e would like to invite you to listen in on Nerve's first virtual roundtable discussion. Susie Bright, Betty Dodson, Nancy Friday, Daphne Merkin and Sallie Tisdale have gathered together via e-mail to discuss what happens when women write and speak out publicly about sex. Our VoiceBox guests have been called troublemakers, bad mothers, bad influences or bad feminists. Of course, they've also won plaudits, commanded handsome book advances and attracted far-flung fans. From their own stories, and from our own experiences at Nerve° Magazine, it has become clear to us that forthright conversations about female sexuality still threaten many. Thirty years after the first salvos of the sexual revolution, it's also clear that these conversations are important, sometimes hilarious, and just beginning.


Question 1:
What inspired you to become vocal about female sexuality -- a specific event, a general frustration, a philosophical imperative, a sexual desire . . . ?

 2.4.98
 Susie's indignation about women's sexual ignorance
 Betty's affiars with masturbation, art, feminism and sex ed
 Nancy's internal battle between Good and Evil
 Daphne's romance with sexual spanking
 Sallie's obsession with problem solving

     2.5.98
    Sallie responds to Betty, Nancy and Susie about storytelling
    Betty's indecent proposal to Daphne



Question 2:
Do you think "feminism" is, and has always been, on the side of sexual candor? What camps, feminist or otherwise, have been most resistant to your work? (Based on your first round of comments, it seems that you all have had different experiences with feminism. Feel free to comment on these differences.)

 2.6.98
 Susie thinks this question is too easy
 Betty has a bone to pick with Ms. magazine
 So does Nancy
 Daphne's aversion to "group think"
 Sallie's attraction to sex-positive feminism

     2.8.98
    Susie questions Daphne's answer
    Susie gets in on the Ms. mag discussion
    Betty bonds with the other participants
    Sallie gives feminism a chance



Question 3:
Most of you have described a confrontation with some boundary, be it part of yourself, society or the media, "feminism" or other women. Yet these conflicts seem to have encouraged your voices as intellectuals. Is there anything to be said for boundaries, or more traditional notions of privacy? Could we suffer from too much sexual candor?

 2.9.98
 Susie has had it up to here with boundaries
 Betty pushes the envelope
 Nancy promotes responsible boundary-breaking
 Daphne on girl talk, kids' innate conservatism, and PDA
 Sallie explains the difference between boundaries and limits

     2.10.98
    Nancy's appreciation of virtual roundtables
    Sallie rethinks her boundaries




Question 4:
Though for the most part we have been happily surprised by the public and private support we have received for Nerve.com, we have also been surprised by some of the resistance we have encountered from select friends, family, and public institutions (parents' friends have called them to say "I'm so sorry" after reading or hearing about our endeavor; The New York Times ran a story about us but refused to run our URL). Most of you have commented on some of the public resistance you've encountered in writing about sex. Have you also received flack in your private lives, and have all the sacrifices been worth it?

 2.11.98
 Susie gets bomb threats
 Betty's grand niece still loves her
 Nancy's friends are just jealous
 Daphne questions whether there's such a thing as bad publicity
 Sallie's strange encounters with strangers

     2.12.98
    Pretty Woman's fatal flaw according to Sallie



Question 5:
How do you reconcile your feminism (or whatever you choose to call your convictions about sex and gender) with the more traditional feminine roles, behaviors, fantasies, positions and exclamations that you may engage in (and perhaps even enjoy) in the bedroom?

 2.13.98
 Susie hardly dignifies this question with an answer
 Betty doesn't have sex in the bedroom
 Nancy dreams of forbidden men and public places
 Daphne's attraction to "dumb penises"
 Sallie enjoys submissive postures without apology



Question 6:
What was the most transformative sexual experience of your life?

 2.17.98
 Susie can't pick just one
 Betty celebrates the multiple joys of slut-dom
 Nancy's mind fuck
 Daphne's still waiting for hers
 Sallie's lips are sealed

  2.18.98
 A Question of Sallie's Own About the Clinton Affair
 Betty's Final Word

  2.24.98
 Sallie and Betty Keep Chewing the Cud with Nerve Readers