“Sexual Personae” by Camille Paglia

book review by Riley Burnham 10/20/2026

wow, this is a heck of a book(!)

a recommendation, this kicks off as a tome of advanced literacy, distinguishing Apollonian, Dionysian, & Chthonic themes in literature &, well, humanity — paradigms of order & structure vs chaos & hedonism vs earthy & mysterious

the audiobook clocks in at 35+ hours, so the points are elaborated thoroughly, eventually becoming a somewhat high-brow alliteration upon alliteration upon alliteration…

we get differences in sexes, how males aim [as w/ their penises] & tend toward order & logic [as such], while ultimately weary of the unknown female, characterized by the mystery of the womb & her internal world

she notes how the Abrahamic religions are a particularly male deity, a sky God, moving away from the Earth Mother as preceded it [paganism], & its impossibility of being stamped out, like prostitution, because it is underlying, whether ignored or acknowledged [Chthonic]

there’s a lot to think about, & i can see myself revisiting the first couple chapters to button down the notions 👍👍👍