Popular journalist, writer, and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel recently wrote an article for Salon reviewing an app that aims to measure pleasure. As the editor of more than forty Cleis Press anthologies like the romantic Only You and Passion, she has a good deal of insight into the inner workings of couple's minds. Spreadsheets record and track movement, noise, frequency, and length of romantic encounters. Rachel claims that this is a flawed premise with which to judge intimacy, as there are countless variables that contribute to the pleasure of both partners.
Furthermore, Bussel points out that "the implication is that the more noise you make in bed, the better a time you’re having. For me this is definitely not the case."
Rachel Kramer Bussel concludes that it's impossible to have an absolute measure of pleasure because what makes intimate encounters "good" will vary from person to person and even from night to night.
Rachel Kramer Bussel edited a column for New York magazine and hosts SRO readings around the country. Rachel formerly wrote the "Lusty Lady" column for The Village Voice and was the longtime senior editor of Penthouse Variations. She is a prolific erotica editor, and her titles include Spanked, He’s On Top, She’s On Top, Passion, and Do Not Disturb. Visit her website here.
