Comments on: The East, the West and Sex: Author Richard Bernstein responds

By: Erb

Erb — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 04:01:55 +0000

I find it interesting that you use his book, which you have never read, as a platform for your moral grievances. Perhaps if you read the book, instead of ignorantly following the words of someone else into an unrelated rant, you would find that he actually brings to light an interesting topic and does so in a journalistic, rather than academic, way. Read his interviews with the war vets in Vietnam, the owner of the go-go bar in Thailand, or some of the ladies themselves. He doesnt outrightly demonize them as you would prefer, rather he lets them speak for themselves.

I’ll bet that his descriptions of the sexual culture of “the East” are based on male interpretations, reports and writings. I’ll bet that female voices factor in very, very little, if at all; I’ll bet that they’re usually filtered through male writers and speakers."

How much?

I haven’t spent enough time in “the East” to say much of anything about anyone else’s sexual culture.

Yet you do anyways.

By: Ely

Ely — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:21:52 +0000

I agree with Jake.

What I find particularly icky is the implicit assumption made about Bernstein’s wfe. The attitude toward their relationship is patronising towards her.

By: cinsel ürün

cinsel ürün — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:16:57 +0000

I can understand how this happened. In order to review the book professionally you have to read it, şişme bebek which means you need to obtain a copy from somewhere/someone. I don’t see you hurrying this text on your Amazon wish list, so that goes out the window.

By: Ismone

Ismone — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 22:46:52 +0000

Jake,

Actually, I feel that way because he wrote the book and is married to a Chinese woman. If he were married to a Chinese woman, but hadn’t written the book or made any weird generalized statements about what boils down to orient v. occident (I use those terms very sarcastically) sexual death match, I wouldn’t make any such assumptions.

By: Jake

Jake — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:28:37 +0000

A lot of people (on this thread and elsewhere) are assuming that there must be something pathological or exploitative in Bernstein’s relationship with his wife, simply because he’s American and she’s Chinese. I have to say, that’s a little icky.

By: victoria

victoria — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:06:44 +0000

After reading his comment and the reviews, I’m left feeling like this is a case of an author attempting to universalize his own personal experience and maybe even assuage some lingering guilt (‘I’m a white western man married to an Asian woman, therefore all sexual interactions btwn white men and Asian women are like mine: complex, nuanced, and while there can be problems and stuff, overall in the end it’s mutually beneficial for both parties…therefore, yay, i’m not perpetuating colonialist oppression and it’s all good’).

(yes, I know i’m making huge assumptions… but i’m not writing a book about my assumptions)

By: Raincitygirl

Raincitygirl — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 03:23:46 +0000

He did. He quoted Audre Lorde in an attempt to prove his own point.

And he spelled her name wrong!

Oh my God, you’re KIDDING!!!!! Wait, you’re not kidding. Wow, the funny just doesn’t stop.

If this were to be played upon a stage, it would be condemned as an improbable fiction.

By: Persia

Persia — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:16:33 +0000

He did. He quoted Audre Lorde in an attempt to prove his own point.

And he spelled her name wrong!

Raincitygirl, you nailed it.

By: Agnès

Agnès — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:29:17 +0000

You guys obviously didn’t make it quite to the end where the man manages to quote Audre Lorde.

He did. He quoted Audre Lorde in an attempt to prove his own point.

By: Jay@racialicious

Jay@racialicious — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:47:16 +0000

Here's a review by an actual Asian woman who read the book. This is important as, like she said, the voice of the Asian woman is missing from the picture in the book, and it is similarly missing in Laura Miller's review.