• How Sex Works
  • Sexual Fantasies as Antidotes to Guilt and Worry
  • Sexual Fantasies as Antidotes to Shame and Rejection
  • From the Conventional to the Bizarre: Interpreting Sexual Fantasies
  • Sexual Pleasure and Boredom in Relationships
  • The Role of Sexual Fantasies in Psychotherapy
  • The Social Meaning of Sexual Fantasies
  • The Future of Sex
C H A P T E R   O N E: How sex works
  • Safety: The Rosetta Stone of Psychological Life
  • Guilt, Worry, and Inhibition
  • Guilt, Ruthlessness, and Sexual Excitement
  • Shame, Helplessness, and Sexual Excitement
  • Identification, Transference, and Sexual Excitement
  • Solving the Problems of Identification and Transference With Sexual Fantasies
  • Overlapping Fantasies
C H A P T E R   T W O: Sexual Fantasies as Antidotes to Guilt and Worry C H A P T E R   T H R E E: Sexual Fantasies as Antidotes to Shame and Rejection
  • The Story of Esther
  • The Man on the Bottom: The Case of Glenn
  • Robbing the Cradle: The Case of Otto
  • Seducing the Powerful: The Case of Amanda
C H A P T E R   F O U R: From the Conventional to the Bizarre: Interpreting Sexual Fantasies
  • Sadomasochistic Fantasies
  • Masochism and Sexual Arousal
  • Golden and Brown Showers
  • Men Wearing Women's Panties
  • Diapered and Treated Like a Baby
  • Asphyxiation Fantasies
  • Dominance and Sexual Arousal
  • Rape Fantasies
  • Master/Slave Relationships
  • Incest Fantasies
  • Multiple Partners
  • Gang Rape
  • Exhibitionism: Photographing and Videotaping Sex
  • Body Types and Sexual Arousal
  • Gay Men and Sexual Arousal in Heterosexual Women
C H A P T E R   F I V E: Sexual Pleasure and Boredom In Relationships
  • The Natural Decline of Sexual Interest
  • Intimacy and Sexual Ruthlessness
  • The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Pathogenic Beliefs and Sexual Compatibility
  • "The Good": The Case of Mark and Betsy
  • "The Bad": The Case of Jim and Laura
  • "... And the Ugly": The Case of Rob and Nicole
  • The Problem of the "Good Wife"
C H A P T E R   S I X: The Role of Sexual Fantasies in Psychotherapy
  • Shame, Self-Acceptance, and Sexual Fantasies in Psychotherapy
  • The Role of Pathogenic Beliefs in Psychotherapy
  • Safety, Testing, and Change in Psychotherapy
  • Mechanisms of Change of Psychotherapy
  • Sexual Fantasies are Difficult to Change
C H A P T E R   S E V E N: The Social Meaning of Sexual Fantasies
  • Blaming the Parents and the Abuse Excuse
  • Gender Differences in Sexual Fantasy
  • "Wham, Bam, Thank You Ma'am"--The Psychology of Objectification
  • Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow--Pathogenic Beliefs and the Idealization
    of Romantic Love in Women
  • The Personal Finally Meets the Political
T H E   F U T U R E   O F   S E X: Concluding Reflections and Unanswered Questions
  • Private Fantasies and Sexual Behavior
  • Cybersex: An Adaptive Illusion or Dangerous Addiction
  • Will There Be Sexual Fantasies After the Revolution?
  • The Value of Understanding Sexual Fantasies
  • The Emperor's New Clothes and the Meaning of Sexual Fantasy