Brenda Love (born December 13, 1950) is an American psychologist, writer, international lecturer and

sexologist Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism. Sexologists app ...

. She is a leading authority on paraphilias,

fetishes A fetish (derived from the French , which comes from the Portuguese , and this in turn from Latin , 'artificial' and , 'to make') is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a human-made object that has power over ot ...

sadomasochism Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refer ...

and unusual sex practices. She has documented over 750 sex practices with 150 original illustrations in the '' Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices'' and it remains the most comprehensive and valuable research available today for therapists, physicians, educators, and law enforcement agencies. Love has promoted understanding and non-judgment of fetish behavior in public lectures and as a guest on numerous television and radio programs.Sandack, R., (1995), "The 3rd degree, Brenda Love: She teaches weird sex", Chic Magazine, Los Angeles, CA, April 1995, 23-24 During her career she served as a counselor on the National STD Hotline, The San Mateo Suicide and Crisis Center, The National AIDS Hotline, and the San Francisco Sex Switchboard. Love received her doctorate in psychology from Hamilton University (1992) and a Bachelor of Arts from Trinity College & University (1990). She is also a biographee of Who's Who of American Women, and of Who's Who of Outstanding Writers of the 20th Century. She has been a member of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists, Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, Student Affiliate of the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...

, the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...

, and the

California Writers Club The California Writers Club traces its founding to the San Francisco Bay Area literary movement in the early part of the 20th century. The informal gatherings of Jack London, George Sterling, and Herman Whitaker, along with others, eventually became ...

Publications

* Love, Brenda, (2012), ''WWII Memoirs'', Amazon () * Love, Brenda Zejdl, (2012), ''Dita's Journey, 5 Camps 5 Years'', Amazon (). * Love, Brenda, (1992), '' Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices'', Little Brown . The book is available in English, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Japanese and French. * Love, B, (2001) Contributing writer for ''The International Encyclopedia of Sexuality'', () by Francoeur, R. An updated one-volume version was published in 2004 under the title ''The Continuum complete international encyclopedia of sexuality'' (). * Love, B, (1992), "500 Unusual Sex Practices" video, Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality, San Francisco * Love, B, Bishop L, (2020), ''A Crazy Old Ladies' Guide to the World of Bridge'', Amazon (). * Love, B, Cook C; (1995), "Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices" DVD, Harvest Moon Studios, Los Angeles, CA * Love, B, (1991), "Gastronophilia", ''Not Naughty News;'', Woodside, CA, Vol. 1, No. 2, * Love, B, (1992), "Entomophilia", ''Not Naughty News;'', Woodside, CA, Vol. 2, No. 1 * Love, B, (1993), "Pie Throwing", ''Not Naughty News;'', Woodside, CA, Vol. 3, No. 1 * Love, B, (1994), "Hierophilia and Pecattiphilia", ''Passionate Living Magazine;'', Woodside, California, Vol. 4, No. 2

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Love, Brenda American non-fiction writers 20th-century American Jews 1950 births Living people 21st-century American Jews