The Naked Truth About Sex: A Guide to Intelligent Sexual Choices for Teenagers and Twentysomethings [Paperback]

Roger W. Libby (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 22, 2006

Today’s youth have an abundance of questions about sex and few places to go for explicit, non-prohibitive answers. Renowned sexologist Dr. Roger Libby fills the void with this refreshingly sex-positive book that gives teens and twentysomethings the hard facts about physical intimacy. Without moralizing or judging, he encourages them to develop a healthy, vibrant sexuality to be celebrated with self-respect and consideration of others.

Offering sound information and advice on the gamut of dating and sex questions posed by callers to his former popular radio show The Pleasure Dome, Dr. Libby covers such topics as: STD and pregnancy prevention, the pre-sex discussion, the joys of self-pleasuring, moving past insecurities, tips for maximizing pleasure and issues specific to gay and questioning youth. With a serious yet playful approach, Dr. Libby emphasizes personal choice, honest and thorough communication, and realistic expectations between young sexual partners.

The Naked Truth About Sex also includes an invaluable resource section called "The Yellow Pages for Sex" to help its pro-active readers find all the tools they need to develop a happy and healthy sexual lifestyle.

This is the book progressive parents wish someone had given to them as teenagers and one that teenagers and twentysomethings will enjoy discussing with friends and open-minded adults.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Naked Truth is considered progressive as it directly defies the current movement towards abstinence-only sex education. The foreword is written by Nadine Strossen, President of the ACLU, who praises the book for honoring young people’s right to information on sexuality, thereby allowing them to make intelligent sexual decisions that can profoundly affect their lives and their health.

The tone of the book is light-hearted but direct—Dr. Libby assumes his young readers are intelligent and will make their own decisions. He emphasizes personal choice, honest and thorough communication, and realistic expectations between young sexual partners.

In this era of abstinence-only sex education, it is crucial to provide young people with the information they so sorely need to make their own choices intelligently. Roger Libby is the perfect author for this groundbreaking book, with his extensive academic and clinical experience as a sexologist.

About the Author

Roger Libby, Ph.D. is an internationally recognized sexologist, social psychologist and board certified sex therapist with a practice in Seattle. Currently an adjunct professor and distinguished lecturer at the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco, he has held similar academic appointments at The University of Massachusetts, Syracuse University and the University of Georgia. Dr. Libby is a fellow of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sex, a charter member of the International Academy of Sex Research, and is board certified by the American Academy of Clinical Sexologists, The American Board of Sexology and the American College of Sexology.

An award-winning author for his textbook Sexual Choices, Dr. Libby is regularly featured in popular magazines, newspapers and radio. His numerous national television appearances have included The NBC Nightly News, CNN News Night and The Oprah Winfrey Show. From 1996-1998, Dr. Libby hosted the breakthrough radio talk show The Pleasure Dome on one of America’s largest alternative rock stations in Atlanta, which focused on issues of sexuality for 15- to 25-year olds.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Freedom Press (CA) (March 22, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893910385
• ISBN-13: 978-1893910386
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,128,401 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy it and learn. I back this book 100% and think parents should too., March 13, 2006

By 

Laurie Davidson "Laurie" (Atlanta, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Naked Truth About Sex: A Guide to Intelligent Sexual Choices for Teenagers and Twentysomethings (Paperback)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Book For Teens, Young Adults and Parents, April 10, 2006

By 

Professor Robert S. Pickett - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Naked Truth About Sex: A Guide to Intelligent Sexual Choices for Teenagers and Twentysomethings (Paperback)

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.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sexual Processing and Decision Making for the 21st Century, April 24, 2006

By 

Paul S. Weikert "global peace" (Ferrysburg, Michigan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Naked Truth About Sex: A Guide to Intelligent Sexual Choices for Teenagers and Twentysomethings (Paperback)

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.

Chapter 6: The Pre-Sex Discussion (PSD): A Gigantic Step Toward Consensual Safer Sex is my favorite chapter. It is the questions posed for the discussion and process that everyone should consider before they engage in sexual activity with anyone, including self. This chapter alone is worth the price of the book and the PSD applies to everyone-teens, young adults, adults, and the elderly. To conclude, The Naked Truth about Sex is the first sexual manifesto of the 21st Century and this work is the culmination of forward thinking ideas on relationships including a sexuality component while building cumulatively on the pioneers of the 20th Century.

Paul S. Weikert, Ph.D.