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Human Sexual Inadequacy
Records the results of an eleven-year research program conducted to determine the causes of sexual dysfunction and to develop effective techniques for its clinical treatment
480 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
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About the author
William H. Masters
27 books39 followersWilliam Masters and research assistant Virginia Johnson pioneered research on human sexuality. They observed participants in various sexual acts and identified four stages of sexual response. In addition, they treated a variety of sexual disfunctions. The two married and stayed together for 22 years before divorcing.
The Showtime program Masters of Sex is based on the research of Masters and Johnson.
The Showtime program Masters of Sex is based on the research of Masters and Johnson.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 3, 2014
(As of August 2014, my arts center is selling a first edition, first printing of this book through its rare-book collection [cclapcenter.com/rarebooks]. Below is the description I wrote for the auction's page at eBay.)
It can be argued that the Postmodernist Era REALLY began the moment the US won World War Two in 1945, thus kicking off the Mid-Century-Modernist age and all the new optimism and curiosity about the world that it inspired; but that this loosening of uptight morals had to occur through baby steps, first coming through such conservative fields as science and medicine before finally invading the arts in the 1960s and then culture at large in the '70s. And certainly the rise of William Masters and Virginia Johnson supports this idea: a team that officially got its start in 1957, after being inspired by the work of proto-"sexologist" Alfred Kinsey in the years directly after WW2, Masters & Johnson were the first such scientists to study human sexual behavior directly through laboratory experiments (versus the reliance on after-the-fact interviews that Kinsey based most of his reports on), leading to rather titillating rumors coming from their offices at St. Louis' Washington University even in the same exact years that "Leave it to Beaver" was the most popular show on television. (How titillating? Well, even 50 years later, their work is the basis of a salacious new show on cable television, mostly known for its high level of nudity and sexual situations.) However, it wasn't until the actual Postmodernist Era that Masters & Johnson finally started releasing books to the general public about their findings, starting with the massive one-two punch of 1966's Human Sexual Response and today's volume being auctioned, 1970's Human Sexual Inadequacy, both of which sold tens of millions of copies and introduced society at large to such ideas as multiple orgasms in women, the four-stage process of arousal, and the fact that humans can continue having enjoyable sex at pretty much any age, given a healthy body and a willing partner. A pair of books that slipped as comfortably into the mainstream's changing perception of sexuality in general as a hand slips into a glove, and the volumes that ushered in such entirely new cultural developments as sex education for teenagers and sexual surrogates as legitimate therapy, we would literally live in a different world if not for these society-changing titles; and at its highly affordable price today, this is a must-have for fellow scientists, collectors of Postmodernist literature, and aging baby boomers looking for a nostalgic trip back to their hippie youths.
It can be argued that the Postmodernist Era REALLY began the moment the US won World War Two in 1945, thus kicking off the Mid-Century-Modernist age and all the new optimism and curiosity about the world that it inspired; but that this loosening of uptight morals had to occur through baby steps, first coming through such conservative fields as science and medicine before finally invading the arts in the 1960s and then culture at large in the '70s. And certainly the rise of William Masters and Virginia Johnson supports this idea: a team that officially got its start in 1957, after being inspired by the work of proto-"sexologist" Alfred Kinsey in the years directly after WW2, Masters & Johnson were the first such scientists to study human sexual behavior directly through laboratory experiments (versus the reliance on after-the-fact interviews that Kinsey based most of his reports on), leading to rather titillating rumors coming from their offices at St. Louis' Washington University even in the same exact years that "Leave it to Beaver" was the most popular show on television. (How titillating? Well, even 50 years later, their work is the basis of a salacious new show on cable television, mostly known for its high level of nudity and sexual situations.) However, it wasn't until the actual Postmodernist Era that Masters & Johnson finally started releasing books to the general public about their findings, starting with the massive one-two punch of 1966's Human Sexual Response and today's volume being auctioned, 1970's Human Sexual Inadequacy, both of which sold tens of millions of copies and introduced society at large to such ideas as multiple orgasms in women, the four-stage process of arousal, and the fact that humans can continue having enjoyable sex at pretty much any age, given a healthy body and a willing partner. A pair of books that slipped as comfortably into the mainstream's changing perception of sexuality in general as a hand slips into a glove, and the volumes that ushered in such entirely new cultural developments as sex education for teenagers and sexual surrogates as legitimate therapy, we would literally live in a different world if not for these society-changing titles; and at its highly affordable price today, this is a must-have for fellow scientists, collectors of Postmodernist literature, and aging baby boomers looking for a nostalgic trip back to their hippie youths.
December 17, 2019
Bueno para profesionales.
March 31, 2025
Not what I expected, but an interesting, albeit tedious read at times. I now know how to cure all sexual disfunction. Have no idea how to rate this.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews