We wish we could get our hands on a translation of this little sex book that's been taking Germany (and Amazon) by storm.  Could it be that this bestseller claiming feminism as its root philosophy is as hot as it is challenging? Charlotte Roche's "Feuchtgebiete" (translation: Wet Lands) has been called pornographic for its candid descriptions of female sexual fantasies and body based experiences.  We haven't found English excerpts yet but her mantra rings true for us here at CAKE.

Jessica's review
REPOSTED FROM GOODREADS.COM
rating: 4 of 5 stars
bookshelves: chicklits, love-and-other-indoor-sports, must-reread
recommended for: modern ladies (and gentlemen, too)
NOTE: IF YOU ARE MY FATHER, PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW. Thx.

Annie Sprinkle's Amazing World of Orgasm
PLAYING: Tuesday Feb 12th
Two Boots Pioneer Theater
155 East 3rd Street, NYC
212.591.0434

Check out CAKE Approved books and reviews at our new online bookstore. It's like a registry, but for your own private wedding to your body and your bookshelf!

A new memoir called "A Woman Whose Calling is Men," promises to be "a mind-blowing book that rebukes the patriarchal repression of all things sexually feminine."  Ok that's a great start!  

From The Hips: A Comprehensive, Open-minded, Uncensored, Totally Honest Guide to Pregnancy, Birth, and Becoming a Parent by Rebecca Odes and Ceridwen Morris

Once upon a time, pregnancy meant our sexuality was over. It was just not acceptable for women to be Mama, professional, and a sexual person. This of course was our fate pre-Demi naked and pregnant on the cover of Vanity Fair, and of course Madonna who constantly refuses to be pigeon-holed into one definition of womanhood. Pregnancy became hot and the rest of culture followed. But maybe we followed too far? The pendulem has swung so far that many women feel the pressure to be everything at once.

Enough! Lest we forget, having a baby comes directly from the source of pleasure — the sexual interaction. We all know that mothers are not sexual, right? How absurd! If anything, we as women become more sexual, more sexually confident and more in tuned with our own sexual capacity when we are pregnant.

From the Hips - a new guide for a new generation of mothers to be - earns the CAKE Seal of Approval because it celebrates the fluidity of femininity without demanding one overall standard of what it means to be pregnant and sexy. Filled with up to date information and totally relatable anecdotes, this book is a go to handbook for any woman who is pregnant, thinking about getting pregnant or anyone who is interested in how to have sex while pregnant and exactly what sushi you can eat when pregnant or anyone who has recently seen the movie - Knocked Up. Enjoy.

Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman's Guide to Why Feminism Matters by Jessica Valenti

Ever wonder why so many young women today refuse to call themselves feminists even though everything we believe in - equal rights, equal pay, equal parenting etc. - is inherently feminist? Us too. We think it may have to do with the hijacking of the movement somewhere along the way, sometime back in the early eighties when prominent feminists insisted that all heterosexual sex was rape and all women are victims of the evil patriarchy, essentially making it impossible for women to be feminists and aligned with men in any way…hmm…not too realistic, ya think?

Fast forward a generation (or two) and you get women firmly living our lives as 100% equals and firmly acting, achieving, working, parenting, screwing, orgasming equal to, if not better than, men (don't worry, we still love you baby.) At the same time, men are more and more embracing the concept. Sure there are still major inequalities - especially when it comes to reproductive rights - that effect women disproportionately, but the very essence of equality is no longer questioned. We would argue that, in fact, the inequalities that still exist seem to be matters of public policy - no universal health care, no universal day care, no paid paternity leave - and are matters of economics and class first and foremost, rather than gender related per se.

So why don’t more women identify with the f-word? Perhaps there is still a stain on the word, perhaps it is an obsolete concept in an age of such female potential and progress. But then again, how about that Supreme Court decision to outlaw an abortion procedure or the fact that vibrators are illegal in some states or the federally mandated, just debunked abstinence-only sex education programs…but again these policies are crappy, but does that make them specifically “feminist” issues or are they everyone’s issues?

In her new book, Full Frontal Feminism, Jessica Valenti, the woman behind the website Feministing.com, is on a mission to get back to our feminist roots and get young women back on the feminist bandwagon. Specifically she makes the case that feminism is more relevant than ever as a progressive movement. She is primarily concerned that a lot of young women are not identifying as “feminists” even though they clearly believe in its tenets. She asks the reader - “Do you think it’s fair that a guy will make more money doing the same job as you? Do you feel like shit about your body? Do you ever feel like something is wrong with you because you don’t fit into this bizarre ideal of what girls are supposed to be like?" She also asks “Does it piss you off and scare you when you find out about your friends getting raped?” Oops there is that victim paradigm again. She concludes that if you agree with any of those statements, then “you’re a hardcore feminist.” She swears.

The definition of feminism is “the belief in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes,” so since we are not quite there, yeah everyone is a feminist right? Valenti almost succeeds in convincing us of that except for her pesky insistence that no woman in her right mind would chose that "bizarre" ideal of what girls are supposed to be like - so what if you identify with that ideal - are you not worthy of the feminist title?

Then again, the book has a positive message about female sexuality that we wholeheartedly endorse which is - Feminists do it better. Meaning that women who are in touch with their sexuality, feel good about our bodies and demand sexual equality in the bedroom, ahem, equal orgasms please, are better in bed. We could not agree more. FFF is part Beauty Myth, part Manifesta and part Our Bodies, Ourselves wrapped up in fun, accessible language - and earns its own CAKE Seal of Approval.

Seal of Disapproval:

(photo: Thad Russell - NY Magazine)

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