Janice Zarro Brodman - Sex Rules!: Astonishing Sexual Practices and Gender Roles Around the World

Copyright 2017 J. Zarro Brodman

Published by Mango Publishing Group, a division of Mango Media Inc.

Cover Design: Michele Shortley

Layout & Design: Morgane Leoni

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Sex Rules!

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication number: 2017909204

ISBN: (paperback) 978-1-63353-593-0 , (ebook) 978-1-63353-594-7

BISAC category code PER004010 PERFORMING ARTS / Film & Video / Direction & Production

Printed in the United States of America

Praise for Sex Rules!

Toss your preconceptions overboard and jump on a wild tour of No-way! sexual customs, LOL gender switcheroos, and plenty of eye-popping moments. This is the worlds weirdest and funniest reality show. But its more. Its fascinating and smart, and all true. It will give you a new way of looking at the world. And when you feel your most bizarre, it offers a comforting lesson: Youre not alone! Theres a place in this world for everyone.

Richard Bangs, often called the Father of Modern Adventure Travel, led firsts in travel worldwide, writes for HuffingtonPost.com, produces and hosts the National Public TV series Richard Bangs Adventures with Purpose . He blogs on Quests: Keep the Quest Alive (http://www.richardbangs.com)

Its a scientific fact! Women have better orgasms with funny partners. Read this hilarious book and youll have more and better sex, happier relationships and a healthier libido! Quote it to friends and youll never be lonely. And if your lover/boss/parent/spouse catches you doubled over, gasping with laughter, just look superior and say youve taken up anthropology.

Joanne Sandler, former Deputy Executive Director of the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), is a senior associate of , an international collaborative that strengthens organizations to build cultures of equality and social justice. She co-produces the popular podcast Two Old Bitches.
(http://www.twooldbitches.com/)

From its first pages, Sex Rules! Astonishing Sexual Practices and Gender Roles Around the World opens a door onto a page-turning world rich with variety, humor and unexpected twists of sexual practices around the world. Its fresh, intriguing and of course titillating. But its also thought-provoking and timely. We in the Western world have locked sex into norms only now being challenged on so many levels. This books look at diverse world cultures and their acceptable sexual practice is fascinating, often funny in the telling, and deeply surprising. I highly recommend Sex Rules! to anyone who has a hunger to delve into rarely seen corners of the world, enjoy a good laugh, and learn from a trained scholar as she takes you on this journey that reveals Sex Rules in all their staggering variety.

Ed Robbins is an award-winning Director-Writer-Producer and Digital Journalist. His programs have aired on PBS, Discovery Channel, TLC, Nat Geo Channel, ABC, NBC, BBC2 and Channel 4; his stories have been published in the NY Times, Time Magazine , and the International Reporting Project. Hes an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University.

The world needs more laughs, more fun, wider caring and understanding. Enter, this book. Yes, its very funny, but its so much more. Stunning facts about intriguing cultures you didnt even know exist and may not much longer. Weird cultures that give insights into our own. The author clearly likes and respects these folks, who seem strange from our POV but have their own logic. She tackles sexism, dogmatism, and intolerance with that powerful force: marvelous humor.

Isa Maria Infante, Ph.D., J.D., Green Party candidate for Governor of Tennessee, former dean at SUNY, leader of Sugar Tree Bluegrass, an all-womens bluegrass band, playwright and performer of her international one-woman show, Las Cucarachas.

Acknowledgements

My deepest thanks to my family, who inspire and delight me, to Isa, who helped create the books initial concept, and most of all to Stuart, whose support and curiosity have made life a pleasure and this book possible.

Contents

Normal sex . Clear what it is, right?

Think again.

India, Ghana, Tunisia, Malidozens of countries, hundreds of cultures, and everywhere I go, people are curious.

What do they wear in Ladakh? they ask.

Whats the food like in Ghana?

What do they do for fun in Suriname?

Just one thing they never askbecause they figure sex is the same everywhere.

I know better

I learned about weird sex at Harvard University. Not from a dirty old professor or horny undergrad, but from Tozzer, the Harvard Anthropology Library. I sat, drowsy and bored in the dim, silent Tozzer Reading Room. What demon convinced me to take anthropology? Pentadactylism avunculocal durophagy Who makes up this crap?

Suddenly, my eyes shot open.

Hey, Im from New Jersey. I know about weird sex. But

Husbands who fret if their wives dont have enough lovers? Teenagers required to take as many sex partners as possible? Societies where all agree that every man should have a male lover?

It was a goldmine of screwball sex, flipped-out mating. All hidden under stodgy anthropology garble.

It became a hobby. Fascinating, hilarious, astounding andlets face it weird sex and gender rules and roles around the world. I could send people into hysterics, shock the most jaded, amaze the sophisticates.

Youre kidding! friends would scream. I dont believe it! They couldnt !

But they could. They did. They do.

Sure, sometimes it seemed too much . But I dont relish eating insects either, though millions of people love them. For me, the lesson was: no one way works for everyoneeven for sex. If it doesnt harm or endanger anyone, no need to adopt the differences, but do respect them. Just be smart. It really does take a village to raise a child.

So if your lover complains your sex-play should be in Ripleys Believe It Or Not...

Your mom reveals her stash of kinky sex toys

Dads been modeling your favorite dress

Rejoice!

There are places in this world where your most depraved fantasies would be considered tame. Where Grandmas idea of normal would drive the neighbors wild. Where your most wanton desires are simply part of daily life.

When it comes to sex, our human family is endlessly inventive. So celebrate! Make your own best rules. How about this one: Sex is fun!

I headed to India as a student in the 70s. The sexual revolution had declared victory back home in Boston. Sleeping with an attractive stranger was de rigueur . Living with your lover was expected. Sex before marriage the rule. They were the innocent days before HIV/AIDS.