Continuing the trend of curating resources this year for Sexual Health Month, I'm back with a power packed reads for the sexually curious minds. There is something for everyone and I'm not kidding about it! From sex education guides to books that help you be a pro and everything in between, I got you.
To give you a context for the reading list, I have used broad themes to curate this guide, including:
Masturbation (solo and/or partnered adventures)
Ethical polygamy, healthy monogamy, and open relationships
Marriage, long-term relationships and sexuality
Dating and queer sex
Kink, fetishes and BDSM
Healing from sexual pain
Body image and trauma
This is obviously a non-exhaustive guide, but definitely a good place to start your journey. So, let's dive in, shall we?
Sex From Scratch: Making Your Own Relationship Rules
by Sarah Mirk
Modern life calls for modern relationship advice. Sex From Scratch is a love and dating guidebook that gleans real-life knowledge from smart people in a variety of nontraditional relationships. Instead of telling people how to snag a man, seduce a woman, or find "true love," the book sums up what dozens of diverse folks have learned the hard way over time. Sarah Mirk offers tips and stories from the steadfastly single to people making open relationships work, from people who've decided they're never going to have kids to parents who are consciously producing the next generation. No matter what type of relationship you're in or what type you want, Mirk's wisdom and sense of humor provide perspective, humor, and down-to-earth guidance. This is an essential, fun, insightful resource whose time has come.
Pleasure Activism
by Adrienne Maree Brown
How do we make social justice the most pleasurable human experience? How can we awaken within ourselves desires that make it impossible to settle for anything less than a fulfilling life? Editor Adrienne Maree Brown finds the answer in something she calls "Pleasure Activism," a politics of healing and happiness that explodes the dour myth that changing the world is just another form of work. The book covers an array of subjects—from sex work to climate change, from race and gender to sex and drugs—they create new narratives about how politics can feel good and how what feels good always has a complex politics of its own.
Bang!: Mastubartion for All Genders and Sexualities
by Vic Niu
Want to know how to masturbate? Here’s your guide. Whether you’re jerking the gherkin, flicking the bean, or something in between, masturbation doesn’t have to be a taboo topic. This straightforward, unapologetic illustrated guide to self-pleasure will teach you what you need to know to get to know your own body. This inclusive manual covers basic anatomy, techniques, mindsets, orgasms, troubleshooting, and a wide range of the tools and toys. There are sections on debunking myths, exploring your body for the first time, sex toys, tips from trans people for trans people, and a section on masturbating when you have a physical disability and a caretaker that’s written by disabled folks. You’ll also learn about the history of anti-masturbation stigma, some thought-provoking data, and how to teach your kids healthy attitudes toward masturbation. Perfect for the pent-up teens and adults of all ages alike! Overcome physical and emotional obstacles to discover the stress-relieving potential and joy of unpartnered sex. It includes writing and illustrations by Vic Liu, Nina Chausow, Alex Tait, Clare Edgeman, Leah Holmes, Sam Dusing, Patrick Wiedeman, Rebecca Bedell, Lafayette Matthews, Andrew Gurza, and Angus Andrews.
Queerly Autistic: The Ultimate Guide For LGTQIA+ Teens On The Spectrum
by Erin Ekins
In this empowering and honest guide for LGBTQIA+ autistic teens, Erin Ekins gives you all the tools you need to figure out and explore your gender identity and sexuality. From coming out to friends and family, staying safe in relationships and practicing safe sex, through to self-care and coping with bullying, being out and about in the LGBTQIA+ community and undergoing gender transition, this book is filled with essential information, advice, support and resources to help you on your journey, and also works as a primer on all things LGBTQIA+ for non-autistic teens who are just figuring it all out. Written by an inspirational autistic queer woman, this is a must-read for every autistic teen wanting to live their very best queer life.
Carnal Knowledge: Sex Ed You Didn’t Get in School
by Zoë Ligon
When it comes to sex, there's practically no question that Zoë Ligon hasn't heard and researched. Her Instagram and YouTube videos, as well as product reviews, are extremely popular for their up-front approach. Now, she brings her wealth of experience and open-minded attitude to a sex-positive guidebook that's honest, inclusive, and right on time. Lusciously illustrated, this book takes readers through every aspect of sexuality - from body basics and physiology to maintaining healthy relationships. It highlights the usefulness of sex toys in aiding solo and partnered exploration and explains why there should really be no stigma around using these practical tools. It also includes advice on setting boundaries, being respectful of other people's gender identities, and thinking outside the orgasm. Elizabeth Renstrom's dreamy, colorful photographs drive home Ligon's philosophy that there's no one "right" way to have sex. With its focus on intimacy, body positivity, and self-care, Carnal Knowledge can lead you to enjoy sex with security and confidence.
You Are Not Broken
by K J Casperson, MD
In You Are Not Broken, Dr. Kelly Casperson, offers a unique perspective as a urologist, coach, and fellow woman wondering, when it comes to sex, “Is this all there is?” Dr. Kelly explores how to adjust your mindset and provides an in-depth look at what makes women physiologically unique. Better sex creates a better relationship between you and your partner. With real-life stories, ideas for journaling, and tips to get the conversation going, this book is the sex empowerment secret weapon you really need to live the life you’ve always wanted.
Bliss Club: Sex Tips For Creative Lovers
by Jüne Plã
In Bliss Club, Jüne Plã teaches you how to let go of your hang-ups and explore your sexuality at your own pace. You will learn everything there is to know about sex outside of the ‘penetration’ box, regardless of your gender or sexual orientation. With maps of pleasure zones as well as an inventory of moves, it is full of tips and tricks on how to pleasure yourself and your partner, resulting in explosive new experiences. Whether you’re a virgin or sex expert, Bliss Club is perfect for anyone wanting to reinvigorate their sex life.
Detransition, Baby: A Novel
by Torrey Peters
This provocative debut is about what happens at the emotional, messy, vulnerable corners of womanhood that platitudes and good intentions can't reach. Torrey Peters brilliantly and fearlessly navigates the most dangerous taboos around gender, sex, and relationships, gifting us a thrillingly original, witty, and deeply moving novel.
The Game of Desire: 5 Surprising Secrets to Dating with Dominance and Getting What You Want
by Shannon Boodram
In this essential how-to guide, she addresses the realities of life today - when the rules of love and attraction are fluid - and teaches a group of young women how to become master daters in just 60 days.
It starts with you. Shan clarifies that love and self-discovery go hand in hand - your dating life is just as much about you as it is about other people. She challenges you to look inside yourself for what you want out of a partner, a relationship, and, most importantly, yourself. Once you figure out what you want from dating, she shows you exactly how to get it. The Game of Desire empowers you to take the lead, learn your strengths, and identify and correct your weaknesses, all the while getting inspired by watching a group of women learn how to succeed in today’s dating pool. While many books tell women why they can’t get a date, Shan teaches you the skills and techniques necessary to take charge in today’s competitive and often confusing dating scene, providing the tools essential to attract - and keep - the partner(s) you want.
From learning love languages to debunking dating myths, she helps women build knowledge and confidence. Featuring conversational case studies, comprehensive facts about the psychology of sex and romance, and expert insight into sex culture, and written with her trademark humor and charm, The Game of Desire is a must for all of Shan’s fans and for every woman struggling to feel loved and desired.
Mating in Captivity
by Esther Perel
One of the world’s most respected voices on erotic intelligence, Esther Perel offers a bold, provocative new take on intimacy and sex. Mating in Captivity invites us to explore the paradoxical union of domesticity and sexual desire, and explains what it takes to bring lust home. It examines the complexities of sustaining desire through case studies and lively discussion; demonstrating how more exciting, playful, and even poetic sex is possible in long-term relationships. Wise, witty, and as revelatory as it is straightforward, Mating in Captivity is a sensational book that will transform the way you live and love.
Tell Me What You Want
by Justin Lehmiller
Justin J. Lehmiller, one of the USA’s leading experts on human sexuality and author of the popular blog Sex and Psychology. He recently concluded the largest and most comprehensive scientific survey of Americans' sexual fantasies ever undertaken, a monumental two-year study involving over 4,000 Americans from all walks of life, answering questions of unusual scope.
Based on this study, Tell Me What You Want offers an unprecedented look into our fantasy worlds and what they reveal about us. It helps readers to better understand their own sexual desires and how to attain them within their relationships, but also to appreciate why the desires of their partners may be so incredibly different. If we only better understood the incredible diversity of human sexual desire and why this diversity exists in the first place, we would experience less distress, anxiety, and shame about our own sexual fantasies and better understand why our partners often have sexual proclivities that are so different from our own. Ultimately, this book will help readers to enhance their sex lives and to maintain more satisfying relationships and marriages in the future by breaking down barriers to discussing sexual fantasies and allowing them to become a part of readers' sexual realities.
Queer Sex: A Trans and Non-Binary Guide to Intimacy, Pleasure and Relationships
by Juno Roche
In this frank, funny and poignant book, transgender activist Juno Roche discusses sex, desire and dating with leading figures from the trans and non-binary community. Calling out prejudices and inspiring readers to explore their own concepts of intimacy and sexuality, the first-hand accounts celebrate the wonder and potential of trans bodies and push at the boundaries of how society views gender, sexuality and relationships. Empowering and necessary, this collection shows all trans people deserve to feel brave, beautiful and sexy.
Polysecure: Attachment, Trauma and Consensual Non-Monogamy
by Jessica Fern
Attachment theory has entered the mainstream, but most discussions focus on how we can cultivate secure monogamous relationships. What if, like many people, you&;re striving for secure, happy attachments with more than one partner? Polyamorous psychotherapist Jessica Fern breaks new ground by extending attachment theory into the realm of consensual non-monogamy. Using her nested model of attachment and trauma, she expands our understanding of how emotional experiences can influence our relationships. Then, she sets out six specific strategies to help you move toward secure attachments in your multiple relationships. Polysecure is both a trailblazing theoretical treatise and a practical guide.
SexCare: A Self-Help Guide Designed For Solo and Partnered Pleasure
by Sakshi Tickoo
SexCare is a self-paced, reflective workbook that helps in challenging the conventional ideas about sex, identify barriers (internal, external and relational) that limit one from experiencing their true pleasure potential and encourages to set an action plan through guided activities and sensory practices that can be incorporated in a daily routine; prioritizing sexual pleasure and wellness in ways that are practical and convenient. Through this book one shall focus on exploring and experiencing pleasure holistically in various parts of their lives by enhancing sensuality, connection and intimacy with oneself and/or their partner(s). The workbook addresses people in a gender-neutral language without assuming their orientations, abilities, limitations and/or relationship styles because no matter what your identities are, pleasure is a human right and everyone deserves it!
The Ethical Slut
by Janet W. Hardy, Dossie Easton
The classic guide to love, sex, and intimacy beyond the limits of conventional monogamy has been updated to reflect today's modern attitudes and the latest information on nontraditional relationships. For 20 years The Ethical Slut - widely known as the "Poly Bible"- has dispelled myths and showed curious readers how to maintain a successful polyamorous lifestyle through open communication, emotional honesty, and safer sex practices. The third edition of this timeless guide to the ethics of relationships, communication, and sex has been revised to include:
i. Interviews with poly millennials (young people who have grown up without the prejudices their elders encountered regarding gender, orientation, sexuality, and relationships) ii. Tributes to polyamory pioneers iii. Tools for conflict resolution and instructions on how to improve interpersonal dynamics iv. New sidebars on topics such as asexuality, sex workers, LGBTQ terminology, and ways polys can connect and thrive
The authors also include new content addressing nontraditional relationships beyond the polyamorous paradigm of "more than two" couples who don't live together, couples who don't have sex with each other, nonparallel arrangements, couples with widely divergent sex styles, power disparities, and cross-orientation relationships, while utilizing nonbinary gender language and new terms that have come into common usage since the last edition.
Losing It: Sex Education For The 21st Century
by Sophia Smith Galer
Losing It shares the eye-opening stories of ordinary people affected by sex misinformation and finds that many of us are unable to access the world of sexual freedom that we’ve been promised. She draws on her own experiences – and the expertise of a new generation of sex educators – to uncover a world that subscribes to a wide catalogue of sex myths. This book tackles myths about virginity, sexlessness, virility, and consent. It challenges the status quo and empowers people from all backgrounds and any age to rewrite the story of their sex lives.
What Fresh Hell Is This
by Heather Corinna
What to Expect When You're Not Expected to Expect Anything Anymore? Perimenopause and menopause experiences are as unique as all of us who move through them. While there's no one-size-fits-all, Heather Corinna tells you what can happen and what you can do to take care of yourself, all the while busting pernicious myths, offering real self-care tips - the kind that won't break the bank or your soul - and running the gamut from hot flashes to hormone therapy. With practical, clear information and support, inclusive of those with disabilities, queer, transgender, nonbinary and other gender-diverse people, people of colour, working class and others who have long been left out of the discussion, What Fresh Hell Is This is the cooling pillow and empathetic best friend to help you through the fire.
The Wild Woman’s Way: Unlock Your Full Potential for Pleasure, Power, and Fulfilment
by Michaela Boehm
In this life-changing book, intimacy expert and counselor Michaela Boehm shares practical rituals and exercises to show you simple, everyday changes that will revolutionize your connection to yourself, your life, and your relationships. Beyond the outdated stereotypes of femininity lies the ancient wisdom of the Wild Woman archetype, a path to reconnecting with our “body intelligence.” In this book, you will learn to:
i) Re-wild yourself by connecting to who you really are and integrating body, emotions, and mind for powerful expression in the world. ii) Switch effortlessly between “doing” and “being,” allowing you to access both empowered success and personal fulfillment. iii) Unlock creativity and intuition through understanding how the body, heart, and mind can work together. iv) Engage in relaxed, body-specific exercises that help you connect with yourself and your chosen relationships.
Love Worth Making: How to Have Ridiculously Great Sex in Long-Term Relationships
by Dr. Stephen Snyder
Dr. Stephen Snyder tries to answer the question of if sex can survive monogamy? This acclaimed, paradigm-shifting guide turns traditional sex therapy inside-out to reveal the hidden rules for great sex and how can you understand how sexual emotions really work. Gentle, compassionate, and filled with compelling stories from Dr. Snyder’s thirty years as a sex therapist working with over 1,500 individuals and couples, Love Worth Making is essential reading for anyone hoping to keep sexual inspiration alive in a committed relationship.
The Erotic Mind: Unlocking the Inner Sources of Passion and Fulfillment
by Jack Morin
Challenging accepted theories about what makes for terrific sex, The Erotic Mind is a breakthrough exploration of the least understood dimensions of human sexuality - the psychology of desire, arousal, and fulfillment. Nationally known sex therapist Dr. Jack Morin offers a bold new perspective that celebrates the joys of Eros without denying its risks. Based on an in-depth analysis of over 1,000 provocative stories of peak sexual experiences, The Erotic Mind offers clear, accessible guidance on how anyone can utilize his or her own peak encounters and fantasies as powerful tools of self-discovery.
The Erotic Mind explains the many paradoxes of erotic life, such as why we're most excited when we must overcome obstacles; how anxiety, guilt, and anger - generally thought to have a negative impact on sexual arousal - often turn out to be aphrodisiacs; how we use unresolved issues from our early lives to intensify passion; and why the best sex is dynamic and unpredictable, rather than static and safe. These and other insights, combined with concrete suggestions for increasing our enjoyment, overcoming our problems, and revitalizing our relationships, will change forever the way we think about our eroticism.
Man Enough: Undefining my Masculinity
by Justin Baldoni
The effects of traditionally defined masculinity have become one of the most prevalent social issues of our time. In this engaging and provocative new book, beloved actor, director, and social activist Justin Baldoni reflects on his own struggles with masculinity.
With insight and honesty, he explores a range of difficult, sometimes uncomfortable topics including strength and vulnerability, relationships and marriage, body image, sex and sexuality, racial justice, gender equality, and fatherhood. Writing from experience, Justin invites us to move beyond the scripts we’ve learned since childhood and the roles we are expected to play. He challenges men to be brave enough to be vulnerable, to be strong enough to be sensitive, to be confident enough to listen. Encouraging men to dig deep within themselves, Justin helps us reimagine what it means to be man enough and, in the process, what it means to be human.
Beyond The Gender Binary
by Alok V. Menon
In Beyond the Gender Binary, poet, artist, and LGBTQIA+ rights advocate Alok Vaid-Menon deconstructs, demystifies, and reimagines the gender binary.
Pocket Change Collective is a series of small books with big ideas from today's leading activists and artists. In this installment, Beyond the Gender Binary, Alok Vaid-Menon challenges the world to see gender not in black and white, but in full color. Taking from their own experiences as a gender-nonconforming artist, they show us that gender is a malleable and creative form of expression. The only limit is your imagination.
S.E.X, Second Edition: Everything You Need to Know Sexuality Guide to Get You Through Your Teens and Twenties
by Heather Corinna
S.E.X is a go to sex ed guide for teens and young adults, tackling everything you want to know about sex, from consent, safe sex, emotional health and more, from the founder of scarleteen.com. As a teen or emerging adult, dealing with all the changes going on in your life, body, and mind can be mighty overwhelming.
When it comes to sex, everyone seems to have strong feelings and opinions about who you should be and what you should (shouldn't) do. How do you decide who to listen to? Heather Corinna and Scarleteen have provided sex education and information to millions of young people, parents, and mentors since 1998; S.E.X. tackles all the big topics: i. Self-image and how to find and claim your own sexual self
ii. How to best protect and support your sexual and emotional health
iii. Sorting out gender and sexual identities, even when they're complicated and confusing
iv. The latest on contraceptive methods and other reproductive choices, sexually transmitted infections, and safer sex
v. Finding, creating, and managing healthy and happy relationships
vi. How to set and respect limits and boundaries, and rock consent
vii. Identifying, preventing, or healing from abuse or assault and more
Whatever your gender or sexual identity, whether you've already been actively exploring your sexuality or are only just getting curious, S.E.X clearly spells out what you need and want to know - no shame, no judgement, just comprehensive and accurate info in a clear, straightforward language.
The Multi-Orgasmic Couple
by Mantak Chia
The bestselling authors of "The Multi-Orgasmic Man" show you and your partner how to experience intense multiple whole-body orgasms, pleasure each other profoundly, use sexuality for health and healing, and deepen your love and spiritual relationship. Couples will discover simple step-by-step techniques for a level of sexual pleasure, intimacy, and healing they may not have known was possible. This fully illustrated guide will inspire couples to make love all night-and make love last a lifetime.
Girls and Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape
by Peggy Orenstein
In Girls and Sex, Peggy highlights the generation gap emerged between parents and their daughters. Mothers and fathers have little idea about the pressures and expectations they face or how they feel about them. Drawing on in-depth interviews with young women and a wide range of psychologists and experts, renowned journalist and bestselling author Peggy Orenstein goes where most others fear to tread, pulling back the curtain on the hidden truths and hard lessons of girls’ sex lives in the modern world.
Boys and Sex: Young Men on Hookups, Love, Porn, Consent, and Navigating the New Masculinity
by Peggy Orenstein
In Boys & Sex, Peggy Orenstein dives back into the lives of young people to once again give voice to the unspoken, revealing how young men understand and negotiate the new rules of physical and emotional intimacy. Drawing on comprehensive interviews with young men, psychologists, academics, and experts in the field, Boys & Sex dissects so-called locker room talk; how the word “hilarious” robs boys of empathy; pornography as the new sex education; boys’ understanding of hookup culture and consent; and their experience as both victims and perpetrators of sexual violence. By surfacing young men’s experience in all its complexity, Orenstein is able to unravel the hidden truths, hard lessons, and important realities of young male sexuality in today’s world. The result is a provocative and paradigm-shifting work that offers a much-needed vision of how boys can truly move forward as better men.
Come As You Are
by Emily Nagoski
For much of the 20th and 21st centuries, women’s sexuality was an uncharted territory in science, studied far less frequently—and far less seriously—than its male counterpart.
That is, until Emily Nagoski’s Come As You Are, which used groundbreaking science and research to prove that the most important factor in creating and sustaining a sex life filled with confidence and joy is not what the parts are or how they’re organized but how you feel about them. In the years since the book’s initial publication, countless women have learned through Nagoski’s accessible and informative guide that things like stress, mood, trust, and body image are not peripheral factors in a woman’s sexual wellbeing; they are central to it—and that even if you don’t always feel like it, you are already sexually whole by just being yourself. This revised and updated edition continues that mission with new information and advanced research, demystifying and decoding the science of sex so that everyone can create a better sex life and discover more pleasure than you ever thought possible.
Becoming Cliterate
by Laurie Mintz
In Becoming Cliterate, psychology professor and human sexuality expert Dr. Laurie Mintz exposes the broader cultural problem that’s perpetuating this gap, and what we can do about it. The book highlights area of cultural & historical analysis of female orgasm, an anatomy section, proven techniques for cliterate sex and a comprehensive final chapter for men. By dispelling the lies, misunderstandings, and myths that have been holding us back, this book tackles both personal and political problems and replaces them with updated outlooks and practical skills needed to change our collective perspective on sex. It’s time to finally inform women and men on how to have satisfying experiences in bed that benefit both parties.
The revolution is cuming—and Becoming Cliterate offers a radical, simple solution to progress and pleasure for all.
Healing Sexual Pain: A Woman's Guide To Confronting, Diagnosing, And Treating Sexual Pain
by Deborah Coady, Nancy Fish
Millions of women suffer from sexual and pelvic pain in America today, yet it is frequently misdiagnosed—or not diagnosed at all. Many women never seek treatment from this painful condition for fear they will be ignored or even disrespected. In Healing Sexual Pain, Deborah Coady and Nancy Fish use their combined pr ofessional expertise as a doctor and therapist who specialize in sexual pain to provide readers with an understanding of its many causes and how to treat them, from both a physical and psychological standpoint.
Organized into three parts—understanding sexual pain, possible diagnoses, and redefining sexuality— Healing Sexual Pain includes medical checklists, illustrations, vignettes based on interviews with women and their healthcare professionals, treatment options, and guidance for moving forward after healing. Coady and Fish speak honestly and directly to sexual pain sufferers’ experiences, helping them address the problem of chronic pain, understand and prevent misdiagnoses, define medical terms and conditions, and regain sexual joy. Comprehensive, multi-dimensional, and deeply insightful, this book offers women the tools to successfully take on the many challenges of sexual pain and move toward a healthy, happy future.
Hot And Unbothered: How To Think About, Talk About, and Have the Sex You Really Want
by Yana Tallon-Hicks
In Hot and Unbothered, Yana Tallon-Hicks provides a roadmap to empower yourself and improve your relationships, sharing the unique programs she developed for her therapy clients and workshops. She begins by shattering myths about “good sex,” which is seamless, satisfying—and nearly non-existent. Once you let go of unreachable ideals, you can start to truly identify your own unique desires and fears and build the safest space to fulfill your most pleasurable sexual experiences. Yana guides you to discover your own hang-ups and overcome barriers such as shame, secrecy, misinformation, low self-esteem, lack-of-motivation, and unhealthy relationship patterns.
When the path to pleasure is cleared the fun begins! Yana helps you decide who you really are as a sexual being and how to set sexual goals. What do you want? What do you like? What have you yet to discover? And how do you want to explore? In answering these questions, you can establish and set your limits, clarify your needs, and communicate your desires to your current partner. Yana reminds you that whether your partner is a lifelong companion or a casual hook-up, your pleasure, comfort, and identity should always be supported.
Sex For One: The Joy of Self-Loving
by Betty Dodson
Confronting one of our last and most deeply rooted taboos—masturbation—noted sex expert and pro-sex feminist Betty Dodson, Ph.D., takes the shame out of self-love by creating a straightforward and appealing guidebook that reveals masturbation as a satisfying, vital form of sexual expression. Dr. Dodson shows how anyone can learn to make love alone with feelings of guilt or loneliness and explains why masturbation is sexually and spiritually fulfilling for both men and women. Not only is it the safest sex, but sharing masturbation can also be a sensual treat for couples who want to learn more about each other’s sexual responses. Sex for One demonstrates that self-loving is not just for times in-between lovers or for social misfits. Masturbation is the joyful and ongoing love affair that each of us has with ourselves throughout childhood, adulthood, and the golden years of old age.
Anal Sex Basics: The Beginner's Guide to Maximizing Anal Pleasure for Every Body
by Carlyle Jansen
Anal sex doesn't have to be scary or painful- you deserve to know how to make it safer, more comfortable, and more pleasurable. Sex educator Carlyle Jansen has all the tips and techniques to ease you into butt play and anal pleasure. Anal play is so much more than just intercourse. Learn all the sexiest secrets to fingering, licking, and using toys. Even try some erotic fantasy and role play. Discover the pleasure of G-spot stimulation for some and even more styles of stimulation.
So, try something new with your lover. Anal Sex Basics covers everything a beginner to butt play will need, from choosing your lube to learning the best positions. But more than just technique, this guide also helps you to bring up anal sex with your partner and make your adventures as fun and safe as possible.
Trauma Is Really Strange
by Steve Haines
What is trauma? How does it change the way our brains work? And how can we overcome it. When something traumatic happens to us, we dissociate and our bodies shut down their normal processes. This unique comic explains the strange nature of trauma and how it confuses the brain and affects the body. With wonderful artwork, cat and mouse metaphors, essential scientific facts, and a healthy dose of wit, the narrator reveals how trauma resolution involves changing the body's physiology and describes techniques that can achieve this, including Trauma Releasing Exercises that allow the body to shake away tension, safely releasing deep muscular patterns of stress and trauma.
The New Bottoming Book
by Janet W. Hardy
In the early 1990s, the first Bottoming Book taught tens of thousands of people that bottoming -- being a submissive, masochist, slave, 'boy' or 'girl, ' or other BDSM recipient -- is as much an art as topping. Since then, the growing popularity of BDSM, and the blossoming of the Internet as a source of information and connection, have created a whole new universe of possibilities for players. Now, the completely updated revised New Bottoming Book gives even more insights and ideas about how to be a successful, popular bottom!
The New Topping Book
by Dossie Easton and Janet Hardy
Tens of thousands learned the emotional and ethical skills of BDSM topping from the first Topping Book. Now, in addition to the sage advice and good humor that made the first edition a classic, the authors tackle some of the issues that have come up for tops in the last six years: on-line domination, the challenges and rewards of lifestyle relationships, ensuring our own and our partners safety, and more.
Beyond Beautiful: A Practical Guide to Being Happy, Confident, and You in a Looks-Obsessed World
by Anuschka Raees
Empowering, insightful, and psychology-driven, Beyond Beautiful is filled with proven, no-BS strategies for proactive self-care. This stylish and practical handbook takes a deep-dive into all of the factors that make it hard to feel good about yourself, and offers sage answers to tricky questions, like:
• Why do I hate the way I look in pictures?
• How can I stop feeling like a total slob compared to everyone on social media?
• How exactly does this "self-love" thing work?
• How do I find the confidence to use less make up, stop shaving, or wear what I want?
• Is body positivity really the answer?
Illustrated with full-color art, Beyond Beautiful is a much-needed breath of fresh air that will help you live your best life, know your worth, and stop wasting any more precious energy and mental space worrying about the way you look.
The Body Is Not An Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love
by Sonya Renee Taylor
The Body Is Not an Apology offers radical self-love as the balm to heal the wounds inflicted by these violent systems. World-renowned activist and poet Sonya Renee Taylor invites us to reconnect with the radical origins of our minds and bodies and celebrate our collective, enduring strength. As we awaken to our own indoctrinated body shame, we feel inspired to awaken others and to interrupt the systems that perpetuate body shame and oppression against all bodies. When we act from this truth on a global scale, we usher in the transformative opportunity of radical self-love, which is the opportunity for a more just, equitable, and compassionate world--for us all.
The Handi Book of Love, Lust and Disability
The Handi Book of Love, Lust and Disability unearths new conversations on sex, relationships and disability. It's beautifully designed and full of raw, powerful and inspiring stories, poetry and artwork from 50 phenomenal contributors from the disabled community. Authors wanted to make sure The Handi Book is within reach for everyone. Pay what you can, and every dollar will go towards funding their disability friendly toys. By buying this book, you are helping put pleasure within reach, as every profit raised goes towards development of Handi's first ever line of sex toys, designed with and for disabled people.
Three Women
by Lisa Taddeo
In suburban Indiana we meet Lina, a homemaker and mother of two whose marriage, after a decade, has lost its passion. Starved for affection, Lina battles daily panic attacks and, after reconnecting with an old flame through social media, embarks on an affair that quickly becomes all-consuming. In North Dakota we meet Maggie, a seventeen-year-old high school student who allegedly has a clandestine physical relationship with her handsome, married English teacher; the ensuing criminal trial will turn their quiet community upside down. Finally, in an exclusive enclave of the Northeast, we meet Sloane—a gorgeous, successful, and refined restaurant owner—who is happily married to a man who likes to watch her have sex with other men and women. Based on years of immersive reporting and told with astonishing frankness and immediacy, Three Women is both a feat of journalism and a triumph of storytelling, brimming with nuance and empathy. A work of deep observation, Three Women introduces us to three unforgettable women—and one remarkable writer—whose experiences remind us that we are not alone.
Designer Relationships: A Guide to Happy Monogamy, Positive Polyamory, and Optimistic Open Relationships
by Patricia Johnson and Mark A. Michaels
Contemporary relationships are in a state of rapid evolution. These changes can and should empower people with the opportunity to develop partnerships based on their own sexualities, understandings, and agreements. This makes it possible to create what Kenneth Haslam, founder of the Kinsey Institute’s Polyamory Archive, has called “designer relationships.”
Designer relationships may encompass people who bond emotionally but not sexually; people who agree to be non exclusive; single people who have occasional lovers or friends with benefits; multiple partner configurations where long-term bonds exist among all or some; partnerships in which people are kinky and that makes room to explore kink.
The possibilities are limitless, and thinking about a partnership as something people can craft allows for flexibility and change. Relationships can open and close or have varying degrees and kinds of openness as circumstances demand. In a designer relationship, decisions are made mutually, consciously, and deliberately. Best-selling authors and nationally known relationship experts Patricia Johnson and Mark A. Michaels are exemplars of this life choice, and have studied polyamory for over 20 years. This book explains exactly how you and your loved ones can design your own life and love.
Better Sex Through Mindfulness: How Women Can Cultivate Desire
by Sally Rooney
In Better Sex through Mindfulness, acclaimed psychologist and sex researcher Lori A. Brotto, offers a groundbreaking approach to improving desire, arousal, and satisfaction inside―and outside of―the bedroom. A pioneer in the use of mindfulness for treating sexual difficulties, Brotto has helped hundreds of women cultivate more exciting, fulfilling sexual experiences. In this accessible, relatable book, she explores the various reasons for sexual problems, such as stress and incessant multitasking, and tells the stories of many of the women she has treated over the years. She also provides easy, effective exercises that readers can do on their own to increase desire and sexual enjoyment, whether their goal is to overcome a sexual difficulty or simply give their love life a boost.
The Sex Book
by Leeza Mangaldas
In The Sex Book, award-winning sex educator Leeza Mangaldas provides scientifically accurate, judgement-free answers to even your most seemingly awkward questions about sex and the body. From anatomy to hygiene, from consent to contraception, from masturbation to orgasms, she fills many knowledge gaps with her sharp insights, developed over years of researching the physical, social and emotional aspects of sex and sexuality.
Sex education is central to greater gender equality, improved sexual and reproductive health, and a safer, more love-filled world. Queer-inclusive, and focused on pleasure, this sex-ed handbook will help you better understand yourself, your body and your relationships, and show you how sex can be incredibly fun and magical.
PS: If you have any fictional or non-fictional recommendations, drop them below and let's keep growing this resource list!
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