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The Forbidden Apple: A Century of Sex & Sin in New York City
"Theres a great history of racy entertainment covering itself, if scantily, in a cloak of righteous education. Kat Long describes these protective measures, or ruses...Long also chronicles the way that initiatives to eradicate vice only helped pave the way for its further evolution in the city."—New York Times Book Review
"[Kat] Long covers the great upheavals that have pushed the advantage in the sex wars one way or the other..."—Village Voice
“Long's The Forbidden Apple is a fast-paced and vivid overview documenting the conflicts between evangelical moralists and defenders of sexual expression, commercial and otherwise. Anyone interested in New York City or sex will have to pick this up.”—Timothy Gilfoyle, author, City of Eros and A Pickpocket’s Tale
“Long has provided a fascinating overview of sex in New York City since the Civil War. Everything you always wanted to know—and a lot you would never have suspected!”—Kevin Baker, author of Strivers Row, Paradise Alley and Dreamland
The Forbidden A Century of Sex & Sin in New York City reveals the endless battle between outlaw sex and moral righteousness that has been fought on the streets of America’s most licentious city.
Beginning with Gilded Age New York, where upper-class men of society routinely slummed with prostitutes and burlesque dancers—then wrote scathing condemnations of the “Lost Sisterhood” for the next day’s papers—and ending with Rudolph Guiliani’s crackdown on the city’s sexual life, The Forbidden Apple details the major trends in New York’s sexual history, including the Victorian-era battles over prostitution; the women’s movement at the turn of the twentieth century; the hedonistic roaring twenties; the rise of Times Square as the city’s sexual epicenter in the 1940s and 1950s; the birth of the gay rights movement in the 1960s; the decadence and pornography of the 1970s, and the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s.
The first-ever comprehensive sexual history of New York City, The Forbidden Apple shows how many of this country’s most important sexual trends got their start in New York, and also demonstrates how the repressive forces of morality and decency have waged war against the forces of sexual liberation and freedom throughout the city’s history.
"[Kat] Long covers the great upheavals that have pushed the advantage in the sex wars one way or the other..."—Village Voice
“Long's The Forbidden Apple is a fast-paced and vivid overview documenting the conflicts between evangelical moralists and defenders of sexual expression, commercial and otherwise. Anyone interested in New York City or sex will have to pick this up.”—Timothy Gilfoyle, author, City of Eros and A Pickpocket’s Tale
“Long has provided a fascinating overview of sex in New York City since the Civil War. Everything you always wanted to know—and a lot you would never have suspected!”—Kevin Baker, author of Strivers Row, Paradise Alley and Dreamland
The Forbidden A Century of Sex & Sin in New York City reveals the endless battle between outlaw sex and moral righteousness that has been fought on the streets of America’s most licentious city.
Beginning with Gilded Age New York, where upper-class men of society routinely slummed with prostitutes and burlesque dancers—then wrote scathing condemnations of the “Lost Sisterhood” for the next day’s papers—and ending with Rudolph Guiliani’s crackdown on the city’s sexual life, The Forbidden Apple details the major trends in New York’s sexual history, including the Victorian-era battles over prostitution; the women’s movement at the turn of the twentieth century; the hedonistic roaring twenties; the rise of Times Square as the city’s sexual epicenter in the 1940s and 1950s; the birth of the gay rights movement in the 1960s; the decadence and pornography of the 1970s, and the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s.
The first-ever comprehensive sexual history of New York City, The Forbidden Apple shows how many of this country’s most important sexual trends got their start in New York, and also demonstrates how the repressive forces of morality and decency have waged war against the forces of sexual liberation and freedom throughout the city’s history.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 20, 2021
Points off for the typos! A really good breakdown of the progression to “clean up” Times Square.
July 28, 2009
I didn't learn what I thought I was going to from this book. I was expecting to read more about the forces that shaped ideas about sex in America (especially NYC) from the Civil War to the present, but the author seems to assume that the reader mostly knows all of that. The book focuses on legal battles in New York that benchmark the changes in social acceptance or denial of issues related to sex.
As another Goodreads reviewer noted, there are spelling and grammar errors, which bothered me, too.
The author also loses her objectivity when she gets to Giuliani and piles on editorial comments about how shady she thinks he is. This doesn't fit with the tone of the rest of the book and also detracts from the point she's trying to make about the ethics of Giuliani's career as mayor. Her presentation would have been much more powerful if it had been less obviously biased.
I did enjoy the snippets of cultural history that I picked up from the book - I had no idea about girls moving to NYC to hook up with soldiers during WWII or the gay and lesbian culture of the '20s. I wish the book had spent more time exploring the evolution and acceptance or condemnation of such lifestyles rather than on the ins and outs of court cases.
As another Goodreads reviewer noted, there are spelling and grammar errors, which bothered me, too.
The author also loses her objectivity when she gets to Giuliani and piles on editorial comments about how shady she thinks he is. This doesn't fit with the tone of the rest of the book and also detracts from the point she's trying to make about the ethics of Giuliani's career as mayor. Her presentation would have been much more powerful if it had been less obviously biased.
I did enjoy the snippets of cultural history that I picked up from the book - I had no idea about girls moving to NYC to hook up with soldiers during WWII or the gay and lesbian culture of the '20s. I wish the book had spent more time exploring the evolution and acceptance or condemnation of such lifestyles rather than on the ins and outs of court cases.
August 18, 2009
In the process of reading this book right now - a little over half way through. For anyone who's interested in the fight between those who promote sexual freedom and the moralists who oppose them, New York City, or the history of either - you'll enjoy this book. My main complaint is that it doesn't appear to have been proof-read very closely and has grammar errors (some rather embarassing ones, too, for a writer who bills herself as a journalist on the inside cover) throughout. Although, I suppose it's unfair to malign the writer when it's the editor who would really be to blame.
October 19, 2009
Excellent history of the down and dirty side of New York City from pre-Prohibition to early "blue movies" and burlesque shows, "Deep Throat" and swinging, the Stonewall riots and the transformation of Times Square. The author has done extensive research and offers details about both the supporters and detractors of the development of "sinful" entertainment, but is a little more biased towards those that helped build and sustain the industry in NYC. Ah well, makes for a more interesting read...
November 4, 2013
Good read for a plane flight. A light history of NYC 1878- 2000 using the thread of the swinging pendulum of sexual mores. In particular was glad to learn about Margaret Sanger, Doris Wishman (would be interested in seeing a sample of her work).
Fun trivia fact: Ruby Foo's in Times Square was formerly the movie theatre where Deep Throat premiered.
Fun trivia fact: Ruby Foo's in Times Square was formerly the movie theatre where Deep Throat premiered.
December 20, 2010
interesting enough, but whoever edited it could not have done a worse job and it drove me crazy....
September 28, 2016
I found this some what interesting, but ultimately rather shallow and disappointing. There were also some distracting factual/editing errors that got on my nerves.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews