A really interesting history of sexuality!

Thank you to the publisher for letting me read and review!

I deeply appreciated the opportunity to read and review this book. I'll be using it's contents in my teaching and will make sure to keep an eye out for more works from this author and publisher.

Quite an in depth and scholarly approach to explaining the history of the sex retail industry intertwined with the advancement of feminism.

By the early 21st Century, American society is more open about matters of personal pleasure than ever before. This has not always been the case, and Lynn Comella does a great job exposing the hidden history of these profound changes.

I absolutely adored this book, which was both a bit of a delightful surprise and the first step in laying a foundation of affection for everything that comes after this!

Really great read! Comella does an excellent job covering the history of feminist sex shops without glossing over the issues and problems both practically and ideologically. I especially appreciated the methods discussion at the end.

An academic text on the history of female sex-toy shops in the USA might not sound like a fascinating read but I really loved it. Comella references the length of time she spent researching this subject multiple times (was it 20 years?) plus how in-depth she went (working in Babeland's NYC store for example) and it really shows. I loved how comprehensive this exploration of the movement is and the fact that she managed to interview some of the sex-shop pioneers before they passed away. I really had a sense of how much has changed since the 70s - and even since I bought my first vibrator in the 90s! Quite amazing that a small group of women managed to take female-focussed sex-shops from a sidelined movement to a multi-million dollar industry. It made me want to do a pilgrimage to the West Coast of USA to visit some of the original stores, which may sound a bit weird but this book made me realise what a huge impact these shops had on female (and queer) sexuality in the Western world and how, generations later, we are all benefitting from this. I'd love to read about how the movement developed in other countries too. That's my wishlist for Comella's next book.

The cover makes me feel like a kid in a candy store. It just looks delicious and inviting, and that's what made me want to pick this up. Fortunately the content is interesting and well put together as well.

Going into this the only thing I knew about the history of vibrators was the way they were used to try to cure women's "hysteria" in the 19th century. I had never thought about how, why, and when they stopped being medical equipment and became sex toys. It was great to find out that vibrators and feminist sex shops have been closely intertwined with women's rights and LGBTQ+ activism.

What I especially like about this book is that even though it mainly focuses on the actions of individual people the author puts their stories into a bigger context. Although these revolutionary ideas changed some people's lives and created safe places, the book acknowledges that they weren't always accessible to everyone.

I was expecting more of a contemporary exploration of this topic, but it was bogged down with the history of women-friendly sex toy stores, classes on how to have an orgasm, etc. It was still educational, but not what I was expecting.

* I received this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review*

I am a fan of well written non-fiction and this book was both interesting and taught me a lot. This book is very thorough in its timeline as well as its look into the sex toy and sex store industry. I learned a lot about what makes a feminist sex-toy store and their highs and lows. I appreciated how the book went into more than just feminism but also information about race and class as well as LGBTQ+ and how all of those identities fit into the same space.

I love how much of the book involved interviews with the people who were on the front lines of this industry and helped it grow from the very beginning and the actual pictures helped to situate the book in the real life events that it was talking about.

I learned a lot from Lynn Comella's in-depth examination of how feminist sex-toy shops influenced the industry of sex enhancing retail, sex education, and expression of sexual freedom. I could tell Comella understood her subject matter thoroughly, and while she more often than not presented the information objectively, her passion and field experience clearly shows. In addition to examining how sex-toy stores influenced the business of pleasure, an understanding of how the concept of feminism shifted and changed over the years, and how the pioneering and new feminist sex shops alike had to shift their missions to accommodate the ever changing socially structured ideas of gender and sexual identities, began to include POC women and eventually men, and expanded their own understanding and representation of how sexual freedom is not the same for everyone, i.e. not everyone is looking for a vibrator like the owner of a shop prefers, but may enjoy pornography, BDSM, or other offerings is presented to the reader. Comella's one on one interviews with owners and employees, as well as personal experience working in the retail stores, allows for the passion and dedication these women (and later men) have put into shaping how society and industry present sexual pleasure and sexual education flow from the pages.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and the Publisher in exchange for a honest review

Vibrator Nation is an interesting and educational book that explains the feminist movements and the history of lesbian pride. It is written in a way that it is informative but still entertainingly written so that it doesn't feel like reading a textbook.

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This was a really fascinating and important read. I know that this book won't be everyone's cup of tea, simply because of the topic, but I can't help think that this book will have a profound impact on some readers; both young and old.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book. While I won't be using it in a classroom setting, there were certainly bits that will contribute to discussions in the (relevant/appropriate) courses. Looking forward to more on the topic.

This ethnographic study of feminist sex shops is full of inspiring stories from the innovative retailers who ventured outside their comfort zones to empower women's sexuality (a.k..a. sell vibrators). Sometimes the author veers into sex positivity cheerleading (which, by the way, I appreciated), but mostly she provides a balanced, dispassionate document of the tensions and challenges that face the women who run these businesses.

The book explores the dilemma of feminism coupled with capitalism: do sex stores commodify pleasure (and is that a bad thing)? What I found most fascinating was the inner workings of running a small business. Highly recommended for all libraries.

In Vibrator Nation, Comella discusses the relationship between sexuality and public culture, including the fascinating history of the feminist revolution in the 1970’s that helped redefine economic and cultural aspects that lead the sex industry to begin catering to feminine needs, wants and desires. This remodeling of the sex industry altered the market place for sex toys, with vibrators geared toward women beginning to dominate the products sold.

Comella not only looks at this industry academically as an ethnographic researcher, she has, in her own words, also been a vibrator clerk, a central experience that involved interacting with consumers at a sex shop where she gathered data that was of great value to this text.

I really enjoyed her analysis of sexual entrepreneurs, a women’s market place, and how cultural acceptance of sexuality and gender has provided individuals greater sexual freedom. As an advocate for a good orgasm, I found the text intriguing from a historical, economical, and consumer perspective.