Dirty Words: A Literary Encyclopedia of Sex » (First Edition)

Ellen Sussman is the bestselling author of On a Night Like This and editor of the anthology Bad Girls. She lives in Los Altos Hills, California.

A playful take on bedroom talk—a smart, funny encyclopedia with entries written by notable contemporary writers.

This witty reference steps in where time-honored discussions of the birds and the bees typically fall short. All of the 100-some entries are formally defined and further explained through reflective and ribald definitions, essays, and stories by some of today’s most exciting writers. Everything from celibacy to promiscuity, hand jobs to sex toys is tackled by everyone’s favorite writers including Steve Almond, Patricia Marx, Phillip Lopate, and Antonya Nelson. From sexual relationships (monogamy, one-night stand, ménage à trois) to sexual positions (doggie style, 69), from age-old practices (prostitution) to contemporary twists (cybersex), this alphabetical encyclopedia includes everything you need to know about the language of love and more.

Publishers Weekly

Author Sussman compiled this quasi-reference book as a corrective for not getting the "facts of life" talk that her brother received. The result is an often riveting, and occasionally shocking, essay collection that does much more than define 94 sex-related terms. With close to 100 writers (including Thomas Beller, Antonya Nelson, Pagan Kennedy, Jonathan Ames and poet Stephen Dunn), there's a huge range of styles and sensibilities. The pseudonymous writer tackling "adultery" admits to cheating on his girlfriend with his wife: "six months in and who's to tell whom you're horny for anymore?" Meredith Maran's essay on "bisexuality" has a surprise ending for all involved: Maran reveals her bisexuality to her husband at the very moment she first recognizes it herself. Some essays are romantic; Victoria Redel's impressionistic entry for kissing begins with the delicious line, "The first surprise of your mouth and mine." Some are goofy-Bret Anthony Johnston revives the old what's-your-porn-star-name parlor game-and some are actually fiction-like Lucy Ferriss's brief one-act play script, "Mile High Club"-but most are surprisingly straightforward and entirely unconcerned with shock value, even regarding the terms too dirty to print here.
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Introduction   Ellen Sussman     1
69   Ellen Sussman     5
Adultery   Donovan Bright     6
Affair   Jessica Anya Blau     8
Anal Sex   Stephen McCauley     12
Aphrodisiacs   Michelle Wildgen     15
Autoerotic Asphyxiation   Thomas Beller     18
Bad Taste   Stephen Dunn     20
Bases   Peter Markus     22
BDSM (see also top/bottom)   Stephen Elliott     24
Bestiality   Karin Cope     26
Bisexuality   Meredith Maran     30
Blow Job (see also fellatio)   Antonya Nelson     33
Blue Balls   Eric Goodman     36
Celibacy   Amelia Perkins     39
Cicisbeo   S. P. Elledge     44
Climax   Maria Dahvana Headley     48
Clitoris   Alix Ohlin     51
Cock   T. J. Parsell     54
Coitus Interruptus   Dan Pope     56
Commitment   Ellen Sussman     60
Cum   Lisa Selin Davis     63
Cunnilingus   Tim Farrington     66
Cunt (see also pussy)   Jonathan Wilson     70
Cybersex   Joshua Furst     73
Dildo   Jenny McPhee     76
Dirty Sanchez   Brian Bouldrey     77
Dirty Talk   Tobin Levy     81
Don Juan (see also lothario)   Josh Emmons     83
Duration   Phillip Lopate     87
Dyke   Cris Beam     90
Exhibitionist   Elissa Schappell     92
Facial   Lawrence Douglas     97
Fantasy   Natalie Danford     100
Fellatio (see also blow job)   Ann Hood     102
Fisting   Fiona Maazel     103
Fobbing   Sam Brumbaugh     105
Foot Fetish   Michael Hickins     107
Foreplay   Marcelle Clements     111
Fuck   Rand Richards Cooper     114
Fuck Buddy   Jonathan Strong     118
Gaydar   Katharine Weber     121
Gigolo   Jerry Stahl     123
Golden Showers   Adam Wilson      125
Hand Job   Michael Kimball     127
Happy Ending   Ellen Sussman     131
Hard-on   Cornelia Read     132
Hermaphrodite   Martha McPhee     135
Horny   Nell Casey     138
Hum Job   Mary-Ann Tirone Smith     139
Incest   Adrienne Brodeur     141
Jailbait (see also lolita)   Jason Brown     144
Kissing   Victoria Redel     149
Lolita   Steve Almond     152
Lothario (see also don juan)   Melinda Davis     155
Lucky Pierre   Michelle Richmond     157
Lug (Lesbian Until Graduation)   Nick Arvin     160
Lust   Merrill Feitell     163
Masturbation   Katharine Noel     166
Menage a Trois   Rachel Sherman     168
Mile High Club   Lucy Ferriss     171
Milf   Zoe Rosenfeld     173
Mistress   Toni Bentley     176
Monogamy   Kaui Hart Hemmings     180
Necrophilia   Kim Addonizio     183
Nudity   Michael Lowenthal     186
Obsession   Sarah Bird     189
One-Night Stand   Bliss Broyard     191
Orgy   Danielle Wood     194
Panty Fetish   Thomas O'Malley     195
Phallus   Pagan Kennedy     199
Pheromones   Maud Casey     202
Phone Sex   Heather Rose     206
Piercings (genital and others)   Thaisa Frank     208
Polygamy   Alice Elliott Dark     212
Porn Star   Bret Anthony Johnston     214
Pornography   Tita Chico     219
Prostitute   Karen Connelly     222
Pussy (see also cunt)   Robert Boswell     225
Quickies   Ravi Shankar     230
Role Play   Allison Lynn     231
Sex Ed   Elinor Lipman     233
Sex Toys   Katherine Tanney     236
Silver-Balling   Stacey D'Erasmo     239
Slut   Abiola Abrams     241
Striptease   Danielle Trussoni     244
Swapping   Helena Echlin     246
Taint    Les Standiford     250
Tantric Sex   Thorn Kief Hillsbery     251
Top/Bottom (see also bdsm)   Whitney Joiner     255
Transgender   T Cooper     258
Vaginal Ejaculation   Jonathan Ames     262
Vibrator (see also sex toys)   Patricia Marx     264
Virginity   Lewis Robinson     267
Wet Dreams   Anthony Giardina     269
Acknowledgments     273
Contributor Notes     275