Title: I Hate Sex, But… Author: June E. Whitehorn Publisher: iUniverse Publish Date: 2004 Pages: 50 Genres:: Non-Fiction,Reviewer: J. Henry

Rating:

June Whitehorn states that she used to make lists of everything, so why not publish a list of what she hates and loves about sex in addition to men and women? In her first self-published book, Whitehorn–-a contributing writer on sex mishaps for alt-times.us–-has compiled a lot of information about herself, which many women may or may not find relatable in I Hate Sex, But…

I Hate Sex is meant to be a fun read authored by a woman who is familiar with what others experience during sex and wants to inform the public of how she can relate. While in her introduction she claims that no one writes about not having sex, she does not express too much new information that women may find incredibly insightful.

Whitehorn tends to repeat herself in her “A Few Things I Hate about Sex” section, #6 (While she’s receiving good oral sex she feels flatulence coming on) and #38 “When someone farts during oral sex.” In this section, Whitehorn mentions flatulence at least three times.

In the “A Few Things I Love about Sex” section, Whitehorn counters some of the things she hated in the previous part with aspects that she likes. For instance, she hates being worried about “cracking [her] head open” during sex in the shower, but states she loves when she has sex in the shower with no problems (#49). Orgasms are mentioned at least four times in this section.

The next three sections focus on the love/hate that women feel for men as well as other women (in a non-sexual way). In the “A Few Things Women Hate about Each Other”, numbers 62 and 72 seem redundant, in light of her list of 85 things females dislike about each other she details specific aspects of a woman’s personality that irritate her, such as a woman who complains about being overweight even if she’s thin or a woman who is desperate to have a man…even hers. So when Whitehorn lists obnoxious and pompous women as irritants, it seems somewhat redundant considering an obnoxious woman can just as easily be attributed to one who attempts to steal another woman’s boyfriend.

Many of the items Whitehorn lists are probably similar to many female sexual experiences such as #106, when men just want to have sex and no foreplay is involved. The more likable aspects of a sexual relationship can definitely be understood and likened to a woman’s fondness towards their partner, for instance #5 “Hugging during sex” and #88 foreplay.

The language being colloquial, Whitehorn engages the reader in some of her own phrases, such as “spooge” referring to semen and “snatch”, the nickname for her vagina.

As an easy, fun read on the mishaps of sex, June Whitehorn can be engaging in her lists, yet it may be more intriguing and insightful for the reader to be included on actual moments when these hated and loved moments arose, bringing the reader more into her world of sensuality and goofiness than going through a numerical list taking each point as is or not at all.