Unmasked, Women Write About Sex and Intimacy After Fifty
Unmasked, Women Write About Sex After Fifty
Co-edited by Kathleen A. Barry, Ph.D., and Marcia Meier
Weeping Willow Books, Oct. 1, 2017
A collection of 30 poems and 20 essays about sex and intimacy.
This award-winning anthology features works by women ranging in age from 50 to 87. All are published writers who are mothers, grandmothers, playwrights, professors, teachers, psychotherapists, copywriters, city council women, and even a model for a foot fetish website.
They come from places as diverse as Australia, California, Delaware, Iowa, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Washington; and Wisconsin, and more. Many have prestigious fellowships and Pushcart Prize nominations and other awards to their names.
“In a society that reveres youth – and particularly young, sexy women – little attention is paid to sex and intimacy among women in later life,” says ‘Unmasked’ co-editor and Weeping Willow publisher Marcia Meier. “ ‘Unmasked’ gives women from around the world an opportunity to share their stories.”
The book is divided into four sections: Herbs (enticement), for sexual playfulness, flirting; Pomegranate (tasting), for dating and trying out different things; Bread (sustenance), for satisfying and/or long-term relationships; and Figs (sweetness), for the sweetness that can come from a delicious and loving bond that is both sexual and intimate.
Sexuality and intimacy are the key themes uniting the essays and poems of Unmasked. The pieces range from erotica to musings on simple love -- both heterosexual and lesbian. The writers also reflect the full spectrum of race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.
Unmasked has already drawn high praise from feminist icon Gloria Steinem.
“Sex for women after 50 is invisible for the same reason that contraception, abortion, and sex between two women or two men has been forbidden: sexuality is supposed to be only about procreation. This lie was invented by patriarchy, monotheism, racism and other hierarchies. Sexuality is and always has been also about bonding, communicating, and pleasure. ‘Unmasked’ helps to restore a human right,” she writes.