Features

Illustration: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

In this day and age it is essential to educate yourself on an important and natural part of life: sex. If you want to be informed and explore this sultry subject matter without leaving a digital footprint, then you can always mix a hot toddy and curl up with one of these revealing reads.

The Feminist Porn Book (edited by Tristan Taormino, Constance Penley, and Celine Parrenas Shimizu)

Pornography undoubtedly garners a lot of criticism, but The Feminist Porn Book offers a fresh take on the matter.

Through the contributions of feminist scholars, and notable industry workers such as Buck Angel and Nina Hartley, this compilation of essays provides a deep dive into the relationship between politics and pleasure.

This book investigates how feminists take part in pornographic production, as well as how they consume it, giving the reader a broad range of perspectives. It deviates from the general outlook on porn, as these sex-positive think pieces generally portray it as a form of creative expression, as well as a platform for women, people of colour, and non-gender binary folk to gain representation.

—Sophia Callis

The Guide to Getting It On (by Paul Joannides)

This book was on the recommending reading list for the courses I took on human sexual behaviour with Dr. Peggy Kleinplatz. I was hesitant to take the course based on the subject matter, but learning more about sexual behaviour taught me more about how I want to be treated and, to my surprise, boosted my own self-confidence. Oddly enough, that’s a perfect description of this book’s appeal in a nutshell.

This guide uses comical, sexually explicit drawings and includes a very wide range of sexual topics. The data is presented in a fun, easy, and readable way, and it provides you with anecdotal stories of sexual experiences from various age groups. If you’re curious about anything and everything about sex, this is the place to find out more in a fun way.  

—Alexa-Eliza Carter