All the Way Sex for the First Time - Softcover

Martyn, Kim; Gelico

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1894549260 ISBN 13: 9781894549264

Publisher: Sumach Press, 2004

Synopsis

Introduces the topic of sexuality, from making the decision to first have sex, to knowing what to do, to the consequences.

About this title

About the Author

Kim Martyn has a degree in social work and has been a sexual-health educator for almost twenty years in schools as well as community and clinical settings. She has co-owned the web site www.sexscape.org since 1997, and has appeared in numerous television and radio programs. She lives in Toronto.

Reviews

Grade 9 Up-"[Y]ou won't find me talking about abstinence. I don't even like the word," writes Martyn in her introduction to this sex manual for teens. Chapters cover sexual assault, STDs, and birth control, but the overarching theme is that teens are going to have sex, so here's how to do it and feel great about it. She gives some advice and encouragement to those who want to wait, but assumes that most teens will not do so. Those making that choice are characterized as "not ready" and less mature, rather than self-empowered and self-protecting. Martyn is a sexual health educator and co-owner of www.sexscape.org, the source of many of the questions and stories interlaced through the text. She writes in a breezy style tending toward flippant sarcasm. Sketches sporadically illustrate the book, adding slight diversion and no information. The section on sexual technique is explicit and detailed. The author also assumes a great degree of verbal communication going on between sexual partners, and also between teen and parent. For instance, she gives pointers on approaching a parent to ask permission for one's boyfriend/girlfriend to sleep over, sharing one's bed. A more balanced choice is still that staple of teen sexuality books, Ruth Bell's Changing Bodies, Changing Lives: A Book for Teens on Sex and Relationships (Times, 1998). Bell's emphasis is on personal empowerment with information that is highly relevant; she draws from a much wider and deeper pool of educators, contributors, and teens; and addresses her audience with greater respect.-Joyce Adams Burner, Hillcrest Library, Prairie Village, KS
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Edition details

• Publisher: Sumach Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1894549260
• ISBN 13: 9781894549264
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 216