Cure for cancer? End to world hunger? What's left to do after the publication of Felice Newman's definitive guide to lesbian sex? Drawing on a wide range of published sources as well as her own notoriously graphic questionnaire circulated by e-mail--stunning mild-mannered office workers as it reeled across their computer screens--Newman has compiled an exhaustively thorough how-to guide for practices as exotic as play piercings and as pedestrian as oral sex. Along the way, she offers a primer in sexual politics and lesbian manners at the turn of the century. The S/M hanky code is laid out once and for all. There is even a (brief, happily brief) section on celibacy.

Highlights include descriptions of sex writer Tristan Taormino's private consultation with Betty Dodson, the author of Sex for One described as "the mother of masturbation": "I was so excited about this adventure that I nearly peed in my pants," recalled Taormino, "I was going to touch myself for Dr. Betty Dodson!" (In the end, Newman reports, "Tristan earned an A+ in pelvic thrusting, but got a big 'needs improvement' in the breathing department.") Although it sometimes skimps on the details, especially with regard to women's health, The Whole Lesbian Sex Book is so rich, inclusive, and authoritative that it invites challenge. Now inventive lovers can ask each other: "Is it in Whole Lesbian?" --Regina Marler

From Library Journal
Newman's sex guide for lesbians is superb. Why can't more heterosexual sex manuals be this good? Newman, who, as the publisher at Cleis Press since 1980 has edited many other sex books, covers oral, manual, anal, and insertive-vaginal techniques with loving care. She includes a whole chapter on breast play, addresses safety repeatedly and thoroughly, and discusses transgender and bisexual orientations, SM, group sex, masturbation, and sex toys--all while acknowledging that some women prefer monogamy, some polygamy. Her bibliography and resource list are simply outstanding. Newman's work updates and embodies the best of the half -dozen other lesbian sex manuals in print) all acknowledged in her bibliography). Even though this book is aimed at lesbians, it's extremely suitable for heterosexual women (to enhance their own eroticism) and men (to tell them what turns women on). For all public libraries.Martha Cornog, PhiladelphiaCopyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Girlfriends Magazine, Feb./Mar. 2005
Dykes of all races, sexual tastes, and body types will find themselves reflected in the new edition.

Bust Magazine
"Infectious and empowering and extremely well-researched...Getting off is good, and this book will help you get off better."

On Our Backs
"The encyclopedia of lesbian sex that every good girl needs in her library."

LesbiaNation, Dec. 2004
"Fresh...the new version of the book is more comprehensive than ever...absolutely fantastic information."

The Advocate
"A classic."

San Francisco Bay Guardian
"Felice Newman has her latex-covered finger on the clit of Lesbian Nation."

Library Journal, January 2000
"Newman's sex guide for lesbians is superb. Why can't more heterosexual sex manuals be this good?"

Book Description
The Whole Lesbian Sex Book was the first-ever sex guide to offer information and encouragement for all women who desire women - lesbian, bisexual, butch, femme, androgynous, and transgender. First published in 1999, it has been lauded for its thoroughness, enthusiastic tone, and creative, nonjudgmental approach to lesbian sex in all its rich variety. Now, five years later, sex educator Felice Newman has completely updated this classic guide. There is new information throughout, up-to-date research, fresh quotes from women who share their personal experiences, a greatly expanded resource guide, new illustrations, and an entire new chapter on sex and partnership.

From the Publisher
The most comprehensive lesbian sex guide ever published just got better. Along with information and encouragement for all sexual practices, from cunnilingus, strap-on sex, and anal penetration to vaginal fisting, S/M, and role play, Newman offers much new that is new—100 additional pages of the best sex information available to lesbian, bisexual, and queer women. New to this edition is a far-reaching chapter on sex and partnership which tells readers how to create lasting sexual relationships. Newman scoffs at the idea that hot sex and long-term relationships are mutually exclusive. "Whether you have one partner or several, you can have ongoing, intimate sexual connections that expand and deepen over time," she says. Newman encourages her readers to use her book "as a resource filled with information, suggestions, tips and techniques, and support for discovering a sexuality that works for you." As publisher of Cleis Press since 1980, Felice Newman has developed and edited books on sexuality and gender by Susie Bright, Joan Nestle, Tristan Taormino, Patrick Califia, Carol Queen, Annie Sprinkle, Staci Haines, Loren Cameron, and Cathy Winks and Anne Semans of Good Vibrations. She really knows lesbian sex!

Excerpted from The Whole Lesbian Sex Book: A Passionate Guide for All of Us by Felice Newman. Copyright © 2004. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The Whole Lesbian Sex Book, Second Edition Copyright @ 1999, 2004 by Felice Newman. All rights reserved. from Chapter 7 Communication and Finding Sex Partners Where can you find sex partners? Well, just about anywhere. At school, in sessions of academic conferences, at work, at a bar, at a dance club, at the gym, on the subway, at a sex party, in a women’s studies class, in your queer youth group, at a 12-step meeting, at church or synagogue, while doing community activism, through introductions from friends, via ex-lovers (and even the occasional ex-husband), and of course on the Internet. More specifically, you can meet sex partners while shopping for sex toys, at a Dyke March planning meeting, in line at the queer film festival, at the women’s basketball playoffs, on parent/teacher night at your child’s preschool, while marching in your local Pride parade, at the International Ms. Leather competition, at the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival, at Novice Night at your local S/M group, in your neighborhood queer bookstore, through your polyamorous lovers, and in the park while walking your dog. GEOGRAPHY, NOT DESTINY Whether you live in Louisville or London, the basics of meeting potential sex partners are the same. Sure, finding lovers becomes difficult when you can count the dykes on your campus on your fingers—and still have a couple left over to vent your frustration! If your town boasts few queer social resources, you'll have to muster all your creativity (and self-confidence) to find sex partners. But even in cities with bustling queer communities—New York, London, Berlin, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sydney—the well seems to run dry at times. You can fly to San Francisco for the annual Pride parade, line up on Market Street with the cheering crowd half a million strong, and overhear an adorable pierced-and-tattooed dyke complain that she can't find a lover. Deprivation thinking will keep you, well, deprived. Honestly, if you think negatively enough, you'll discover a dyke shortage in P'town at the height of summer. Want to find a girlfriend, a trick, fuck buddy, or summer fling? Indulge yourself in every erotic delight at your disposal—especially your own erotic imagination and capacity for self-pleasure. And in the meantime, learn how to talk about sex. There's more to finding sex partners than moving to a city with favorable demographics or buying a new black leather miniskirt—though you will look irresistible in the East Village. Before you rent the U-Haul or spend next week's paycheck, learn some basic communication skills. You'll be a more confident and competent partner—and you'll learn about yourself in the process. TALK, TALK, TALK Desire—communicated in no uncertain terms—is a gift we give each other. Think of your tongue as a sex toy (not just for oral sex) and of sex talk as foreplay. Your words can stoke the fires as effectively as kisses and caresses. Some of us love to talk dirty. We whisper sensual promises into eager ears. We send salacious emails in the middle of the workday. We leave outrageously graphic notes in gym lockers, patent leather purses, billfolds, underwear drawers, and peeking out from the floor mat in the Honda—on the driver’s side, of course. We have long, wet phone conversations. We spend days online cruising chatrooms for eloquent lovers. We make home movies. We tape ourselves having sex, and, as one woman relates, we hit the playback button again and again and again. Effective sexual communication is the single most useful erotic skill you can bring to a lover. As Susie Bright says, "No lover is able to look into your eyes and figure out how you want to get fucked in the ass." Sexual communication includes being able to articulate your desires, fantasies, history, limits, and concerns—and being able to listen without judgment to those of your partners. Communication skills carry a big payoff: Your sex life improves dramatically as you gain fluency in the vocabulary of your own desires. When you can tell a partner what you want—in plain language—she’ll be more likely to meet your needs. Your partner will be inspired by your forthright manner, too. Soon, she’ll be telling you things she’s never said aloud before. Asking your partner what she likes will also improve your sex life. You’ll find out exactly how she likes to be touched, which will make you a better lover. You needn’t worry about appearing inexperienced if you ask your lover how she likes her clitoris licked. Even if you’ve gone down on a hundred other women, you still don’t know how she likes it. Asking is the mark of a sophisticated lover. It’s a great way to get used to talking about desire, too. If you’re too shy to open up a dialogue about your needs, start with hers. (Just don’t forget to come back to you.) Talking about sex won’t ruin the mystery or spontaneity of your erotic encounters. The romantic myths that great sex "just happens" and that a skilled lover can intuit your needs are just that—myths. Once you’re open about your sexual practices and fantasies, you can stop wondering whether you’re "normal." As soon as you start telling friends and lovers the scenarios that fuel your dreams, you’ll find out that you are hardly unique. Many people share your fantasies. In fact, some of your friends may come up with turn-ons even more kinky than yours. Finally, communication is how you practice consent. Even if you know what you want, you can't give (or withhold) consent without communicating it.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Finally, a truly comprehensive sex guide for lesbians and bisexual women! The Whole Lesbian Sex Book offers information and support for all women who love women&3151;partnered and single, young and old, transgendered and traditionally gendered, sexually experienced and new to sexual exploration.

FROM THE CRITICS

BUST Magazine

The Whole Lesbian Sex Book is infectious and empowering and extremely well-researched.

Library Journal