Must read for anyone who has a daughter

We have a seven year old daughter who has recently started asking questions about sex, I want to raise her with a healthy and realistic attitude of sex. I came from a very conservative home where sex was a four letter word, because of my nativity I was date raped in college and honestly never really enjoyed sex until almost a year into my marriage. I want better for her!!! This book has opened my eyes so much on how my sex life before my marriage was very much media driven and why I hated sex and was honestly never satisfied. It also taught me, and gave me the tools to help teach my daughter, why she not only deserves but has the right to demand a good sex life, on her terms!!!! I have read and listened to over a dozen books on sex and this is by far the best one I have found. I now feel empowered to help guide her through her sexual journey and into womanhood in a much better, and more informed way. Thank you Peggy for writing this and helping me understand why this may be the most important thing I guide my daughter through!

9 people found this helpful

As a father

This book provides a wonderful insight into the minds of teenage girls. It also has reaffirms my belief that fathers talking to their daughters about sex is just as important as mothers. This book is a definite read for any father whether they have a daughter or son

5 people found this helpful

Must read for parents of teens, girls and boys!

It's time that parents have honest conversations about sex with their teens, it's parts of our job! A healthy attitude that promotes respect and loving relationships should be our goal. Pretending teens are not seeking the information they are curious about on the Internet is wishful thinking and could be harmful to a healthy sexual life later on. The days of stealing your dad's Playboy magazine are long gone!

4 people found this helpful

Heart breaking but also inspiring

This was hard to listen to. Hard to hear what young girls (and boys) are faced with but Peggy Orenstein faces the hard facts, presents them in a non-judgemental way and ends with possible solutions. I may even listen to this again right away. As a middle aged single woman I identify with some of these struggles and wished I had learned these lessons when I was younger. Still, with more insightful people like Orenstein I think our youth have a better chance of healthy sexual lives.

4 people found this helpful

Every parent should read this book

If every parent in America read this book and really, truly, open-mindedly listened to Peggy Orenstein on the subject of girls (and boys) and teenage sexuality, the world would be a safer, healthier, and far less wounded place. Please read this.

3 people found this helpful

For girls, boys, women and men

I wish I had read this before raising my daughter, parenting a teenage son, and while teaching Our Whole Lives sex/ life Ed curriculum. As a parent and a woman, this American world of sex is even harder on our youth than it was for me; I had hoped for better. Orenstein lays out today's landscape for kids-all manner and gender- in hs and college, then presents a different possibility realized by other countries, Denmark in particular. Let's keep talking about sex in the way we want it for our kids.

2 people found this helpful

Researched and necessary

Every teenager and his or her parent will benefit from this extensive exploration of current sexual behavior in America. A must read, with a must have discussion possibly to follow.

1 person found this helpful

Important Book

What made the experience of listening to Girls & Sex the most enjoyable?

I am a high school teacher and I find that adults often have strong opinions of teenage girls' behavior. This book gives us an inside look at the life of today's girls, and it is an incredibly important insight to have if we are to impose our judgement upon them (as adults inevitably do). Anyone who has an opinion on the behavior of girls needs to read this book. I will also be giving a copy of this to my young niece. I WISH I had a book like this when I was a young girl. This is everything we don't talk about in sex ed. but SHOULD.

1 person found this helpful

Must read for all parents

This book was powerful to read as a 30 something woman who has experienced many of the situations described within. Even more powerful was the sense of duty I was left Witt to make sure my children understand sex in a completely different way than is taught and shown in current sex ed classes, media and porn. I could not recommend this book more highly and really think it should be required reading for all middle school or high schoolers

1 person found this helpful

Honest and realistic yet not complete

I recommed this book to everyone who is in touch with teenagers, both male and female. I had loved to read it when I was 16 and not interested in sleeping around even when all my friends were doing it. I'm a 27 y/o from Spain. The society I grew up is not as sexualize as the American one but it is slowly becoming more and more so. I don't have a problem with promiscuity nor virginity until marriage (I personally didn't pursue any of them). What disturbs me is misinformation, risky behaviours and shame, that sometimes associate with sex development. This book covers it pretty well. I loved the idea that objetifying men might not be the solution to men objectifyimg women, as well as many others ideas expressed in the book.

I think readind this book can help parents and also teenagers to know what to expect and what to look for. It also normalizes the idea of good communication, both between educators and teens and between lovers.

I wish it included a more comprehensive population of girls (and also boys for that matter), but I really really like it as it is.

1 person found this helpful