Moan: Anonymous Essays on Female Orgasm

Imagine you could give an essay entitled How to Make Me Come to a past, present or future sex partner, free of judgment or repercussion. In this book inspired by Emma Koenig’s wildly popular website, a diverse collective of women do just that.

Emma Koenig was inspired to answer this question after a truly frustrating sexual experience with a partner. As she says, “The simplest version of this story devoid of all identifying details: He thought I had an orgasm. I hadn’t.” She knew she couldn’t be the only woman to have been mystified by an experience such as this, and so her Tumblr, How to Make Me Come, was born as a safe space for women to talk honestly and openly. The website touched a major chord. It received tons of press and garnered over a million page views in a month. And now, a broad range of the best of these anonymous essays have been collected into Moan.

The ways through which women achieve sexual pleasure are often ignored, devalued, or misunderstood.  Moan tackles the ideas surrounding the sometimes elusive orgasm head on. Here is a look into the spectrum of desire. Of frustration. Of experiences that have left an impact. From the hilarious to the tragic, from the intellectual to the erotic, these essays will leave you feeling inspired and excited to embark on your own journey of sexual exploration and empower women to do what most of the time is hardest for us: asking for what we want and don’t in the bedroom and beyond.

What people are saying about it:

“Prioritizing women’s pleasure is a critical part of our liberation. Not only is Moan an intimate, educational and funny collection about orgasm and desire but it pushes the cultural conversation forward.” — Rashida Jones, actress, writer, producer

“Koenig’s book is exactly what we need to break the absurd, toxic silence around female sexual pleasure.” — Peggy Orenstein, bestselling author of  Girls & Sex and Cinderella Ate My Daughter