'Sex can seem like a house of horrors – full of monsters and potential pitfalls. We often live with fear, shame and frustration when it comes to our own sexuality, and with judgement when it comes to others’. Sex advice manuals, debates over sex work and stories of sexual ‘dysfunction’ add to our anxiety.
'With compassion, humour, erudition and a touch of the erotic, Meg-John Barker and Jules Scheele shine a light through the darkness and unmask the monsters in this illustrated guide. From sexual identities to having sex, to desire, consent and relationships, we’ll explore the invention of sex as we know it and imagine sex as it could be. Along the way, we’ll move past thinking of sex as meaning just one thing, defined by the genders of those doing it, instead making space for lots of different types of attraction, desire, relationship and act.'
I have to admit, I came to this book with some misconceptions in my head about what to expect. I was thinking that this was going to be a graphic novel aimed at teens to help teach about sex and sexuality, but I was somewhat surprised to find that the book was actually more of an illustrated text, with the writing to art ratio being pretty even, and that it was written in a way that didn't try to simplify things, and talked about the subject in a much more in depth way.
The book reads less like a graphic novel and more like an eduicational textbook, which I guess it really is. It takes its time to go into not just the modern ideas about sexuality, but the history of the subject, and will take the reader in a journey that goes back to the ancient world as it explains how sexulity was seen at different points in history, and not just how this changed, but also why.
Readers are introduced to different therapists, scientists, and doctors who have had an impact in this field over the centuries, and it explores how they came to their decisions about what sexuality is, and how this would go on to shape and inform those that came after, not just from an accademic point of view, but also how these conclusions shaped and influenced society as a whole.
Whilst it was great that the book tackled so much, and didn't just gloss over the subject in order to provide a book that gives reader the basics the main down side to this was a few times it felt like it was perhaps trying to take on too much, especially for the size of the book. There were times where I found myself wanting to know more about a particular aspect, or a certain time, but the book had to move on to talk about the next part of the topic. As such, I think of this book as a great stepping stone, as a good introduction the topic that can get people interested, but would perhaps see some people having to turn to other resources if they wanted to learn more.
This isn't a bad thing though, and it means that Sexuality: A Graphic Guide makes for a great first step in learning more about this topic. It will provide you with a good broad knowledge on the subject, one that could answer all of your questions, but it might also spark your interest in a certain area or a specific figure and make you want to delve deeper into it than you first thought you would.
One of the things that was pleasantly surprising was the way it was written to be accessible to younger readers, whilst also not alienating older readers. Sexuality is something that we should, in theory, have all learnt about in school. But the truth is that quite often the education system lets people down in this regard, and as such there are a lot of adults out there who have very ill informed or basic views on the subject. If this book were just aimed at younger readers, made too simple or too bright, it might turn away older readers who want to explore this subject, but Sexuality: A Graphic Guide sidesteps these pitfalls, making it an accessible and engaging read for people from all ages.
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