the highlights of the novel series, are equally edible for everyone.

Here, in this easy-to-read book, the author tells about what he is about in his novels: to bring imagination into the most private life, to bring people to ideas, fun and joy in togetherness, desire for love... and in my eyes he succeeded in doing so. John Norman, a professor of philosophy in the main profession, understands how to illustrate his subject excellently - one realizes very quickly that he knows the people and their characters enough.

A counselor who keeps what he promises and is really worth it. I particularly like this little book that he gives almost no practical tips ("take the vibrator in the left hand...") but on the contrary the imagination stimulates the, I like to admit, works best for men when it comes to theme No. 1.

References

• "No Fantasy, Please, We're Americans: A Foreword by a Feminist", introduction by Pat Califia to 1997 edition of Imaginative Sex.

This article based on an article Imaginative Sex (20 January 2016) from the free Encyklopedia Wipipedia. The Wipipedia article is published under GNU-License for free Documentation. In Wipipedia is a List of Authors available those who worked on the text before being incorporated in WikiMANNia.