Smut: Erotic Reality/Obscene Ideology

By Murray S. Davis

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0226137929
• ISBN13: 9780226137926
• Release Date: January 1985
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr
• Length: 314 Pages
• Weight: 0.82 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 0.8" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

One of the very best

Only Georges Bataille's Death and Sensuality is comparable to the depth and profundity of Davis's elucidation of the darker tensions, meaning and power in sexuality. His division of the three attitudes taken toward sexual energy--Gnostic, Jehovanist and Naturalist--should be common knowledge, everyday language. I've gathered many books on this subject, but have never been instructed to the extent Davis has taught me. And in such "light" prose--perhaps even too light if I'm to press for any objection to this excellent work. A shame that it isn't in print.

The three ideologies

This is the most profound book, both philosophically and psychologically, that I have yet seen on the subject of human sexuality. Mr. Davis explores the division between "everyday reality" and "erotic reality" in our experience. He then analyzes the three primary approaches that we take toward this. In a nutshell: The "Naturalist" minimizes this cleavage, sees sexuality as simply a harmless release of tensions. The "Jehovanist" sees sexuality as a dangerous building up of tensions, as a threat to the social or cosmic order or "everyday reality", which must be suppressed or restricted as much as possible. The "Gnostic" also sees sexuality as a dangerous building up of tensions -- and revels in the danger, seeing "everyday reality" as essentially false and "erotic reality" as the essentially true, as "nobly evil". Mr. Davis explores the many ramifications of these three fundamental ways of looking at the sexual experience, and the complex relations between these. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in this complex and controversial subject and what it means to us.