Tina Horn

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Alexandra Kacha

Tina Horn sitting at a table.

Tina Horn

Tina Horn has been examining what fires up human desire for many years in a variety of media: writing (including co-editing and contributing to We Too: Essays on Sex Work and Survival); podcasting (as host of the fetish-themed Why Are People Into That?!); creator of Feminist Porn Award-winning video; and more. That experience has been synthesized in Horn’s new book, Why Are People Into That? A Cultural Investigation of Kink, which Vogue calls “a razor sharp and inclusively structured taxonomy of kink.” Horn will discuss the book with G Romero Johnson.

media release: A Room of One's Own is excited to welcome Tina Horn for a conversation on her newest book Why Are People Into That? A Cultural Investigation of Kink in conversation with Room's very own bookseller G Romero Johnson. Join us for a deep dive into the world of kink!

This is an in person event at A Room of One's Own.

When celebrated BDSM educator Tina Horn first launched Why Are People Into That?!, publications from Vice to Buzzfeed heralded it as one of the best sex podcasts around. Each episode centered around a different fetish or fantasy, thoughtfully examining why, exactly, different strokes work for different folks. From sex workers and scientists to artists and activists, Tina’s wide range of guests helped educate fascinated listeners across the world on the wide spectrum of humanity’s appetites. With her listeners growing more and more insatiable, she soon realized that the only way to address the titular question with all the depth and nuance it deserved was to turn that idea into a book.

From spanking, strap-ons, and sluts, to taboos involving cake, chains, and cannibalism, WHY ARE PEOPLE INTO THAT? explores the universal drives that shape even the most specific erotic tastes, and the cultural context that molds and is molded by the way we conceptualize pleasure, gender, fantasy, and power. With buoyant prose, Tina invites us to reconsider everything we thought we knew about sexuality. How, for example, should we think about "consensual nonconsent" in a post-#MeToo era? How does cross-dressing fit in with our evolving cultural understanding of gender performance and identity? And what do foot fetishists, fisters, and FinDoms have in common?

Blending insightful cultural criticism, investigative journalism, and spicy anecdotes from Tina’s 15+ years of hard-earned expertise in the sex industry and beyond, WHY ARE PEOPLE INTO THAT? is a philosophical-but-fun exploration of the prismatic spectrum of human desire and the expansive possibilities of pleasure. For fans of Adrienne Maree Brown and Emily Nagoski, this raunchy and rousing book is perfect for anyone who is interested not only in the intricacies of what we desire, but in how desire itself really works.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tina Horn hosts and produces the long-running fetish podcast Why Are People Into That?! and was the host and co-writer of the Wondery podcast limited series, Operator. She is the creator of the sci-fi sex rebel comic book series SfSx (Safe Sex) and has contributed to numerous anthologies including We Too: Essays on Sex Work and Survival, which she also co-edited. Horn is the winner of two Feminist Porn Awards, an AVN-nominated director, and holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction Writing from Sarah Lawrence. Originally from Northern California, Horn spent a decade in NYC before re-settling in Los Angeles with her wife and dog.

PRAISE

"Readers will appreciate Horn’s graceful synthesis of cultural analysis and scientific fact, as well as her ability to broach taboo topics in nonjudgmental terms—sexual taste, she writes, is 'no different from a preference for spicy or sweet food.' Curious readers will glean plenty." — Publishers Weekly

“An inspiration and an invitation to embrace the glorious kaleidoscope of human sexuality.” — Booklist Reviews

"[S]uperbly enjoyable... Humor and seriousness share pages harmoniously. Most importantly, I left feeling like I detached a few harmful preconceived notions I didn’t even know were there. That’s the real joy of this book: It’ll challenge some of your problematic notions no matter how confident you are in your sex positivity... My understanding of kinkiness is better having read the book." — Autostraddle

“A razor sharp and inclusively structured taxonomy of kink.” — Vogue

"Why Are People Into That? is a must-read for everyone with an interest in kink, from pro dommes and pup boys to those just beginning to wonder if they might want to try something a little less vanilla. This book is great as an overview of BDSM and kink interests, but is best for its cultural analysis of how these interests are shaped by not just sexual desire, but by the likes of gender, pleasure, and power." — Pride.com, “10 Best LGBTQ+ Books of 2024 (so far)”