Big Sex Little Death: A Memoir

As a person who came of age during the roaring '70's only to enter college and adulthood for the early years of HIV, I've always admired Susie Bright. She's been a sex-positive educator throughout her career - openly gay, an editor of annual collections of erotic stories. She founded On Our Backs, the first magazine for gay women. She was the first female critic of the X-Rated Critics Organization and wrote feminist reviews of erotic films for the Penthouse Forum. She sassy and funny and was a beacon during the Reagan-era for treating sex as a normal and extra fun part of life. I was really excited to get this memoir, but stopped reading about halfway in. It's not that it wasn't well-written or interesting (it is both), but for some show more reason it just didn't grab me. Maybe I already know as much as I want to know about Susie Bright? show less

Interesting this one…an account of the sexual awakening of America as seen through the eyes and body of a woman. There’s been heaps of these by men.

It records that time when the pill became available and was prevalent, drugs available and prevalent and some young people willing “to see what’s out there” and no longer follow the old road as laid down by parents and society as whole.

It really brings home just how lively things were in the 60’s and 70’s before the rise of the neo-cons that we still live with and who have really fucked things up by now. How political awareness was happening compared to the bland simplistic tweet based stuff I see around me now.

This was in the days when people who queue all night to protest an show more unjust war instead of queueing all night for a fucking phone!

I could go on :-)

Read and grow up. Read and learn. Read and enjoy show less

Susie Bright tells her life story in the memoir, Big Sex Little Death. Big Sex Little Death details the events of Bright’s life well but provides very little insight into the motivation behind her actions. Often it reads as if Brigh just became involved in whatever cause happened to come her way. Even her passion for her causes seems muted and a bit fleeting throughout the book. The book is written to leave the impression of a girl longing to belong but never actually explores this with any emotional depth or insight. Bright is blatantly honest about her life but leaves gaps creating questions in the reader’s mind, especially the question of how Bright became a sex expert. It seems the trajectory of Bright’s life and vast sexual show more experience has lead her to her “expertise” in all matters sexual leading the reader to ask is that enough? Big Sex Little Death has moments that draw the reader in and moments the reader just wants to skim due to writing that is at times rich and engaging and at other times dry and evasive. show less

I love her essays. I love her passion and chutzpah. I admired her during the Lesbian Sex Wars of the early 1990s.

I really didn't enjoy this memoir. It was disjointed and, more unforgivably, flat. If you are interested in the Socialist/Labor movement of the late 1970s or the sex radical movement of the 80s/90s or the history of On Our Backs, it's worth getting for an overview, but generally, I'm sad to report this just wasn't very enjoyable.