'The Big Book of Pussy': A Review

LOS ANGELES—We've always thought that Kimberly Kane has a beautiful pussy, so we're not surprised it's made the front cover of Taschen GmbH's latest foray into classic sexuality, The Big Book of Pussy, written and edited by adult industry veteran Dian Hanson. Of course, readers will have to remove the transparent overlay from the cover in order to see Kimberly's pussy in all its glory, but that's the last piece of hidden content they'll have to deal with. Marie McCray's pussy, for instance, gets part of the inside front cover, and that's just the beginning of the miles of labia and lips presented in full, unfettered fashion. After several full-page views—and we do mean "full page," each of which measures nearly a full square foot—of women explicitly showing their pussies, often in acrobatic positions, Hanson herself steps in to explain why, throughout history, pussies have been both admired and feared. "The simple truth is: Whether you prefer sweet endearments like pussy, kitty, yum yum, lady parts, muff, honey pot, and golden furrow, or slander like gash, fuckhole, stench trench, cumbucket, fish taco, and hairy axe wound, this orifice has such power to tip the gender balance that no man approaches it lightly," Hanson observes. "One day, you're just friends with benefits; the next, the trap snaps, and you're brought to ground by the wily vagina." Hanson traces, in English, German and French texts, some of the history of the pussy in art, from paleolithic cave paintings to modern times, discoursing on the mythology of the "killer vagina," then segues into a discussion of the anatomy of the organ and much more. And of course, the article is illustrated with many photos of the "big hairy," including magazine covers, comic photo poses and explicit drawings. What follows are several pictorial sections divided into decades, though the first stretches from 1900 to 1959 and includes a couple of shots by early 20th century photographer "JA" of Paris, who also produced several nudes as 3D "stereoviews" (which sadly are not in this book). And for those who like jokes about "smoking after sex," there are several photos of women with cigarettes protruding from their lower lips. Beyond that, there are several "interludes" featuring articles by or with porn luminaries such as Vanessa del Rio, who traces her years as a prostitute, her entry into porn in 1974 and her career (and life and lovers) thereafter—and her big clit; David "Pussyman" Christopher and his life-long love of pussies which culminated in his becoming a porn actor in the mid-'70s and a director not too long after that; UK-born "Vaginal Performance Artist" Mouse, who discourses on the British porn and sexual performance scene, and gives advice on how to shoot ping-pong balls and other things from one's pussy; and Steve Shubin, an ex-cop who in response to his wife's troubled pregnancy and a prohibition on fucking for nine months, created the most famous "faux vagina" in the world, the Fleshlight. Also featured is a mini-autobiography by Flower Tucci, a "champion squirter" who got her start in adult movies after her husband rented several Seymore Butts videos that contained squirting, and she wanted to give it a try. As porn fans know, the rest is history: She became one of Seymore's most popular "Tushy Girls," and the article gives tips on how to learn to squirt. The concluding essay is by Buck Angel, adult's most famous female-to-male transsexual, who tells of how his parents called him "Buck" and raised him as a boy from a very young age; of how he first found about about getting periods by accident when he was 17; that he was a virgin until age 21 but "masturbated like a fiend"; and what life as a transsexual is like, both before and after his sexual reassignment surgery. Along the way, expect to see plenty of photos of porn stars spanning over 30 years, as well as non-star shots by some of the best glamour photographers around, like Steve Diet Goedde, Suze and Holly Randall, Ed Fox and Steven Hicks. What can we say? If you love pussy, this volume is a must-own. The Big Book of Pussy by Dian Hanson is published by Taschen GmbH; oversized hardcover; 372 pp; $59.99.