Although it would have killed some of the fun, Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence could have gone by the title Socialism for Dummies. In her introduction, Kristen R. Ghodsee, a professor of Russian and East European studies who has written only scholarly books until now, observes that "the collapse of state socialism in 1989 created a perfect laboratory to investigate the effects of capitalism on women's lives." In six sharp essay-like chapters, she compares her findings with what she's learned of women's experiences under socialism. Each begins with a personal jumping-off point that helps her stay true to her stated ambition to write an accessible book for a general readership.
Ghodsee is clear that she's no advocate of some forms of socialism such as Stalinism, but she's fascinated by the notion that women's equality was a basic tenet of socialism since its inception in the early 1800s. She notes that the system's boons to women--having a place in the workforce, government-sponsored child care--rebuke capitalism, whose success depends on women minding the kids--work that's "invisible as far as the market is concerned."
As for that titillating title: Ghodsee's point is that when women are financially independent, they can pursue relationships strictly for pleasure instead of being obliged to seek out husband material. Too hypothetical for you? Leave it to Ghodsee to furnish studies that compare the quality of sex for women in post-Cold War East Germany and West Germany. --Nell Beram, author and freelance writer