All right so I picked up this book today "The Sexual Life of Catherine M." by Catherine Millet.It's a memoir of the author's real life sexual activities. A few weeks after losing her virginity she began participating in group sex activity, sometimes having up to 150 partners a night...and she has continued this trend though out her adult life, or as far as I can tell, I'm only on page 50.

OK cool fine...I pass no judgment, more power to her...but the thing that has me a bit is this, on the back of the book some dude from Time writes this blurb:

"Americans who consider themselves sophisticated about sex may nevertheless be startled by the graphic content of The Sexual Life of Catherine M...." blah blah blah

Now what the hell does he mean by sophisticated? Why do people equate those with many partners with people who are sophisticated?

How does this add up? Does the reviewer, and others I have heard use the term sophisticated as a synonym for promisuious, mean to say that people who are selective in their bed mates are unsophisticated or un -evolved in a sense?


IMHO, sophistication becomes apparent, not with the number of sexual partners you entertain but the class and dignity in which you treat yourself and your partner before, during, and after said encounters.

Am I wrong or am I just missing something here?

i don't think he really defines what he means by "sexually sophisticated", at least not in the part you quoted.

irresistibleb1tch said:

I guess I'm more going on what I have heard people say and reading that touched a nerve.

Sweeny79 said:

i do agree with your point, though!

i think by "sophisticated", the writer means "not easily shocked". i don't think it means that the reader has to be promiscuous, but rather that this "sophisticaed reader" has some knowledge of other sexual lifestyles/communities/behavior/whatnot.

just my take on it.

irresistibleb1tch said:

Thank you.

I've heard it said about the women on Sex in the City too. It really does confuse me.

I must not be too bright.

Anxiety said:

No I realize that I didn't explain myself clear enough as usual.

I meant that people use the two terms interchangably to make the same point.

I just don't see the correlation.

Sweeny79 said:

people do? cuz i know folks who are downright asexual who could tell you all kinds of stuff about crazy kinky sex action of all varieties, and even talk about it with completely reserved judgment.

Anxiety said:

I've heard it said many times and I have read it too. From my experience with this term people seem to say that those who see sex as nothing more than basic human function, people who approach it with no emotional or spiritual envolvement are "sophisticated" in a sense. I don't know maybe I'm reading something other into the comments I have heard or read (which of course I can't think of right now but will as soon as I log off ) that is giving me some mixed message.

i always thought people who were "sophisticated" about sex meant that they weren't uptight about it - that they were excepting of fetishes, polyamory, etc. cetc. blah blah - not necessarily that the person ENGAGES in it, but that they are accepting of it and at least knowledgeable enough of the wide world of sexuality that they don't see it as "exotic" or "mysterious"...yeah?

Anxiety said:

I agree, very much so, but just because you are a healthy sexual being doesn't mean you run around screwing every and anybody.

Sweeny79 said:

well, right. okay. i guess i'm not sure i get what's bugging you about what you read.

Anxiety said:

I think I just read it wrong and it touched a nerve

Sweeny79 said:

well, if it's not touching the right nerves you might wanna try a different book.

"This raging slut really writes a fascinating book" just didn't sound as good to the publishers.

150 partners a night, eh?

subhuman09 said:

You may have a point

I have this book!

Now I am gonna read your post...

Nikster said:

TheFrog said:

Thats what I thought.

I wonder if she's in the guinnes book of world records!?

After 150, she must have thought, okay I'll stop now, I think thats a good number. .. I feel sorry for guy number 151

Nah, it just means you're a slut.

so·phis·ti·cat·ed [ sə fístə kàytəd ]

adjective

1. knowledgeable and cultured: knowledgeable about the ways of the world, self-confident, and not easily deceived


2. suitable for sophisticated people: appealing to or frequented by sophisticated people


3. advanced: complex, advanced, and very up-to-date

Lleena said:

McMeekle will get over it, same as every other night, bless.

Sweeny79 said:

He means "open-minded" (but he hasn't chosen the best synonym).

Lleena said:

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The sequel, World's Biggest Gang Bang II (1996) starring Jasmin St. Claire in 300 sexual acts, was hardly shelved before pornstar Spantaneeus Xtasy (pictured right, above) tallied a casual 551. Candy Apples sought to trump them all with a kilobang, but was cut short at 721 by the unexpected arrival of the LAPD. One should take into account the fuzzy arithmetic used to calculate these records. Gang bang statisticians generally ignore the actual number of participants and focus on "instances of sex" -- a deliberately general term that specifies neither orifice nor instrument -- though each act is just a minute or so in length. Thus "record" numbers are necessarily inflated by repeat participation: Chong gripes that out of everyone who showed up for her gang bang, "about 66% were not able to perform." Apples' 721 might seem dumbfounding at first, but the fifty men involved are nothing to write home about.

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Safety first: all guys are ordered to get HIV tests beforehand and wear new condoms for each scene. Lubrication is taken seriously -- any accumulated santorum or ejaculate is wiped up and disposed of while the camera politely looks away. Carrelli seems intent that this won't be just another frog-eyed bukkake flick. Most ejaculations are not even handled by Johnson herself, but are delegated to six supportive -- yet visibly unenvious -- fluffer girls with the snappy alacrity of Alice from The Brady Bunch. Johnson herself employs a minimum of positions to conserve her stamina. She smashes Chong's record in no time, though she slows a little before overtaking Candy Apples' 721. She is now deep in uncharted waters; she offers a meek cheer and tries to look out the window, thinking about ice cream and ice cubes.

Johnson passes the #1,000 mark with a groan and lets some guys beat off on her face for a bonus 25 points. She leaves bowlegged, clammy but confident. The following day she's still a little ragged, but after a stiff black cup of coffee she gets back to work. It's a different crowd on the second day: fewer porn actors and more fans. Mostly they look like they just got the afternoon off work, standing around in speckled oversized t-shirts and tube socks, flashing bright blue wristbands like a crowd of middle-aged ravers. One by one they wait in line for their minute in the spotlight; one by one they trot back to the foot of that line, a parade of prison tattoos and smallpox vaccination scars casually massaging themselves back to tumescence.

By the end of it, Johnson is too sore to use anything but her mouth. She takes a break after #1,999 and puts a bag of ice between her legs. The final participant is 13-inch Jack Napier (named for the Batman villain), who gives a gentle extended performance until she finally taps out. "I was really sore," a dazed Ms. Johnson told Adult Industry News, a trade publication. "It started off with ecstasy on the first day, and led to kind of sheer hell! It was kinda like a tattoo. It was painful while I was doing it but afterwards it was an experience, and I'm glad I did it."

The new year's confetti had hardly settled before scandal broke out. Early reports had been dismissive of the event, noting a sparse turnout and a loose handling of the scoreboard -- at one point, the tally jumped 500 points in 30 seconds. Producers did everything they could to swell the talent pool, trying to allow in participants who had been more than a week since their last STD test, even egging the crew into it. Johnson was shocked when one of the fluffers got caught blowjobbing a spectator who lacked a wristband. When checks started bouncing and the producers skipped town, something had to be done. In June of 2000, Sabrina Johnson broke the silence, accusing Carrelli of gross mismanagement of the gang bang's casting and finances:

"The whole thing was a complete and utter sham. There were around 25 guys on the 1st day and about 14 on the second. If I had to guess I would say that legitimately I probably did about 500 guys (not different guys) I had stressed all along that I wanted to do it legitimately."

Meanwhile the DVD release date had been pushed back again and again. Video streams on the Fleshtone website buffered and stalled, squeezing out only a rudimentary flip-book with the jerk value of a Mandelbrot set. Customers watched helplessly as their credit cards were billed and re-billed long after their subscriptions had been cancelled, their commemorative t-shirts and coffee mugs lost in the mail.

Thankfully, the twenty-first century gang bang has seen a return to quality over quantity. XXX Fat Gang Bang (2002) stars Kat Kleevage and fluffer Pamela Peaks; guest-hosts are Joey Buttafuoco and High Pitch Eric from The Howard Stern Show. In a subtle variation on the standard "anyone-goes" casting technique, all fifty men in this film are required to weigh 300 pounds at least. If the stars of Gang Bang 2000 were loud and proud, these gentlemen are downright orotund. After weighing in, they stand shoeless, shirtless and shortless beside a lavish buffet. They chat amiably amongst themselves: word is that a crowd of overweight lady volunteers are in the next room, ready to take over once the two slackjawed pornstars pass out. They rub their hands together briskly and beam at the camera, turning down any proferred Viagra -- no need, no need -- anxiously waiting for the real pageant to begin.

Ya gotta love Google.

Sweeny79 said:

Sweeney (whap btw) when this person mentions "sophisticated" I think he is referring to those that have expanded their sexual awareness and pleasureable activities to levels much more than just one partner or more traditional sexual encounters like "swinging", multiple partners, orgies, etc.

subhuman09 said:

And not just the one on top of your head

Mach said:

I'm quite sure he meant the third connotation.....

I think in tihs context it just means knowledgeable or experienced. Quite possibly, just knowledgeable.