The Fruit of Knowledge

«The Fruit of Knowledge» by Liv Strömquist — an international bestseller, a comic about the female body and our complicated relationship with it. What is commonly referred to as female genitals? Why do people have such an irreconcilable, ambiguous, contradictory... attitude specifically towards this part of the body? Why is the word «vulva» absent from everyday language, and menstruation is taboo? How have views on biological sex and gender changed over the centuries? To answer these questions, Liv Strömquist turns to the culture of Antiquity and the Middle Ages, Sigmund Freud and Jean-Paul Sartre, «Sleeping Beauty» and Swedish pop music, internet forums and newspaper headlines. «Forbidden Fruit» is not only educational but also incredibly funny historical analysis of the myths surrounding female sexuality. ж