[1] The compilation includes essays by a variety of radical feminists such as Alice Walker, Robin Morgan, Kathleen Barry, Diana E. H. Russell, Susan Leigh Star, Ti-Grace Atkinson, John Stoltenberg, Sarah Lucia Hoagland, Darlene Pagano, Susan Griffin, Cheri Lesh, and Judith Butler.

[3][4] Susan Leigh Star criticizes the use of swastikas and other Nazi imagery by some BDSM practitioners as anti-Semitic and racist.

[5] Marissa Jonel and Elizabeth Harris's articles are accounts of personal experiences with sadomasochism, and Paula Tiklicorect and Melissa Bay Mathis use satire in their pieces.

Griffin argues that Story of O shows "how a pornographic society turns a woman's heart against herself".

[7] Charles Moser wrote a negative review for The Journal of Sex Research, admitting that the essays are "well-written" but nonetheless calling the book "infuriating".