A History of Sex in 100 Objects

An elegant and erotic fully illustrated essay collection that tells a bold new history of human sexuality through 100 iconic objects, spanning from prehistoric times through today.

Where there’s sex, there are objects—objects that enhance it, spice it up, record it, explain it, cover it up, outlaw it, celebrate it. Body parts have been lubricated, merkined, pharmaceutically enhanced. Accessories have strapped, plugged, tied, vibrated. Ancient civilizations crafted pottery to depict explicit sex positions, while others chiseled decrees forbidding the act all together.

In A History of Sex in 100 Objects, professor Sari Locker compiles a striking collection of the objects that transformed the course of human sexuality. They range from idiosyncratic (blow-up dolls and waterbeds) to educational (Kama Sutra and Kinsey Reports), from outlandish (sex thrones and sex robots) to lifesaving (PrEP and birth control pills), from era-defining (Madonna’s Sex book) to conversation-starting (Monica Lewinsky’s blue dress). They unfold brilliant stories, like the original intention of chastity belts, or the household item first used by cavewoman as dildos. They chart the transition from ignorance to insight, from sexual repression to freedom, from persecution to progress—and sometimes back again.

Spanning from the Paleozoic Era to today, A History of Sex in 100 Objects combines art, technology, religion, science, and politics to tell the story of our sex lives both intimately and on a global scale, forming a fascinating record of how humans have connected throughout time.