Caitlin Moran mentioned this book in How to Be a Woman, and I was intrigued so went looking for it and found it's available as a free download from the Internet Archive. The fantasies are mostly fun - with a few disturbing exceptions where fantasy and reality overlap. These days its contents aren't all that shocking, but it must have been considered outrageous when it first came out in the 1970s.

I can't believe that people ever had such a hard time believing that women fantasize sexually, but then I look around, and I can totally believe it. I thought that this was an excellent compilation of a broad spectrum of fantasies, presented largely without judgment or explanation, save for the repetitive admonition that 'people don't have any control over what their fantasies are.' The psychologist in me wants to hear what the impetus behind these fantasies are, but that isn't within the scope of this book, and she wisely doesn't ever do more than speculate at what the driving force might be.

As a man, I found the fantasies to be of the sort that I'd expect anyone to have. Some of them are odd, or perverse, or immoral, and not all of them have the same effect on all people, which is the idea she was presenting: Each woman, like each man, is different in what they fantasize about, and the fantasy of a woman are no less valid or important than those of a man.

I'd recommend this for any women, as I am sure that there is something in this anthology that you'll read and say "oooohhhh, yes!!! I've thought about that as well!!!" But I'd also recommend this to my progressive male friends, who can appreciate that women are autonomous and independent of us, because most of the themes of the fantasies presented are modified only slightly when men fantasize, and that's a comforting thought for many; that what we fantasize about doesn't make us 'weird' or 'perverted' - chances are your partner feels the same way about their fantasies. It's a good reminder to be kind and accepting of each other, and hopefully we'll get some of that in return.

"My Secret Garden: Women's Sexual Fantasies" by Nancy Friday is a groundbreaking exploration of female sexuality that earns a solid four out of five stars. Published in the 1970s, it was revolutionary for its time, boldly delving into the taboo subject of women's sexual fantasies. Friday provides a candid and enlightening collection of anonymous accounts, offering readers a rare glimpse into the innermost desires and fantasies of women.

What makes this book particularly intriguing is its portrayal of women's sexual fantasies from the 1960s, shedding light on the sexual attitudes and societal norms of the era. Through these intimate narratives, Friday challenges stereotypes and empowers women to embrace their sexual desires without shame or judgment.

Although some of the content may seem tame by contemporary standards, "My Secret Garden" remains a provocative and insightful read, offering valuable perspectives on female sexuality that continue to resonate today.

While admirable in premise, the books is best read merely as a compilation of interviews in the vein of 'to each her own'. Some of the supposedly feminist author's commentary is hard to stomach: from the merely sad notion that any kind of masturbation requires fantasy, to the frankly outrageous paragraph prefacing the section on lesbians, who apparently must needs live in fantasy and thus require more of it to rationalise being two sexes at once........... I know it's 1973, but I had to put the book down after that (that's about a third in).