How I Got Into Sex

How I Got Into Sex:
Leading Researchers, Sex Therapists, Educators, Prostitutes, Sex Toy Designers, Sex Surrogates, Transsexuals, Criminologists, Clergy, and more...

Bonnie Bullough, R.N. Ph.D.
Vern L. Bullough, R.N., Ph.D.
Marilyn A. Fithian, Ph.D.
William E. Hartman, Ph.D.
Randy Sue Klein, Ph.D.

1997, Prometheus Books
480 Pages



From the Cover

Sex is the most basic human drive, and has been the subject of endless speculation. Yet those who have set out to study the wondrous diversity of sexuality have often been met with resistance and ridicule.

If you're interested in sex - and who isn't? - here's a book you have to read. "How I Got into Sex? is a fascinating collection of over forty individuals ranging in age from their mid-twenties to their mid-eighties, each of whom has a unique story to tell about the forces and influences that led to his or her interest in entering the sex field. Among the contributors are male-to-female and female-to-male transsexuals, cross-dressers, openly gay men and lesbians, a sex toy manufacturer a married Catholic priest, a sex surrogate, and a musician-turned-sexologist.

Everyone is a student of sex; gut who are today's sex and gender professionals? Sexology, or sexual science, is a comparatively young field, although its modern roots go back many decades and its history, rooted in philosophy, anatomy, physiology, and related sciences, is centuries old. The contributors to this volume come from a variety of fields, including medicine, nursing, history, sociology, law, biology, anthropology, and psychology. While several are academics, others pursue careers as journalists, activists, therapists, or leaders of consciousness-raising groups. Many came to sexology serendipitously. They seemed unconsciously to be following the advice given to famed sexologist William Masters: Become established in another field first, establish a "serious" reputation, and then study sex. All those included here have inherently known that they were treading on delicate areas of the public psyche. In fact, a theme running through this book is how traditional attitudes, particularly the recent climate of intolerance fostered by religious conservatives and others, have negatively affected funding for sex research and thwarted sex education in schools. These extraordinary and intimate life stories show that sexologists are not out merely to get their kicks, but are serious people dedicated to developing and enhancing their profession. Their valuable personal accounts reveal much about our society's current attitudes to sex.


Table of Contents

1. Personal Experience Becomes Professional Involvement - Elizabeth Rice Allgeier, Ph.D.

2. From Roman Catholicism to Sexology - Rich Allgeier, Ph.D.

3. Cop, Call Girl, and COYOTE Activist - Norma Jean Almodovar

4. Sex and Serendipity - Lonnie Barbach, Ph.D.

5. How We Got into Sex - Bonnie Bullough, R.N., Ph.D., and Vern L. Bullough, R.N., Ph.D.

6. How I Came to Be a Sexology Journalist - Jan Morris Dailey

7. Cultural Psychologist to Sexologist - Clive M. Davis, Ph.D.

8. Coming of Age in the Land of Two Genders - Dallas Denny, M.A.

9. How I Became a Sexologist - Holly Devor, Ph.D.

10. The Road to Paradise - Milton Diamond, Ph.D.

11. Our Accidental Entry into Sex - Dwight Dixon, J.D., Ph.D., and Joan R. Dixon, Ph.D.

12. How I Became the Guru of Female Sexual Liberation - Betty Dodson, Ph.D.

13. How I Became Interested in Sexology and Sex Therapy - Albert Ellis, Ph.D.

14. The Sex History of an Average American Housewife - Marilyn A. Fithian, Ph.D.

15. From Theology to Evolution to Embryology to Sex: The Making of One Sexologist - Robert T. Francoeur, Ph.D.

16. The Evolution of a Sex Researcher - Paul H. Gebhard Ph.D.

17. Homophobia and My Career in Sex - Kenneth D. George, Ph.D.