Advanced Sex Tips for Girls: This Time It's Personal

by Cynthia Heimel

Cynthia Heimel seduced readers with her runaway bestseller Sex Tips for Girls. Now, in this eagerly awaited follow-up, Heimel takes us on a journey toward romantic enlightenment and finds it's not all that far from midtown.
Should you date a man who's on Prozac? Why is "single" a buzzword that makes us feel like killing ourselves? What's so funny about a man in a dress? Why was the panty girdle the straw that broke the back of the patriarchy? What if your son gets married on MTV? Is the Backlash over? Why does the theory of evolution dictate that every human must get laid as much as humanly possible? Entertaining, erudite, and always irreverent, Heimel's manifesto is a must-have for the twenty-first-century female.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Essays, Sexuality

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 2002

About the author

Cynthia Heimel was a feminist humorist writer, a columnist, a playwright and television writer.

Reviews

[Sandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

such a disappointment! Don't get me wrong, I love Cynthia Heimel, but this was just was nowhere near as hilarious nor educational as her 1st. It contains a lot of previously published articles, tons of stories about dogs (which we both LOVE), but CERTAINLY no "tips". Her 1st book taught me how to pack, discern a crush from an obsession from love, etc, etc

[Unwisely · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had never heard of Cynthia Heimel until she died and something I read made her books sound fun. This one came up first on my library search, so I read it.

It was ok? It was like hanging out with a fun old lady - she did have some good stories, but good Lord she likes to talk about her dogs. I can listen politely to people talking about their pets for about one story, but it was a large chunk of the book. And the relationship bits weren't all that great. I picked up Sex Tips For Girls: Lust, Love, and Romance from the Lives of Single Women, thinking maybe it would be more interesting, but I'm not sure I'm going to finish it. (This is the good part of doing book reviews a month late...I can tell you what happened after. Woo?)

[Bryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favourite of these were the historical ones, where she describes her childhood in the 50s and adolesence in the 60s and how she became a feminist in the 70s. She's great when she's writing out of her own experience, whether it's navigating social pressures of her past or talking about the various dogs she's adopting as she writes the columns. But when it comes to her more generic work I stumble, because we do not share the same assumptions; she is very, very convinced that everyone in the world is spends 98% of their time daydreaming about heterosexual sex, and it doesn't seem to register to her that perhaps many people might be interested in other things, so when she starts in about 'everyone does everything because they want to get laid' I lose interest fast.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of essays by feminist humorist and columnist Cynthia Heimel. I loved the stories from her past (50s, 60s, 70s) but other essays fell flat for me. A mixed bag :)

[Edward Champion · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as SEX TIPS FOR GIRLS. But still good for insight and laughs.

[Mary-Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bittersweet but many, many laughs. So sad she's gone.

[Dmitry Tsvetkov · Rating 2 out of 5]

никаких советов там нет

[Pica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I forgot how much I love this woman. When I was in high school, my friends and I used to read the "dirty parts" of her books together and giggle, but as an adult, I've come to realise how much I learned from her, and how much wisdom she still has to offer. She is like your best girlfriend, a late-20th century history lesson, and a shot of feminism, all rolled into one. Don't be fooled by the title; this is not a sex manual. Heimel, a former columnist for Playboy magazine, tells it like it is -- or rather, like it was in the 1960's through 1990's -- about love, sex, men, dogs, being single, and American culture's changing expectations of women with clarity, intelligence, insight and humour. Want to know what it was like to be a teenage girl growing up at the beginning of the "free love" generation, when sex was casual and drug were everywhere? Or to be a young, unhappy housewife and mother at the advent of the feminist movement? How about finally finding true love in a chat room in the mid-90's, only to discover after the Vegas wedding that perhaps she'd been a bit hasty? And that's not to mention the joys of menopause and a society that treats women over 40 like they're invisible. Heimel has done it all, and shares all the gory details, but has never lost her biting wit and keen intellect. Some of the issues she brings up are familiar to my own experience, but others make me realise just how fast these dynamics are changing. Yes, this book is written with a female audience in mind, but there's much here that a man can enjoy and learn from. If you're not familiar with her, I highly recommend you pick up this or any of her other brilliant books.

[Elision · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of essays offers some humorous ponderings on what it means to be a female/feminist/lover/happy human in the world. I really liked them. I laughed during most of them. Cried a little... The organization of the book was interesting. Near the end most of the essays are about dogs, which was fine and interesting but a little abrupt in a way. One interpretation: Down with love... just get a dog.

Anyway, I'd recommend this book. I've already made one of my best friends take it home with her.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

God damn! This should be required reading for every human being. She's a feminist men would die for. (Many of these essays were originally published in PLAYBOY.) Don't be fooled by the title. This book is a breeze, it's hilarious, you could read it in an hour and a half, but it will take you far, far longer, because Ms. Heimel's psycho-sexual-sociological revelations are so intense you will have to put the book down to catch a breath and readjust to your new world. Very poetic too.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love her. A true hero. Heimel's book is a collection of her columns, articles, and anecdotes speaking from a frank platform of single straight woman dealing with the world of men, and the frustrations and rancor inherent in that journey. Cynthia Heimel is a humorist but her ideas are deep and her struggles are evident. Advanced Sex Tips for Girls is one of those books that's funny, because its stories ring so true.

[Katie Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what it sounds like!

A collection of essays about dating and, um, dogs, with some advice column Q and A's for good measure. I liked the voice, the content was a mixed bag. Kind of dated, but anything mentioning an answering machine feels that way. (But everything's written in the past, can't blame the author for that.) Heather Havrilesky recommended Cynthia Heimel as a whole, not this particular book; maybe others are better, or at least more cohesive?

[Cyndie Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a big fan of Chelsea Handler and Sex and the City, I have wondered what ever became of their predecessor, Cynthia Heimel. I looked up her works and found this sequel to her Sex Tips for Girls, which I loved when I was young. So I'm taking it up as one last quick summer read before I hit the textbooks again. It's dated, but still fun.

[Christiana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of stupid. The first story and the last story were funny, but in between was just kind of blah. If you want to meet Nora Ephron's stupid cousin, read this book. Did I mention it was kind of stupid.

Sidenote: Cynthia, good joke about people who only watch PBS having herpes.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't nearly as funny as Sex Tips For Girls: Lust, Love, and Romance from the Lives of Single Women.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to fight my way through this one...horrible writing with no fluidity. Although there were a couple of stories that made me laugh pretty hard.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you, Jill G. wherever you are. Thanks for introducing to me to her works. Some of it's still lol funny. Some of it's a bit boomeresque. And not her best. But, still enjoyed reading it.

[Tabbitha Rivera · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read and although I couldn't relate to all of it the dating tips were hilarious and true. This isn't one of her best but I certainly enjoyed parts of it.

[Tamara Catlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title is more than a tad deceiving... that said... there are some really interesting stories in here and some very strong feminist points of view that I enjoyed and related to!

[Tessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an amusing collection of articles by the author.

[Jorė · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cynthia, where you've been my whole life?
A great, refreshing laugh, although some parts feel more like page fillers. But to hell, this is no matter what, time well spent. Really, I only laugh so much with my girlfriends which means the highest quality standards for wit have been successfully passed.
Looking forward to binge read whatever more I can find