Sluts: Anthology

by Michelle Tea (Editor)

What it means to be sexually promiscuous in contemporary American culture, edited by cult-favorite author Michelle Tea.

SLUTS , the first publication from vulgarian queer publisher DOPAMINE BOOKS, is an exploration of what it means to be sexually promiscuous in contemporary American culture. Featuring personal essays, spilled secrets, fiction, memoir, and experimental works, SLUTS asks writers and readers to investigate the many ways the notion of the slut impacts our inner and outer lives, as a threat or an identity, a punishment or an aspiration, a lifestyle, an aesthetic, a philosophy and rallying cry. From hideous and terrifying first encounters to postapocalyptic polyamory, from unionizing sex workers to backstage tableaux of sex and drugs and rock and roll, SLUTS ’s stories probe the liberating highs and abject lows of physical abandon. Featuring work from performer Miguel Gutierrez, hailed by the New York Times as “an artist of ordered excess”; former Nylon magazine editor in chief Gabrielle Korn; award-winning author Brontez Purnell; Whore of New York author Liara Roux; National Book Critics Circle Award winner Jeremy Atherton Lin; and a host of additional artists and writers, SLUTS reveals the knowledges provoked by a dalliance with desire.

With work by BRONTEZ PURNELL * VERA BLOSSOM * MEREDITH MARAN * ROBERT GLÜCK * GABRIELLE KORN * CARLEY MOORE * NATE LIPPENS * CARTA MONIR * DREW ARRIOLA-SANDS * TOM COLE * JENNY FRAN DAVIS * BARUCH PORRAS-HERNANDEZ * KAMALA PULIGANDLA * ANNA JOY SPRINGER * LIARA ROUX * HEDI EL KHOLTI * JEN SILVERMAN * LYDIA CONKLIN * SAM COHEN * CHERYL E. KLEIN * JEREMY ATHERTON LIN * MCKENZIE WARK * DAVIEL SHY * FAWZY TAYLOR * CYRUS DUNHAM * MIGUEL GUTIERREZ * CHLOE CALDWELL * D-L ALVEREZ * AMANDA MONTIEL * LAURIE STONE * RYKA AOKI * VERONICA GONZALEZ PEÑA * TALEEN KALI * NICOLE REED * GRACE LAVERY * CRISTY C. ROAD * & more

Genres: Nonfiction, Queer, Essays, Feminism, Short Stories, LGBT, Anthologies

464 pages, Paperback

First published May 7, 2024

About the author

Michelle Tea (born Michelle Tomasik) is an American author, poet, and literary arts organizer whose autobiographical works explore queer culture, feminism, race, class, prostitution, and other topics. She is originally from Chelsea, Massachusetts and currently lives in San Francisco. Her books, mostly memoirs, are known for their views into the queercore community. In 2012 Tea partnered with City Lights Publishers to form the Sister Spit imprint.

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

very brat coded <33

[Maya]

don’t know how to rate this bc my experience with the stories varied so much! would not recommend reading it in the middle seat of an airplane 👍

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the aesthetic promiscuity of this anthology :) and the various takes on and experiences of sluthood and the word "slut". There's so much here that is hot and fun, and also some pieces that dig into the pain and stigma of the word. Favorites are too many to name but I especially love the contributions from Sam Cohen, Carley Moore, Jeremy Atherton Lin, and Nayland Blake.

[jimmy]

killer lineup, happy to be a part of it <3

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to start off this review by saying I LOVE SLUTS, I AM A SLUT, AND THAT WE HAVE SLUTS TO THANK FOR EVERYTHING!

I’m honestly veering more towards a 4.5/5 but still. This is a rare essay collection where I loved almost every essay. The topics were ranging from the history of the word slut to frankly graphic sexual encounters, but I gobbled it all up. Such a fun read! And what’s funny is despite buying this book in England, a lot of the stories are set in/near my college town.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was seemingly about taking back the word slut and putting a stop to using it as a derogatory term for women who enjoy fucking. However, half the stories were written by men, which i found off-putting. Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think men are being called sluts in the same fashion as women…

[Hana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 - as it goes with anthologies, some of the stories hit and some missed
5/5 book to be seen reading in public however

[Siffi Woi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Als Opfer der Zuschreibung und stolzen Selbstbezeichnerin sowie glücklichen Bewohnerin des Konzepts der Slut, hatte ich eine ganz exquisite Zeit mit diesem Buch. Ich bleibe dabei dass ich meinem 16 jährigen Ich gerne dieses Buch geben und mich selbst vielleicht sogar zu noch mehr sluttiness ermuntert hätte (dabei war ich schon damals Connoisseurin) und ich möchte es auch euch anraten! Denn wie auch ich sind die Sluts in diesem Buch so viel mehr als nur one kind of slut und ein Blick lohnt sich.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

a mixture between a rollercoaster ride and a fever dream, i had a great time

[Maya Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, you know how when you’re watching Black Mirror, half the thrill is turning on the next episode having no idea what the story is really gonna be about until the very end of it? That’s what reading this anthology was like. I really loved Michelle Tea’s choice to not categorize the stories, let the reader turn the corner into the next one with no expectations and only curiosity. I was often pleasantly surprised. 4 instead of 5 stars just because some stories didn’t do it for me, but that comes with the territory of anthologies. However, a few of the stories were just jaw droppingly good. They’ll stay in my head forever. This project with Dopamine sounds awesome and so far has not disappointed. I’m excited to follow along and see what else comes out of it. This anthology was definitely the kinda book you read out loud to your girlfriend cuddled on your chest in bed, and that is the highest compliment.

[Caryssdb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed most of these ! Some less keen on but that's anthologies for u baby !

[Lanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite essay argued that sluts settled America.

[Morgan Corby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed!! I am partial to slutty, weird, queer, off-putting stories. I am also partial to an anthology, essay format, type of chapterish book (didn't finish college don't know the academic language to use so i'm spitballing here) I attribute my love of a curated anthology style of book to reading 'Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark' in like ummm... 2007 ? when my brain was scrambled eggs (word to the stages of child development) and malleable as fuck and I really enjoyed bouncing around from one story to the next. I was like wait reading good and not boring? Let's goooo. Love love love a different tale each chapter, so fresh and fun and hardly ever boring. This book kept me intrigued and if there was maybe 1 or two chapters I wasn't super into I could simply skip ahead because I have free will and also I won't miss an important chapter and be lost because: ANTHOLOGY STYLE!! Could be a hard style to get into if your brain doesn't move like this, and I hear you because if you're not bouncing off the walls ADHD like myself. Overall, enjoyed. 4 stars because nobody's perfect. Except for 'Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark', which might earn a 5 star review from moi.

[Hannah Ritvo · Rating 5 out of 5]

One million trillion stars. The West was built by sluts.

Went to the Sluts reading at A Room of One’s Own and just laughed and laughed and laughed. This book was just one long roll of me nodding my head.

All sluts should read this. ❤️‍🔥

[Hillary Paulino · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was the first thing my feminist friend saw when we went to the Upper Street Bookshop in London, and while she subsequently let her eyes fly away - I clutched onto this book with its irresistible cover for dear life.

I appreciated this book for what it was - the notion of accepting the all the various sexual acts people, and thereby destroying the shaming of them and eroding the negative connotation with the word “slut”.

As with any short story collection, there were good ones and bad ones. Unfortunately in this book, I more often found myself disengaged rather than enjoying the story.

I didn’t realise this book would be basically queer short stories. While I can appreciate them, it was very hard to relate to some of them. I found myself searching for the heterosexual “slut” stories that might echo some of my own experiences but found maybe one or two of them in the whole book. This would have been fine but the book gives no notion of these contents anywhere.

Some stories I must say were very very meh. One story that captivated me was Sam Cohen’s - the rest sinks into oblivion in my mind.

So three stars, leaning more towards two.

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

left the last few of these because there were just too many in a row that I really didn't connect with. Maybe anthologies are just not for me, because the ones I liked felt too short and the others just exhausted me. Could have been worse but I just didn't really connect with much!

[Sarah Saunders · Rating 3 out of 5]

A real mixed bag here! Some very strong stories and some I really disliked (namely, the polyamory one). Overall, didn’t blow me away.

[rosie · Rating 3 out of 5]

a mix of meh and lesbianism so i feel very neutral

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The editor prefaced this collection saying, “I didn’t want readers to get too comfortable thinking they know where this book is going,” and I can confidently affirm that that goal was achieved. They ease you into it with “I’m a slut for cheese” but it becomes vastly more interesting and expansive (not to disparage the cheese slut essay). Many of the stories pushed the concept of “slut” to such a point that it seemed questionable if the story fit the umbrella at all, but still in a good way. I think the most intriguing / out of the box essay was “Yellow Legal Pad (Undated)” by Carta Monir. I would have a harder time pinpointing a favorite because so many were contenders. I love the blend of genres and concepts. It seems about as varied as a collection could be and definitely is one to be savored. As Bo Burnham once said, “praise be to slut fucking!”

[Skel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this, a well ordered collection with lots of variety. You see the different ways they engage with the idea of sluts, and even if the anthology is not organized by theme there are clear commonalities, which I found interesting. Often this seems to be sluts = kinky, and also often sluts = budding queerness, investigation of desire. Not always what I expected, which is such a good thing.

[KT]

one of those books that, through no fault of its own, suffered from its proximity to another book i have recently read -- in this case, anything that moves by jamie stewart... overall i really liked it! i think it felt a little long to me, and i kind of wish it had either stuck with fiction or nonfiction, but i definitely think it was a thorough exploration of sluttiness etc. really liked the carta monir contribution in particular !

[Tinsley Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved this!! some of the essays hit incredibly hard and some i had a hard time getting through but the beauty of an anthology like this is if there is a piece i’m struggling with i know there’s something completely new and different in a few pages! overall thought this was a strong and unique collection that has stayed on my mind since reading this-would love to read more similar to this (:

[Katy]

So many of the pieces in here were excellent. My favorites included Sam Cohen's and Brontez Purnell's. As an anthology, it felt somewhat underbaked. I groaned at the first essay: etymology of the word "slut." It was just too on the nose and predictable and a fine essay but not a great one. The logic of curation here is opaque and possibly nonexistent. Many of the pieces dealt more with sex and romance generally than sluttery specifically. But you know what? It was a very fun read and excellent gift to recieve!!!

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was excited but also a bit apprehensive to read this book….. I’m not the biggest fan of anthologies and tend to prefer novels/other longer-form stories. Overall though, I really enjoyed this! As to be expected, some stories were fine (to ok), but the good ones were really great! Many were strange and weird and funny and sexy and incredibly unflinching. I was also pleasantly surprised to recognize some work from writers I’ve read elsewhere. Definitely going to be rereading a few of these + coming back to this collection. Overall a really cool group of writers and very creative curation.

[c prose · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sexual liberation I didn’t know I needed.

Slut == everything but nothing. The more you know, the less pleasure, the more pleasure, the less you know.

Sorry to sound all hipster, but I never realised how a book could change my perspective on something that I thought was I had a already quite liberal stance on- it’s full on radical now!

Slut4Life

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started off with a few very strong stories, ended with a very strong one. In between was quite 50/50, either kind of boring or wayyyy too kinky for me lol. BUT there were also some that i genuinely just really liked. Overall, it was a mixed bag for me but still enjoyable and insightful.

[Lucia Babette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally some representation!

A mixed bag - as anthologies are - but really fun ideas all the same. Sluts are so back (in my lexicon) as a term of endearment of nearest and dearests.

Also loved the double takes I’d get when reading this on the tram lol

[Helena O'Donnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

as with all short story books, some i’m obsessed w and some i hated also there was this one that was only pictures? i was extremely lost there

[Delphine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5

Such a well curated and (I think) necessary anthology. I love freaky queer people! I love the human experience!

[Nynke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some were very good, most were mid or bad sadly. 2.5