Here is a book that will make you think. At least it made me think. And it made me have one of my semi-annual "let's sit down with my kids and talk about sex' conversations. Because even thought I like to think I am doing a good job she had some really valid points about the kinds of things we forget to tell our kids. Like the good parts about sex, and that there is a whole lot more involved then avoiding pregnancy and illness. I had been really missing out some important stuff and hopefully I will do a little better having a balanced view in those talks in the future.

A few parts of the book made me uncomfortable, but in a good way. In the way that means I need to sit down and think about if I am uncomfortable because she is wrong or because I was just taught to see some things as wrong. The basic premise that not telling kids about sex is going to backfire and hurt them is something I have always agreed with, and although she only mentions it in passing I have to agree it does tie into a larger issue in society where people are too busy protecting their kids to teach them how to deal with and access issues themselves. But that is getting into a pet peeve of my own and really isn't about the book.

I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in the topic as long as they are willing to approach it with an open mind. ( )

ref. by an article in bitch mag.

Judith Levine's popular compilation of modern studies on sexuality is an important wake-up call for people to resist the power of social conservatism in the area of sexuality as much as anywhere else. In "Harmful to Minors", she convincingly lays out the case for a positive, non-moralistic and non-puritan approach to sexuality and in particular children's sexuality. Ever since Freud and Kinsey broke the silence regarding this subject in their respective societies, the idea of children having, wanting and even enjoying sex and sexuality has been an absolute taboo in the nations where social conservatives rule. Yet nevertheless all modern studies of sexuality point out that it is true, and not only that, but that trying to stymy this development is actively bad for the mental health of the kid and his/her social development.

Levine's book has of course caused an uproar, but this is more proof of the hysteria surrounding the subject and the degree to which the idea of sexuality as a positive and pleasurable thing, even for younger people, has been repressed than proof of its untruth. It is therefore unfortunate that a big part of the book discusses the political and social issues surrounding this repression itself; while this is important and interesting, the amount of text spent on scientifically proving the need for nonrepression of sexuality is relatively little (though still easily sufficient to prove the case). This makes it easier for people to dismiss it than if it had had a more thoroughly scholarly tone.

Nevertheless, Levine's point is obviously true and it is imperative that modern and developed nations like the United States adopt a more progressive approach to sexuality, not just to remove the effects of religious moralism from this sphere, but also because repression of sexuality and information about sex leads to psychological problems, social awkwardness, sexual disease, unwanted pregnancies, rape, abuse and suicide. It is not sexuality that is dangerous - it is the repression of sexuality that is the real danger to children and adults alike.

Ever want to read a sociology book?!?!? I suggest this one. It is about the way we think about sex in America, and the ways in which we teach our children about it. Levine suggests that keeping sex from our youth can harm them. This is one of the only books that has made rethink, and rebuild every opinion and thought I had previously had on a subject. ( )

Very eye opening material on the politics behind much of the furor over some of the most explosive issues in today's society. ( )