comment
from April 2007

I've been given the dream job of reviewing a sex manual called Women Loving Women. Yes readers, this is my task, and I'm certainly putting everything into it...ahem! So it came as a surprise when this manual arrived and wouldn't have looked out of place next to my Ikea catalogue on the coffee table. It's not really a sex-manual, rather it is a flimsy piece of beautifully photographed pap which claims 'to appreciate and explore the beauty of erotic female encounters'. Hmmm...the author is the ambiguously named 'Jamye Waxman' who also writes for Playgirl magazine, and it shows. This isn't a book for lesbians; methinks it's aimed at hetero women with lezzy yearnings and their 'very supportive' boyfriends.

The photographs inside are of three extremely beautiful, feminine women who have gone to a country spa to indulge in some extra-treatment. What follows is the three ladies exploring each other’s shaven vaginas on the lawn, in the jacuzzi, and even in a forest. In the book, Jamye encourages women to become lesbian tourists, fuck their friends and maybe let their husbands or boyfriends get involved too. What’s clear is that Jamye sees lesbian sex as nothing more than a bit of frill, perhaps even a lifestyle choice similar to choosing a sofa or a car. Certainly, if you’re looking for eye candy getting it on, you might enjoy the photos in this book (although to me the models look wooden and wholly unconvincing – especially the lady with the French manicured finger-nails – you could lose an ovary if you let her near your lady garden!). If you’re looking for a book with substance, practical advice and a degree of authenticity, this isn’t it.

Sarah Schuster

Women Loving Women, Jamye Waxman, pub Quiver