Book Review: Behind the Red Door: Sex in China

I should probably warn there will be book reviews this week...


Behind the Red Door: Sex in China by Richard Burger
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So I read this because a friend told me I might find it interesting. To be fair it is, but there are some flaws with what I will call theory rooted in generalizations about sexuality, gender, and cultures.

The book itself is a detailed of the history of sex in China. Richard Burger does an in depth analysis of all the information the history of sex that he can find. I do not doubt any of this research. The book is broken down in chapters in a clear and relatively divisible way. It is an easy read, and he strives to make it concise and with a history that long that is not easy. Many of his observations seem obvious to me, and I imagine to people who have lived in China, but the book pulls all of these together in one centralized place. So win.

My concerns come from some of the assertions Burger makes including, though not necessarily intentional, the prioritization of Western sexuality as the model. For example at one point in the book he asserts that China is repressed which is counter to the United States...really? That is an awfully big assumption. I will defer to the expert. Sexuality in China maybe repressed, but to make the claim that the United States isn't repressed is kind of wrong. The US has a long history of sexual repression, and while our sexual revolution did happen in the 60s and 70s we still fill the long lasting effects of repressive religious forces. Well, women's reproductive health and sexuality are brought out every time the right need to fire up their base. Just saying.

Oh, and my personal favor. When will people who do not know about feminism stop righting about feminism? Seriously, just leave us out. Burger asserts that the feminist position on sex work is one of sex-negative feminist. This opinion exists, but again with the generalizations.

I guess, I just haven't read straight up history in a long time. It was an informative read, but most of the conclusions Burger draws I take with a grain of salt.


View all my reviews