Acknowledgements
Foreword by Kathleen Stock
Chapter 1 Sex must be taken seriously
Chapter 2 Men and women are different
Chapter 3 Not all desires are good
Chapter 4 Loveless sex is not empowering
Chapter 5 Consent is not enough
Chapter 6 Violence is not love
Chapter 7 People are not products
Chapter 8 Marriage is good
Conclusion Listen to Your Mother
Notes
Louise Perry is a writer, New Statesman columnist and campaigner against male sexual violence.
"This clear-sighted, compassionate book challenges the reigning
sexual orthodoxy of 'anything goes', showing the many uncounted
costs it imposes on women. A must-read for conservatives and
feminists alike."
Mary Harrington, Contributing Editor, UnHerd "In this thoughtful,
timely and witty book, Louise Perry exposes the travesty of 'sex
positive' feminism as neither positive nor sexy and argues for new
thinking which puts women's true interests, desires and happiness
at its heart."
Janice Turner, Times columnist and feature writer "books such as
Perry's matter […] many of her arguments — that consent is an
inadequate measure of what is and is not abuse, that the valuing of
sexual freedom over mutual dependency benefits the most privileged
at the expense of the least, that physical strength differences
between men and women matter enormously — seem to me hugely
important, yet completely absent from so much of the feminism I
have known."
The Critic "... tackles the costs of the sexual revolution
head-on... a brave and unflinching book"
Nina Power, author of What Do Men Want? "This is a marvellously
essential book, brilliantly argued. Perry has written the most
radical feminist challenge to a failed liberal feminism."
Phyllis Chesler, writer, feminist and psychologist, author of Women
and Madness "Brilliantly conceived and written, this highly
original book is an urgent call for a sexual counter-revolution. A
book as stimulating as the splash of icy water that wakes someone
from a nightmare."
Helen Joyce, author of Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality "Those
feminists who assume this book is not for them – give it a go.
Brilliantly written, cleverly argued, packed with fascinating ideas
and information: agree or disagree with the central premise, it is
fresh and exciting."
Julie Bindel, feminist and writer, author of Feminism for Women
"... crisply readable polemic...."
The Times "It's a combination of beliefs that will outrage almost
everyone. Radical feminists, the old-guard 1960s firebrands, will
agree with her on porn, but be aghast by the chapter on marriage;
social conservatives will love the marriage chapter, but bristle at
Perry’s approval of abortion; the new generation of liberal
feminists, who have known nothing but sexual freedom, may well
despise it all."
The Sunday Times "clear-sighted"
Suzanne Moore, The Sunday Telegraph "She's right - and
courageous."
Mary Kenny "urgent and daring and brave. It may turn out to be one
of the most important feminist books of its time."
Rachel Cooke, The Observer "... Louise Perry lobs a grenade into
feminist discourse."
Irish Examiner "This is a provocative book. More than once, its
author says the unsayable. It makes you think, and it makes you
want for a better world. It is urgent and daring and brave. It may
turn out to be one of the most important feminist books of its
time."
Rachel Cooke, The Guardian "challenging and thought-provoking."
Hugo Rifkind, The Times "... will ruffle liberal feathers all over
the coop."
London Magazine "Perry undeniably has a sharp eye both for the ways
in which contemporary feminism risks eating itself... and for those
guilty feminist moments where emotions awkwardly refuse to comply
with the theoretical ideal. Any woman who has ever had what was
meant to be a gloriously hedonistic no-strings fling, only to find
herself anxiously checking her WhatsApps just to see if he's
called, will recognise something here."
Gaby Hinsliff, the New Statesman "This could be a movement in its
nascent days."
Prospect "[Perry's] book suggests a renewed bibliography that
enables the reader to grasp the paradoxes at play within liberal
feminism's theses."
Lola Salem, The Critic "This 'crisply readable' polemic questions
whether sexual freedom is really as liberating as it sounds"
The Week
"Riveting"
The Spectator "Perry musters and masters the evidence. Her case is
powerful, moving, and — as you may be able to tell from the tone of
this piece — angering."
Church Times "Arguing that young women need to protect themselves
from a sexual culture that treats them as disposable, Perry urges
them to draw from the accumulated wisdom of previous
generations."
Michelle Goldberg, The New York Times "[Perry] is writing on behalf
of legions of women without PhDs or platforms, those who do not
possess the ideological jargon to describe what they've endured and
can only share their lived experiences."
Jonathon van Maren for the European Conservative "Brave,
excoriating, and magnificent."
Andrew Wilson, The Gospel Coalition "Must-read"
Rod Dreher, The American Conservative "The book is brave, bristling
with insights, and beautifully written."
National Review "significant.... Perry is to be commended for her
courage."
The Evangelical Times
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