Sexual Issues in Marriage: A Contemporary Perspective

The title promises a careful consideration of an important area. It fails to deliver. The problem is inherent in the nature of this book—it is an anthology of articles and commentaries from a well-known but not strictly professional publication, Sexual Behavior. It is also one of a growing number of anthologies making selections from already published works, with little selectivity or thoughtful care going into their organization.

Although including some well-known names, the work is essentially slight. An article on "Sex in Five Types of Marriage" take seven pages—one could scarcely delineate five types of marriage with such brevity, let alone say something valuable about sex as related to each. A number of attitudes seep through the pages, such as male chauvinism: it is up to the woman to make the changes, keep herself sexually appealing, etc. A second attitude relates to the subtle promotion of a sense of despair