Imaginative Sex
Encyclopedia
Imaginative Sex is a non-fiction
book by John Norman
which includes a list of male-dominant heterosexual BDSM
-type sexual fantasy
scenarios, and suggested guidelines as to how a couple can act them out in order to improve their sex life. First published in paperback form 1974 by fiction publisher DAW Books
, the then-publisher of Norman's Gor
series (and distributed through the same channels as the science-fiction and fantasy paperbacks in DAW's line), the book was republished in 1997 with a new foreword by noted BDSM author Pat Califia. According to Califia, the original 1974 edition of the book "was one of the first above-ground nonfiction books to offer a rationalization for dominant/submissive role-playing and some instructions about how to do it". However, the book does not use the terminology which later became common in BDSM circles "for the very simple reason that the jargon and conventions we take for granted had not been created when he wrote the book". While Norman focuses exclusively on male-dominant heterosexual couples, "Imaginative Sex could, however, be used by readers of any sexual orientation or gender", according to Califia, since "Norman is very good at pinpointing archetypal situations that are ideal for building the tension and polarization crucial to a good scene" and "It's fairly easy to adapt these scenarios to any S/M or D/S
relationship".
In the book, Norman states that one of his goals as a writer is to allow people's imaginations to become "sexually liberated". He encourages married couples to use sexual fantasies and role playing in order to enliven their sex lives and explore the mental and spiritual aspects of sexual intercourse
. While Norman defends his male-dominant psycho-sexual theories (which also underlie the Gor books), it is notable that he does not advise couples to attempt to adopt the customs and institutions of the fictional planet Gor in any literal or simplistic way. Norman places more emphasis on "pair-bonding" and stable heterosexual relationships than in the Gor books, and when fantasy-scenario whippings are to be enacted, for example, Norman recommends that the man sharply clap his hands together, "while the slave reacts as if being whipped".
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
book by John Norman
John Norman
John Frederick Lange, Jr. , better known under his pen name John Norman, is a professor of philosophy and an author. He is best known for his Gor novel series.-Biography:...
which includes a list of male-dominant heterosexual BDSM
BDSM
BDSM is an erotic preference and a form of sexual expression involving the consensual use of restraint, intense sensory stimulation, and fantasy power role-play. The compound acronym BDSM is derived from the terms bondage and discipline , dominance and submission , and sadism and masochism...
-type sexual fantasy
Sexual fantasy
A sexual fantasy, also called an erotic fantasy, is a fantasy or pattern of thoughts with the effect of creating or enhancing sexual feelings; in short, it is "almost any mental imagery that is sexually arousing or erotic to [an] individual"...
scenarios, and suggested guidelines as to how a couple can act them out in order to improve their sex life. First published in paperback form 1974 by fiction publisher DAW Books
DAW Books
DAW Books is an American science fiction and fantasy publisher, founded by Donald A. Wollheim following his departure from Ace Books in 1971. The company therefore claims to be "the first publishing company ever devoted exclusively to science fiction and fantasy." The first DAW Book published was...
, the then-publisher of Norman's Gor
Gor
Gor , the Counter-Earth, is the alternate-world setting for a series of 30 novels by John Norman that combine philosophy, erotica and science fiction...
series (and distributed through the same channels as the science-fiction and fantasy paperbacks in DAW's line), the book was republished in 1997 with a new foreword by noted BDSM author Pat Califia. According to Califia, the original 1974 edition of the book "was one of the first above-ground nonfiction books to offer a rationalization for dominant/submissive role-playing and some instructions about how to do it". However, the book does not use the terminology which later became common in BDSM circles "for the very simple reason that the jargon and conventions we take for granted had not been created when he wrote the book". While Norman focuses exclusively on male-dominant heterosexual couples, "Imaginative Sex could, however, be used by readers of any sexual orientation or gender", according to Califia, since "Norman is very good at pinpointing archetypal situations that are ideal for building the tension and polarization crucial to a good scene" and "It's fairly easy to adapt these scenarios to any S/M or D/S
Domination and submission (BDSM)
Dominance and submission is a set of behaviors, customs and rituals involving the giving by one individual to another individual of control over them in an erotic episode or as a lifestyle....
relationship".
In the book, Norman states that one of his goals as a writer is to allow people's imaginations to become "sexually liberated". He encourages married couples to use sexual fantasies and role playing in order to enliven their sex lives and explore the mental and spiritual aspects of sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
. While Norman defends his male-dominant psycho-sexual theories (which also underlie the Gor books), it is notable that he does not advise couples to attempt to adopt the customs and institutions of the fictional planet Gor in any literal or simplistic way. Norman places more emphasis on "pair-bonding" and stable heterosexual relationships than in the Gor books, and when fantasy-scenario whippings are to be enacted, for example, Norman recommends that the man sharply clap his hands together, "while the slave reacts as if being whipped".
Further reading
- Essay on Imaginative Sex by "Luther" (hosted on official John Norman author site)