About the Book
-
Authors:
- Inti Chavez Perez
- Stuart Tudball
- Genres:
- Non Fiction (General)
- Translations
Cover Story: Eyeballs Emoji
Talky Talk: Let’s Talk About Sex, Babies
Course Curriculum: Sex (and Dating) Ed
Extra Credit: Dunking on Misogyny
Class Standing: D for D…egree
Cover Story: Eyeballs Emoji
This cheeky cover definitely knows its teen audience, conveying what the one thing this book is about (that thing, that thing… ) with simple yet effective modern pictography.
The Deal:
Sex educator Inti Chavez Perez has created a guide to help navigate relationships, sexual health, and consent, with cis male youths in mind.
Talky Talk: Let’s Talk About Sex, Babies
Frank and straightforward, this book is laid out in an almost textbook-ish fashion, complete with activity prompts—except for topics like phallic photos and fromage. (There is obvi a lot of phalluses involved, if the cover wasn’t enough of a hint.) Even glancing through the table of contents was amusing (the very first subsection is called “‘Is My [Eggplant] Normal?'”), but probably because I’m not used to seeing sex discussed in this way. And also maybe because I’m a very immature adult.
Along with his own advice and observations, Chavez Perez includes testimonials from real youths. However, I do wish that there was better citation, since some of the statistics and facts are stated without sources and there’s no bibliography.
Course Curriculum: Sex (and Dating) Ed
This book focuses on sex and relationships for cis guys, with cis girls and cis guys. While it does generally provide good guidance, it should be treated as suggestions rather than instructions. There’s a list called “Step-by-Step: How to Come Out” that should have just been presented as a collection of tips, since there’s no one way (and certainly no ‘right’ way) to come out. And looking for clues like Pride paraphernalia or an interest in pop culture with a gay following seems like a possibly awkward and stereotypes-reinforcing way to determine if someone is interested in guys. But overall, this book did give me major eggplant envy, in that it had me wanting a cat emoji version within the first twenty pages.
Extra Credit: Dunking on Misogyny
It shouldn’t be surprising that a book centered around consent is also feminist af, but it’s still delightful when it calls out misogyny—and it does that a lot. The entire “Girls” chapter is required reading (it contains some ideas that I hadn’t even considered before), but my favorite part is the commentary about a quote from a pickup artist that deduces a lack of familiarity with women’s bodies and a high likelihood of bullshizz.
Class Standing: D for D…egree
True, any teen could just seek out what they want to know on the internet. But there’s so much information—and misinformation—to weed through, and it’s not necessarily written with teen boys in mind. Respect is a good starting point to address those questions and concerns—and those outside of its intended audience might find value in it, too.
FTC Full Disclosure: I received my free review copy from Penguin. This review was originally posted on Kirkus Reviews in exchange for monetary compensation, which did not affect or influence my opinions. Respect: Everything a Guy Needs to Know About Sex, Love, and Consent is available now.
