Book Review: Want: Sexual Fantasies by Anonymous collected by Gillian Anderson

Gone are the days when women were expected to hide what sexual pleasure means to them. Today, more women are embracing openness, exploring new ideas in the bedroom, and expressing thoughts that range from tender and innocent to daringly charged with erotic tension. While society still often resists the idea of women speaking openly about their desires, acclaimed actress and author Gillian Anderson has taken a bold step, curating sexual fantasies written by women from around the world.

Her book, Want: Sexual Fantasies by Anonymous, is a safe space where women’s desires take centre stage without guilt or judgement. The fantasies span every corner of sexual curiosity, from threesomes to self-pleasure, same-sex encounters, and longing for those who are out of reach. They are vivid, unapologetic, and deeply human, challenging the persistent notion that women should be seen as innocent and passive participants in sex. Anderson underscores a crucial truth: sex is something done with women, not to them.

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Gillian promoting her book in London, Image:Instagram/@gillianandersom

Across cultures, conversations about sex and sexuality are still censored, with women in many countries discouraged from discussing sex education, even though it’s deeply connected to their health, identity, and autonomy. By giving these voices a platform, Want does more than entertain, it dismantles barriers that have long kept women’s sexual agency in the shadows.

The fantasies in these pages are layered with desire, fear, intimacy, shame, satisfaction, and liberation. They explore womanhood and motherhood, infidelity and trust, consent and respect, pleasure and pain. From gentle, tender moments to wild, uninhibited scenes, each story offers a window into the most secret part of the female mind.

@cliteratureclub_ Loving every second of this book @Gillian Anderson #cliterature #cliteratureclub #gilliananderson #wantgilliananderson #women #female #womenshealth #fantasy #booktok #spicy #spicybook ♬ original sound - Bryson

Want is more than a collection of fantasies, it’s a celebration of sexual truth, revealing how women feel about sex when they are free to be entirely themselves.