Exploration and satisfaction through the mental and spiritual aspects of sexual intercourse is the thesis of Imaginative Sex, John Norman's nonfiction 1974 work. As is perhaps expected, Norman's concept of the mental and spiritual involves generally male dominant/female submissive BDSM fantasy scenarios, of which the bulk of Imaginative Sex is devoted to. Unlike the Spartan Gor, where it may be natural for men to enslave women, Norman repeatedly emphasizes the need for BDSM to be safe, sane and consensual. Although a groundbreaking sex manual for its time, Norman was criticized for his parochial focus on maledom/femsub relations in addressing the wide topic of sexual spirituality.
In 1997 Masquerade Press published an edition of Imaginative Sex notable for its lauding introduction by Pat Califa.
