My Secret Garden | By Nancy Friday

Its influence can be seen in everything from the rise of erotic fiction for women (from Fifty Shades of Grey to the explosion of online fanfiction) to the normalization of discussions about fantasy in sex therapy and popular media. Podcasts, advice columns, and Netflix documentaries about desire all stand on ground that Friday helped clear.

She recalled asking female friends about their fantasies, only to be met with denial or shame. "Women thought they were the only ones," she later said. "They believed there was something wrong with them." My Secret Garden By Nancy Friday

Additionally, Friday’s framing occasionally echoes the very gender binaries she sought to dismantle. She sometimes reinforces the idea of "male" versus "female" sexuality as inherently different, rather than seeing variation across individuals. Its influence can be seen in everything from