When I was a young woman, girl even, sex was about cuddles, kisses and orgasms. In pretty much that order. If you and your partner listened to each other and discovered what worked for both of you, that truly was The Joy of Sex.

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Alex Comfort's work became a bestseller in 1972, which was excellent timing for me and for hundreds of thousands of others. It had sweet drawings, was extremely plain-spoken and didn't romanticise sex. It also did not offer advice which would prove to be risky to any of the participants. Well, not unless you were a bloody idiot. Also, some excellent advice: don't leave anyone tied up for more than half an hour. And this: nothing may ever be tied round the front of anyone's neck, however loosely, and even if they ask for it.

Thank you for asking. It's not that I have an excellent memory. This is from my 1974 edition which I still have, accompanied by More Joy. A little worn now but always a source of (mostly) good information.

News this week that a truckload of young people are looking for ways to do whatever takes their fancy. Yep, more than half of Australian young people are using strangulation during sex. Apparently it's also called "erotic asphyxiation" because the idea of not being able to breathe is so titillating. Help. Me.

Researchers at the Universities of Melbourne and Queensland surveyed nearly 5000 people between 18 and 35 and discovered 57........

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