Plays Well in Groups: A Journey Through the World of Group Sex 1st Edition, Kindle Edition

Plays Well in Groups is the definitive work on group sex, pulling together a wide range of reference materials, ethnographic work, participant-observation, interviews and historical examples from across geographic and cultural lines.There are many aspects of this book that make it impressive. First, right away, the reader enjoys a full timeline history of group sex practices - which serves to give important context to practices that might seem aberrant or recent. The inclusion of this history across cultural groups immediately cuts through any impression the reader might have that only "certain types" of people engage in group sex practices - which Frank later develops even further by debunking stereotypes of "swingers" as unattractive, aging perverts. She takes on the characterization of "orgies" as "free for alls" (when in fact, any group sex scenario has rules and boundaries to contain it - even if unstated). And, while porn may help us expand our sexual imagination, group sex formats expose us to the visceral realities of human bodies and the actual doing of sex - which, as she points out, Western cultures are rarely so exposed to such variety simultaneously at any other time.Second, while this work is well-researched and interdisciplinary, it is not weighed down with jargon. Regardless of your field, this book is a pleasure to read and Frank uses an accessible style - and she is even laugh-out-loud funny at times. She includes her own experiences doing her research without making it a memoir (although, I must admit, I would read that too should she ever decide to write that).Third, alongside her own participant-observation, the voices of participants and the varied settings they are found to engage in group sex are seamlessly integrated. She ably accounts for the variety of experiences during group sex - from Japanese bathhouse body language to convey desire to the house shared by a network of people equipped with cameras to produce a reality show on polyamory. As a reader, I could `hear' the thrill of risk-taking during anonymous Craig's List encounters, the excitement in being watched at a swinger's club, the shared bonds among adventurers at Burning Man. Part of the effect is that the reader feels empathy, begins to identify with the voices in the book - pointing to the crucial role anthropological research can play in helping us better understand and unravel cultural taboos.Fourth, Frank does not avoid the not-so-sexy side of group sex. She fearlessly includes topics such as gang rape, sexual overindulgence to the point that it interferes with one's life - these are areas of discussion which serve to deepen her argument and she does not shy away from their role in her analysis.Finally, the core brilliance of this book is the central theme of how marginalized/stigmatized group sex practices are, which leads one to ask the question, "Why risk all of this for sex?" Frank's answer is repeated again and again, in every chapter, through every example: "It's never just about sex."

Good read. This is well written and informative book, but really really long.

Great

Dr. Frank provides a comprehensive analysis of group sex. I read this book to help me with my research on sex crimes during genocides and I was able to add several theoretical ideas to my analysis. The author writes in a clear manner while maintaining high academic standards. Dr. Frank also weaves an historical perspective throughout the text. Her review of some of the theories was very helpful and I will be using this book as a reference source in my future research.

"Why do some people have group sex?" That's the initial question that starts _Plays Well in Groups: A Journey through the World of Group Sex_ (Rowman & Littlefield) by Katherine Frank. It's fair to say that anyone reading her extensive examination of stories from classical times, tribal rites, wartime rapes, bachelor parties, the Playboy Mansion, virtual worlds, group sex clubs, and more, is going to learn a thing or two. That she has found so many aspects of her subject surely indicates that group sex is a big deal and worthy of serious academic attention; that many of the aspects are liable to exaggeration and sensationalism only further indicates the pull of the topic. She has the credentials to do it; she has her doctorate in cultural anthropology, and is a scholar-in-residence at American University. Her writing credits include a previous book on the ethnography of strip clubs, a book for which she herself became a stripper as part of her research. She has not been able to get to every venue she writes about: "Whether or not I had firsthand knowledge of a particular setting, I sought interviews with experts and drew on published scholarly work, which is admittedly sparse." This time, yes, she's joined in, too, to one-night orgies, week-long events combined with sightseeing tours, house parties, lavish invitation-only events, and more. She says that walking into an orgy sent her to intellectual rather than sexual exploration. The academic tone of her book confirms this, but at the same time, she is a good-humored guide with a wry style; perhaps someone could manage to write a dry tome on this topic, but this isn't one.The big lesson from all the facets of Frank's study, and it might be an obvious one, is that group sex is always transgressive. Anthropologists have found few universal taboos, but "having sex willingly in the presence of observers or with multiple partners crosses a line of social propriety in many societies. Where these lines are drawn is, of course, highly variable." Although group sex is transgressive, it is not anarchic; this is one of the themes that runs throughout the chapters here. "Even in a setting where encounters might be anonymous, then, group sex remains organized, monitored, and patterned." The lesson in chapter after chapter here, however, is, "Far from being a `free-for-all,' group sex is highly negotiated. When humans breach norms of sexual privacy - even as they aim for transgression - they do not do so in random or senseless ways." And always: No Means No. Frank briskly explains the idea of sperm competition, but perhaps we are not going to be able to explain fully what makes sex fun, or what makes group sex fun, beyond, "It feels good." There is, of course, the novelty of having other people around; we non-swingers seldom get an opportunity to see, or to learn from, other people in actual lovemaking. And also we do not get to see, pity us, group demonstrations of the Orgasmatron, Orgasmator, or the Spank-O-Matic.Frank's wide-ranging book takes in a lot of territory. Did you know, for instance, that in the virtual world Second Life people "earn, save, and spend. They make friends, fall in love, get married, have children, cheat, and get divorced. And, of course, they have sex (usually after buying genitals, which aren't included with the basic model.)" She looks at the very dubious stories about "key parties," during which (as in the film _The Ice Storm_, guys put their keys in a bowl and each wife picks a random key to select whom she will drive home with for the night. Such things probably never happened. There are other ways of randomly finding partners, like sex clubs with dark rooms, or Craigslist. She looks at the young people in Iran who have sex parties as an expression of rebellion against repression, and, oh yes, "It's just fun! It's what we do for fun!" She does get to go to the Playboy Mansion, where, just as you would expect, the stories about the goings-on are far more titillating that what actually happens. The descriptions of what goes on in Hefner's bedroom are among the least erotic passages in her book. (Frank reports them second-hand: "More recent bunnies have also spilled their carrots about what happens in Hef's chambers.") There's a great deal of research here with case studies and interviews, but there is also good humor and a healthy sense of wonder at how diverse and funny our species is.