Author: Sommer Hamilton
People our age must be too busy bonking to read about author Mary Roach’s latest publication-at least that’s the impression the audience demographic gave at the discussion of her new book, Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex at the ALOUD series in the Los Angeles Central Library on April 15th; almost half of the audience was over sixty. The ALOUD program presents poets, novelists, scientists, educators, performance artists, journalists, political figures and filmmakers at lectures, readings, performances and discussions for free.
Fellow writer Beth Lapides led the discussion of Roach’s latest book, which follows her two previous bestsellers Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers and Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife. Roach immediately dispelled any awkwardness in the crowd, suggesting that the “sexy” coffee mug offered with ALOUD membership could double as a rather cumbersome sex toy in a “cock ring emergency” (she also pointed out that the cup would hold one full boar ejaculate).
After that, anything was fair game. Roach shared her favorite tidbits of information she stumbled upon while researching. Her favorite quote comes from infamous biologist Alfred Kinsey’s research: “Cheese crumbs spread in front of copulating rats will distract the female, but not the male.”
Another bit of research that holds a special place in Roach’s heart is Masters and Johnson’s “penis cam,” a mechanical phallus containing a camera designed to film the human female’s sexual response from the inside. Roach herself participated in research utilizing the new 4-D ultrasound technology. Engaged in the experiment with her husband, she found the experience to be more “like a medical procedure” despite the researcher’s attempt to create a “mood” by offering the only music on his laptop: the sound track to < i>Les Miserables. Roach confessed that during the process,”I was taking notes [during the experiment] actually,” Roach said. “It works!”
Roach has, however, been approached by people for whom “it” apparently isn’t working. She’s found herself suddenly thrust into the role of sex therapist since the publication of her book. Approached by strangers at least twice a day, Roach finds that she is giving advice she’s “unqualified to give” and sits in amused silence when asked if she thinks she’s helping people.
Luckily, the question-and-answer portion of the evening focused on her book rather than on the sexual dysfunctions and eccentricities of the audience. A large portion of the discussion focused on the highly-debated existence of “upsuck,” in which the cervix supposedly “dips down” in order to draw semen further into the uterus. “Surfing sperm,” aggressive female rhesus monkeys, nocturnal clitoral erections and types of female orgasms were also included in the discussion.
Roach-known for having what many would deem the most hilarious footnotes in her books in the history of the written word-went off on tangents throughout the discussion. She informed audience members about experiments involving rats in polyester pants, the amount of pressure needed to penetrate a lubricated vagina (two pounds, in case you were wondering, which is “equivalent to opening a swinging kitchen door.”) and a sex researcher from Egypt whom she praises because he “gets women in a conservative Middle Eastern culture to participate . . . Well, he pays them . . . and they are prostitutes . . .”
Roach’s books thus far are about “cold, warm and disembodied” bodies. Each book examines some of the more obscure aspects of science in a highly entertaining way. They are great conversation starters when you read them in public, though people may look at you a little funny if you are reading both Stiff and Bonk. However, Roach has heard rumors of a place in Vegas where you can pay to combine the two, if you’re into that sort of thing.
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