Naked Truth about Sex

The Naked Truth about Sex is a "sexuality guide" by Roger Libby for teens/young adults and is an excellent beginning for the 21st Century which follows in the tradition of the great writings on sexuality and love in the 20th Century by Havelock Ellis-Studies in The Psychology of Sex, Anais Nin-A Journal of Love, Sigmund Freud-Three Contributions to the Theory of Sex, Bronislaw Malinowski-The Sexual Life of Savages, Margaret Mead-Male and Female, Alfred Kinsey--Sexual Behavior of the Human Male v1 and Female v2, Albert Ellis's Sex without Guilt and The Art and Science of Love, Betty Friedan-The Feminine Mystique, Masters and Johnson-Human Sexual Response, CA Tripp--Homosexual Matrix, and Nancy Friday-Jealousy. The central thesis of The Naked Truth about Sex is how teenagers and young adults can derive pleasure from sexual expression with the least amount of risk while remaining true to their principles, values, beliefs, and continue to maintain respect among family and friends. By considering two elements of sexuality-WHEN to be sexual and WHO to be sexual with we are faced with three of the four decisions regarding the sexual experience having a negative component to them. Consider the following 2 x 2 table. Think about this model when making love/sexual decisions. You can change the stems on each side of the table to assist in figuring out other sexual issues that may be causing confusion. ........Timing-WHEN to be sexual:+ or -- ........WHO to..................+ +.....-- + ........Be sexual:..+ or --...+ --....-- -- The Naked Truth about Sex provides ideas and considerations for teens and young adults to evaluate to their own situations. The book promotes accurate information, following conventional values, beliefs, and principles, understanding feelings of self and others, and positive interpersonal relationships. Some "parents" may have a problem with the book because of its open permission giving of having sexual pleasure as a teen or young adult. As a college professor I asked students to talk with their friends regarding how many orgasms they have had in their lives and how many of them were not pleasurable. Well the running total when I finished teaching was 281,736 pleasurable and 18 not pleasurable. Whether induced by self or other orgasm has a very, very strong reinforcement component. Unfortunately, orgasm only needs to be paired with a sexual type event and people become attached to that method for achieving orgasm. Mark Twain, as only he could do, had some wonderful thoughts on "The Science of Onanism" which can be found at: (This is among the most hillarious thoughts ever on sex.) [...] Under the best of circumstances The Naked Truth about Sex would be read by parents and teens and discussed between them verbally or maybe by some form of writing back and forth. I would doubt that The Naked Truth about Sex would ever be adopted as a high school textbook unless AS Neill's Summerhill School in England reopened

The noted sexologist, Roger Libby. has written an important and timely book that also is a reliable manual for young people on their sexuality. Libby contends that the religious right has forced the school systems to adopt the "abstinence only" method of sexual beavior as the only safe method. Since no sex is the only fully reliable menod, it's easy to teach, eliding all those difficult issues like conception, abortion, Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), relationships, etc., that clutter up the mind. To Libby, this is unacceptable. and he details all the reasons this mode of thought is not in tune with modern life. The principal one being that young people dont hold with it and will tend to tune out the abstinence-only crowd, taking their own path to sexual fulfillment despite pressures to conform. Libby, to be fair, believes sex should be fun, that it is a certain right to their own bodies that is at stake here, that young people tend to approach sex responsibly, given a real choice. As such he has written the perfect manual for the young person who is seeking knowledge on things sexual. it is designed for the young person who hasn't other resources, such as knowledgeble parents. As such it must be simple to read and broadbased enough to cover required territory, such as providing authoritive information on STDs. And it mst be conservative, that is, it cannot advocate unlimited sex for any one who understands the words. It must recognize the transient, lustful, origin of the sex drive and not advocate intimacy to any one just because they're old enough to have sex. Roger Libby has produced such a work. Libby acknowledges that his work will be castigated by the religious right. To me this seems unimportant, given the underlying principles. He is in tune to young people's concerns, and he advcates a Pre-Sex Discussion (PSD) as an innovative way to come to grips with some of those concerns. ln the last chpter he takes on the establishment of government, religious right, and educationists with a clarion call to his readers: "To unleash our sexual potential we must reject rigid rules, shame and guilt. Each of you, by choosing to embrace your sexuality and make responsible, healthy and affirmative sexual choices, will participate in the New Sexual Revolution. The time to start is now!"

Roger Libby's newbook, The Naked Truth about Sex, is the ideal book for young people begining to share their sexuality. I am a Urologist who often treats young people for STD's and fear of having "caught something". I will use this book as an owners manual, a tool for parents to begin a dialog with their kids, and as a reference book for adolescents with questions that come up and are too delicate to discuss with friends and parents. The medical information is current and accurate. The question and answer style lends itself to easy reading. I welcome the sex positive approach as denial of sexual activity can lead to poor choices and unhappy relationships. The Naked Truth about Sex can bridge the gap between worried parents and youth who are starting out on the journey of intimacy-- without the baggage of urban myths and before they suffer the consequences of unprotected sex.

Doctor Libby's THE NAKED TRUTH ABOUT SEX is a direct and clearly written book dedicated to providing counsel and advice to teenagers and young adults. Through a clever didactic approach utilizing responses to actual questions posed by young people, Libby provides sensitive and sound advice. He writes from a base of extensive academic knowledge and considerable clinical experience and provides information directly concerned with sexual issues and sexual behavior. Libby provides useful information in a style that young people will appreciate for its honesty and helpfulness.

I think this book is pretty entertaining and has good information. As a 20-something, I'd say that it's a very good book for kids going off to college. Some parents would be relieved to give it to their kids because they wouldn't have to say this stuff themselves. But I can see how some parents might be hesitant to give this book to their high school kids because it contains information they'd never talk about. So if you're interested in learning the naked truth about sex, buy it yourself and don't wait for your parents. I wish I had this book when I was going though high school and into college.