November 29: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex

Dr. David R. Reuben, whose 1969 bestselling Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask) was the first sex manual to reach a large mainstream audience, was born on this date in 1933. Reuben’s question-and-answer format, his kibitzing, and his frank approach to the topic helped to educate and reassure millions of people about the sexual revolution, which had been unleashed by the birth control pill early in the decade. His book notably dismissed notions of “vaginal” vs. “clitoral” orgasm, and was explicit about the physiology of sex. Reuben became America’s pop expert on orgasm (Any Woman Can, 1976), nutrition (The Save-Your-Life Diet, 1975, which promoted high-fiber diets), and mental health (Mental Health First Aid Manual, 1982) — but his expertise was mightily challenged by feminists, who especially objected to his dehumanizing portrayal of post-menopausal women; by gay critics (Gore Vidal savaged Everything for its homophobia, albeit with anti-Semitic overtones); by Woody Allen, whose 1972 film of the same title made fun of the very idea of sexual expertise; and by the National Academy of Sciences, which actually sued Reuben for disparaging its Food and Nutrition Board. In the 1990s, he ducked all the controversy by moving to Costa Rica, from which he wrote occasional Reader’s Digest articles on health issues. “Along with testimonials to the efficacy of his art, Dr. Reuben has a good deal to say about many subjects, and since he never attempts to prove anything, his opinions must be taken as just that.” —Gore Vidal