SEXUAL CONFIDENCE

by Debora with Robert Judd Phillips ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 1980

Now that they've demonstrated How to Fall Out of Love (1978), Phillips and Judd propose to teach us how to fall into bed; so which is it, yea or nay? In line with their earlier effort, the authors profess a posture of humanism (sex is more than performance, it's love, caring, sharing, it's springtime); but their techniques are straight from robot boot camp. First you unlearn the nasties (guilt, anxiety, jealousy) through step-by-step desensitization procedures (step one might be to write the word ""penis""; by step ten--oh boy!). Then after the relaxation exercises have taken their toll, you start building up the old self-image, courtesy of assertiveness training; upward and onward to ""basics."" The authors favor such recently neglected (they say) standbys as necking and languorous undressing; they've also come to the conclusion that laughter is an aphrodisiac, so a little unrelieved hilarity in the bedroom might not be such a bad thing, either. Believe it or not, the gist of a lot of this already appeared in their earlier book (under the theory that once you got rid of the albatross, you'd need other birds to coo with), so there's no need to rush out and buy. In fact, there's no need at all.

Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1980

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1980

Categories: NONFICTION