I need a little sugar in my bowl,
I need a little hot dog, on my roll
I can stand a bit of lovin’, oh so bad,
I feel so funny, I feel so sad
—Bessie Smith

When it comes to sex, what do women want? In this eye-opening and courageous collection, Erica Jong reveals that every woman has her own answer. Susan Cheever talks about the “excruciating hazards of casual sex,” while Gail Collins recounts her Catholic upbringing in Cincinnati and the nuns who passionately forbade her from having “carnal relations.” In “Everything Must Go,” Jennifer Weiner explores how, in love, the body can play just as big a role as the heart. The octogenarians in Karen Abbott’s sharp-eyed piece possess a passion that could give Betty White a run for her money. Molly Jong-Fast reflects on her unconventional upbringing and why a whole generation of young women have rejected “free love” in favor of Bugaboo strollers and Mommy-and-me yoga. Sex, it turns out, can be as fleeting, heavy, mundane, and intense as the rest of life. Indeed, Jong states in her powerful introduction “the truth is—sex is life.”

Contributors

Erica Jong
Karen Abbott
Anne Roiphe
Jessica Winter
Jann Turner
Julie Klam
Susan Kinsolving
Susie Bright
Fay Weldon
Linda Gray Sexton
Elisa Albert
Barbara Victor
Daphne Merkin
Marisa Acocella Marchetto
Min Jin Lee
Honor Moore
Jennifer Weiner
Gail Collins
Liz Smith
Rebecca Walker
Jean Hanff Korelitz
Eve Ensler
Meghan O’Rourke
Rosemary Daniell
J. A. K. Andres
Molly Jong-Fast
Susan Cheever
Ariel Levy
Margot Magowan