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Edited by Fiona Giles, Villard, 304 pages, Nonfiction. what a difference a dick makes -- or so say some of the 52 female writers, poets and artists to whom Fiona Giles posed the question: "What would you do if you had one?" The responses range from erotic to insightful to humorous to just plain flaccid, bringing to mind a joke we used to tell in college. Q: How many feminists does it take to screw in a light bulb? A: THAT'S NOT FUNNY! Some of the writers here -- Kerry Greenwood, Lyn Lifshun, Lisa Hill and Ginu Kamani -- take an inventive approach to their newfound friend, creating elaborate fairy tales and fantasies in which welcoming a new member to the family is a magical act of wonder and wish-fulfillment. Jackie O. reads "The Story of O" and wonders what it would be like to have one, a professor visits the Penis Parlor for a Full Shaft Special and a journalist sends away for a PENIS® to report on life with a willie. A few more prominent (read: busy) writers, such as Terry McMillan, Germaine Greer and Sidney Biddle Barrows, simply tossed off a paragraph or two. ("If it was long enough, I would probably try to find out whether I was as good/bad a fuck as I was reputed to be," writes Greer.) Browsing through this collection, female readers can't help but imagine what they would do with their own dick for a day. You search for an account with which you can identify, making the process alternately frustrating, thought-provoking and deeply funny. Male readers will probably be surprised that none of the penile-privileged writers go on a 24-hour sexcapade. (Maybe we should wait for the sequel, "Weenie for a Week.") So you're probably wondering what these women choose to do with it. Well, they ...
-- Christine Muhlke Christine Muhlke is the managing editor of Paper. |