Nancy Friday, author of the best-selling ‘My Secret Garden’, passed away this week. She was 84. The author and journalist passed away from complications related to Alzheimer’s.
‘My Secret Garden: Women’s Sexual Fantasies’ was the first book which compiled women’s sexual fantasies. It was a controversial book, which had graphic details of everything from rape to bestiality.
Here are some things to know about the book and about Friday:
Friday thought that sexual agency was a crucial way to fight for gender equality. She said that she wanted to pierce the veil of silence shrouding women’s sexual imaginations. 'My Secret Garden' was an anonymous compilation of women’s bizarre sexual fantasies
Friday became interested in female fantasies after she revealed one to one of her lovers in bed. The fantasy involved a stranger at a football game. Her lover then promptly put his pants on and left the room. This rejection made Friday realise how men see women, who express their sexuality, as threatening.
All the women who talk about their fantasies in the book are anonymous. Many of them even apologise, and talk about how they have never spoken about such things before. Fantasies range from bizarre sex to even being urinated on.
While may lauded her book, and it sold millions, some weren’t happy with it. Even feminist magazine Ms wrote about her “This woman is not a feminist”
'My Secret Garden' was even adapted into a play. Friday also published six more books on sexuality after 'My Secret Garden’.
The author was born in 1933 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She attended Wellesley College, after which she worked as a travel reporter, editor, and PR representative.
She was married twice -- once to author Bill Manville and then to Norman Pearlstine. Both her marriages ended in divorce.
Also Read: Sanjana Chowhan On Writing Erotica
Picture Credit: Nancy Friday
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