Her Way: Young Women Remake the Sexual Revolution

By Paula Kamen

Book Overview

How young woman are redefining sex 30 years after the Sexual Revolution

Three decades after the Sexual Revolution, women's power and status have begun to match men's, and women are finally making the rules in order to experience a more radical and truer form of liberation.

Her Way demonstrates how and why 20- and 30-something women have evolved to act and think more like men sexually, while also creating their own distinct sexual patterns and appetites. Today's young women are now the leaders of an unreported but sweeping "Sexual Evolution," in which women take control of sex and redefine it from their perspective. In other words, do it "her way."

Paula Kamen characterizes this Sexual Evolution according to two major developments that are setting sexual patterns for future generations of women: young women's sexual profiles are now remarkably similar to those of men, in terms of age of first intercourse, and numbers of sex partners and casual encounters. They also feel less guilt or shame about their behavior, from premarital sex to having a child out of marriage to coming out of the closet to cohabiting.
Yet young women are not merely imitating men, but forging their own distinct sexual perspectives and asserting their own needs. In addition to discovering the pleasures of sex, young women are also exploring the dilemmas, challenging male-defined sexual scripts, and changing what actually goes on in bed.

Based on more than one hundred lively, unfiltered and in-depth interviews with women across the country, Her Way cuts through the sensationalism and speculation of popular discussions about young women and sex. Kamen reports the real story of today's enhanced sexual expectations and choices.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0814747337
• ISBN13: 9780814747339
• Release Date: November 2000
• Publisher: New York University Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Wit and Fun Blended with a Base of Usefulness

Intelligently and objectively--and with considerable wit and in a fun and playful manner-- presents the sexual choices women have and the positives and negatives of each. No choice is without its merits and adverse side effects; and these may change as the person grows older. In a nonsensationalistic way, the author covers many segments of our society and compares and contrasts the viewpoints and perspectives of each. She relates her own work with those of others, including those of noted scholars. Her mission is to educate and enable the reader to make choices customized for each individual. One size does NOT fit all.

A incredible book!

"Her Way" is must read for women and men!

an antidote to stereotypes

In "Her Way," Paula Kamen shows how women are rewriting the sexual script, both the traditional one and the one edited by their mothers in the sexual revolution. She assesses her interviews with a wide variety of young women in the context of a sexual culture that has become increasingly diverse. She finds that more women are making decisions about sexual activity based on their own needs, not those of any man or of sexual prescriptions from others. The women do not follow any single new script. Kamen finds, for example, that religion frames some women's choices about sex, while others set out to break away from the sexual rules they were taught as girls. She concludes, however, that while women have a greater say in their sex lives, they are not yet equal partners in a conversation about sex with men. Bisexual and lesbian women fare better, but they too must live in a sexual culture that caters to the heterosexual man.Still, she is optimistic because the process of change is ongoing. Kamen's fluid writing style is a pleasure to read. Anyone who is, knows, teaches, or parents a young woman should check "Her Way" out.

Another Great Book by Paula Kamen

I loved Paula Kamen's first book "Feminist Fatale," which probed the reluctance of young women to call themselves feminist, even though they supported feminist ideas and goals. "Her Way" is also extremely interesting. Kamen interviewed lots of young women and argues that they are rewriting many of the old sexist scripts -- at work, in relationships, in bed. She finds them assertive, independent and energetic, with high expectations for equality and intimacy, sexually frank and in control of their lives to an unprecedented extent. A well-written, optimistic portrait of a generation that doesn't usually get such good press!