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May 18th, 2007

Review: The Amputee’s Guide to Sex

Amputees guide to sex by Jillian Weise

Tonight I finished reading The Amputee’s Guide to Sex by Jillian Weise. As I’ve mentioned before I’m not well versed in poetry so I’d like to send a big thanks to Sera for helping me out with this review.

This book is not a “one handed read”. Despite it’s hinting title I did not feel aroused reading it. The book was intriguing though. Weise shows a perspective of sex that I didn’t know much about beforehand. This book was insightful and at times it pulls on one’s heartstrings. This collection of poems showcases a topic that has not had much press I suspect-amputees and their sexuality. I recommend it.

My favorite poem from the book is “Ode to Agent Orange.” An excerpt:

“At my birth, you gave show-and-tells,
how busy you’d been dividing cells.

You were supposed to focus on forests.
You were supposed to win the war.

Instead, you wedded yourself to my skin.
I cannot toss you off, your in”

While not an anti-war poem per se, this poem powerfully shows the lingering effects of war. Though the piece is only thirteen lines it speaks loads about the subject matter. I wonder if this is essential to good poetry-expressing something deeply while writing within a structured form. It was such a powerful poem I found myself reading it several times to explore it more.

One of my callers is an amputee. When he first mentioned it he turned his disability into a fetish. He told me he liked to fuck himself with his prosthetic leg, sliding the foot into his ass. This was the first time I had heard of an amputee fetish so I didn’t know what to say. I followed his lead and listened to him tell me about fucking his foot.

He didn’t talk about it long. His heart wasn’t in it and he soon moved on to his real fetish which is exhibitionism. Once he started telling me about exposing himself in a movie theater his voice took on that panting tone I’m used to hearing from him.

In hindsight I think he was testing me. He wanted to gauge my reaction to his being disabled. It seemed he was checking to see if I would still be as “turned on” by him. (The sarcastic sex worker in me would reply that as long as his credit card’s good I’ll be turned on by him. The counselor in me would reply that he was looking for acceptance.) I didn’t talk to him or treat him differently after I knew about his replacement leg. Why would I? I think he has been rejected by women before.

Weise has a poem titled the same as her book-“The Amputee’s Guide to Sex”. This poem tells the reader how she deals with her prosthetic leg. She wants to hide it from her lover and positions her body in certain ways to make him forget she has one leg. An excerpt:

“To create an uninhibited environment for your partner, track their hands like game pieces on a board. For leg amputees, keep arms on upper body.”

My caller had a version of this to fit his story. He told me how his lovers would see fake leg become instantly turned on. He insisted countless women would beg him to fuck them with the prosthetic. I believe this was a way for him to cope with his embarrassment.

I didn’t ask him about his lost leg. Doing so felt rude, like I would be splashing frosty reality onto his fantasy. I also figured he got those sort of questions enough in his day to day life. Weise has a poem called “The Old Questions” that indicates this is the case. An excerpt:

Do you sleep with it on? I forgot
there would be this conversation.

Do you bathe with it on?
I need to rehearse answers to these questions.”

Earlier this month he sent me a picture of himself. He had talked about it for weeks, asking me over and over if I would give an honest answer about what I thought of him. I assured him repeatedly that I would. (I didn’t mention that sex workers rarely, if ever, give an honest answer to clients about their appearance.)

The picture was a partial body shot. It showed his head down his body to about mid thigh. Part of his prosthetic leg was showing, not much but enough that it was recognizable. When we talked next he sounded nervous while waiting to hear my thoughts about him. I told him what he wanted to hear. I said he was attractive and praised his cock. His cock is a focal point for him and much of our conversations revolve around how women are obsessed with it. He hasn’t mention his disability again but he seems more comfortable with me. Without speaking the words I somehow made him feel at ease. Though I won’t ask for it specifically so as not to upset him I wouldn’t be surprised if he one day sent me a full body shot with his prosthetic leg visible in the picture. If that does happen I will respond the same way as before-I will assure him of his attractiveness and praise his cock.

Posted by Vixen in PSO Confessions, Reviews

This entry was posted on Friday, May 18th, 2007 at 11:14 pm and is filed under PSO Confessions, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the comments RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

4 Responses to “Review: The Amputee’s Guide to Sex”

  1. Liz says:

    This is a great review, and I love the way you intertwine it with your own experiences. Thanks!

  2. Vixen says:

    Liz-Thanks! I’m glad you liked the review. I was hoping the two stories intertwined would work well.

  3. G says:

    Vixen,
    Such a kind and thoughtful essay. I so respect how you’ve let this guy save face, avoid humiliation all while artfully walking the tight rope of unsaid boundries. Well written Mommasita.

  4. Vixen says:

    G-Thanks. You’ve hit it on the spot-often this job is all about “walking the tight rope of unsaid boundries”.

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