This rich collection of essays presents a new vision of adolescent sexuality shaped by a variety of social factors: race and ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, physical ability, and cultural messages propagated in films, books, and within families. The contributors consider the full range of cultural influences that form a teenager's sexual identity and argue that education must include more than its current overriding message of denial hinged on warnings of HIV and AIDS infection and teenage pregnancy. Examining the sexual experiences, feelings, and development of Asians, Latinos, African Americans, gay man and lesbians, and disabled women, this book provides a new understanding of adolescent sexuality that goes beyond the biological approach all too often simplified as "surging hormones."
Contributors: Jill Taylor, Janie Victoria Ward, Lee Strunin, Connie Chan, Luisa Medrano, Diane Raymon, Harilyn Rousso, Mariamne H. Whatley, Linda K. Christian- Smith, Sharon Thompson, Deborah L. Tolman, Janet Kahn, Robert E. Fullilove, Warren Barksdale, and Mindy Thompson Fullilove
"Will we engage with adolescents in frank discussion about sexual options and ethics or will we enforce a moralistic silence that resonates with fear and shame? Can we talk with teenagers about what they want to know, or can we only tell them what we want them to know?"
From the Editor's Introduction
"A book of compelling importancethis volume dissects contemporary myths about adolescent sexuality and presents a startling and powerful cultural and political analysis of adolescent development, sexuality and sexual expression. I recommend this book with a sense of urgency." Dr. Michael A. Carrera, Director, National Adolescent Sexuality Training Center, The Children's Aid Society
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