Kinky History Book Launch with Esmé Louise James

Have you ever wondered about the history of the dildo? Or how the idea of sin has shaped our sex lives? Why is masturbation so taboo? 

Celebrate the launch of TikTok sensation Esmé Louise James’s new book, Kinky History, where you’ll learn this and more in an evening of risqué performance and intimate conversations. 

Esmé will be joined by Dr Susan James for a Q&A where they'll blow open conversations surrounding sexuality and gender – both contemporary and historical – and burlesque performer Evana de Lune.  

Afterwards, purchase your own signed copy of Kinky History from Readings.

Book your spot now. 

About Kinky History 

Irreverent and provocative, this is a history of sex from TikTok sensation Esmé Louise James. 

Kinky History draws on Esmé’s phenomenally successful TikTok series, which explores scandalous stories in the ancient world and the saucy secrets of famous figures. Teaming up with her statistician mother, Dr Susan James, the pair have surveyed the nation for all your intimate secrets, and the results are in. 

By placing the past in conversation with the present, we'll explore five ‘kinks’ that challenge our thinking about sex. 

About Esmé Louise James 

Esmé James is a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne in the School of Culture and Communications, researching the development of the erotic genre from the eighteenth century onwards. 

On social media she has developed her wildly popular Kinky History video series, which explores the history of human sexuality across a range of platforms (including TikTok, Instagram and YouTube) and the series SexTistics, which uses statistics to create a snapshot – past and present – of gender, sexuality and identity in Australia. 

Esmé was a speaker at TEDxSydney in 2022, and her writing has been published in The Age, the ABC, The Conversation and the Herald Sun. In 2020, she was listed in the Top 30 Emerging Writers by SBS Australia.