Imaginative Sex deals primarily with the psychological aspects of dominant/submissive role-playing. There’s a little technical information in here about bondage and gags, but none about the full range of activity that many people in the leather community use to create intense sensations and emotional release. The “whippings” that Norman describes here do not involve the actual striking of flesh. The dominant partner is told to sharply clap his or her hands together, while the slave reacts as if being whipped. Norman suggests that any partner who really wants to be hit should be persuaded to seek medical attention. I’m not sure what a doctor is supposed to do about masochism that seeks a genuine physical expression, other than add to the amount of shame and confusion that is already way too common among caring, consensual masochists and sadists. Instead, I suggest you savor Imaginative Sex for its rich theatrical content, and consult another technical manual such as my own book Sensuous Magic: A Guide for Adventurous Couples, or Philip Miller and Molly Devon’s hilarious and sexy Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns. Many excellent “S/M 101” handbooks for beginners have been published in the last five years, and all are available from QSM, P. O. Box 880154, San Francisco, CA 94188, 1-800-537-5815, [email protected].

All of those quibbles and “yes-buts” aside, please do settle down and enjoy Imaginative Sex. It’s a unique and wonderful book. Norman is, above all else, a thorough romantic. His work is an indictment of the industrial society we live in, a protest against the inhumane social forces that attempt to turn us all into identical and predictable units of production and consumption. Most people feel trapped, smothered, and humiliated by their jobs and assaulted by the urban environment. More than one person has probably carved out a little sanity for himself or herself by opening one of Norman’s books and living vicariously, for a little while, on a clean and lovely planet where it is possible to be a hero or the dazzling object of his desire. A reader who takes the suggestions in Imaginative Sex to heart will be able to create a healing oasis of passion at home, with the person he or she loves best. Establishing that source of nourishment and renewal takes a great deal of trust and knowledge of oneself and one’s partner. The relationship between the two of you and the secret truth you share can become a treasure that can’t be bought or sold. The companion in such a journey is infinitely valuable, irreplaceable—the very antithesis of consumerist culture. Kinky people everywhere owe Masquerade Books a debt of gratitude for keeping in print this thoughtful and inspiring work by an elder of our community.

Contents

No Fantasy, Please, We’re Americans

I Imaginative Sex: The New Sexual Revolution

II Love, Hunters and Evolution

III Marriage, Sex and Normality

IV Sex and the Brain