Solitary Sex

Solitary Sex: A Cultural History of Masturbation

Author	Thomas W. Laqueur
Publisher	Zone Books
Publication date	2003
ISBN	978-1-890-95133-7

Solitary Sex: A Cultural History of Masturbation is a non-fiction book by American historian and sexologist Thomas W. Laqueur. It was published in 2003 by Zone Books. It discusses the history of masturbation, which Laqueur argues that western cultural perceptions of masturbation changed to be much more negative in the 18th century, a shift which he dates to the c. 1712 publication of anti-masturbation pamphlet Onania: or, the heinous sin of self-pollution.

In a review in The Guardian, author Ian Sansom compared the book to masturbation in the sense that he found it "voluminous, occasionally repetitive, and undoubtedly fascinating". The Journal of Modern History also found the author's claims interesting, and praised Laqueur's writing and attention to detail. The reviewer also called the book unique, in part due to what they described as its status of one of the first complete books about masturbation. Historian Edward Shorter felt that the book was not so much a history of masturbation as a history of the cultural perceptions of masturbation. He also disagreed with several of Laqueur's claims, including his idea that masturbation became stigmatized in part due to the private nature of the act.

Further reading

• Chenier, Elise (October 2006). "Solitary Sex: A Cultural History of Masturbation Thomas W. Laqueur". Canadian Bulletin of Medical History. 23 (2): 573–574. doi:10.3138/cbmh.23.2.573. ISSN 0823-2105.
• Crozier, Ivan (December 2004). "Book Review: Solitary Sex: A Cultural History of Masturbation". History of Psychiatry. 15 (4): 505–508. doi:10.1177/0957154X0401500412. ISSN 0957-154X.
• Hall, Lesley A. (April 2004). "Book Review: Solitary sex: a cultural history of masturbation". Medical History. 48 (2): 274–5.
• Lambert, Tonya (2008-02-22). "Solitary Sex: A Cultural History of Masturbation". Past Imperfect. 10. doi:10.21971/P7FS3D. ISSN 1718-4487.
• Kilborne, Benjamin (2006-04-25). "Solitary Sex: A Cultural History of Masturbation, by Thomas W. Laqueur, Zone Books, New York, 2004, 498 pp". The American Journal of Psychoanalysis. 66 (1): 97–100. doi:10.1007/s11231-006-9006-6. ISSN 0002-9548.
• Maines, Rachel (April 2004). "Thomas Laqueur. Solitary Sex: A Cultural History of Masturbation. New York: Zone Books. 2003. Pp. 501. $34.00". The American Historical Review. doi:10.1086/ahr/109.2.478. ISSN 1937-5239.
• O'Connor, D. (2004-04-01). "Review: Solitary Sex: A Cultural History of Masturbation". Social History of Medicine. 17 (1): 131–132. doi:10.1093/shm/17.1.131. ISSN 0951-631X.
• Peregrin, Tony (September 2003). "Solitary Sex: a cultural history of masturbation". The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide. Vol. 10, no. 5.
• Rosario, Vernon A (December 2004). "Solitary Sex: A Cultural History of Masturbation (review)". Bulletin of the History of Medicine. 78 (4): 908–909. doi:10.1353/bhm.2004.0186. ISSN 1086-3176.
• "Solitary Sex: A Cultural History of Masturbation". The Virginia Quarterly Review. 79 (4): 140. 2003 – via Proquest.
• Stryker, Susan (January 2004). "Solitary sex: A cultural history of masturbation: Thomas W. Laqueur. Cambridge, MA: Zone Books, 2003. 498 pp., $34.00 (cloth), ISBN 1-8909-5132-3". Sexuality Research and Social Policy. 1 (1): 108–109. doi:10.1525/srsp.2004.1.1.108. ISSN 1868-9884.