A two-time winner of the ECPA Gold Medallion Award, Pearcey has been hailed by The Economist as "America's preeminent evangelical Protestant female intellectual." In Love Thy Body she offers a respectful but riveting exposE of the secular worldview that lies behind trendy slogans and political talking points. A former agnostic, Pearcey is a sensitive guide to the secular ideas that shape current debates. She empowers readers to intelligently and compassionately engage today's most controversial moral and social challenges.In a surprise shattering of stereotypes, Pearcey demonstrates that while secularism promises much, in reality it delivers little. She turns the tables on stereotypes that portray Christianity as harsh and bigoted, and invites a fresh look at its holistic, life-affirming principles: it is a worldview that matches the real world and fits with human experience.All along, Pearcey keeps readers entranced with gripping stories of real people wrestling with hard questions in their own lives--sharing their pain, their struggles, and their triumphs.

    It describes how we feel about some of the things we do. We don't wake up in the morning looking forward to giving our evening over to pornography. We don't leave the house each day eagerly anticipating our next one-night stand. These are unwanted behaviors on our part, no matter how compulsively we pursue them.But "unwanted" also can describe how we feel about ourselves--both as a consequence of our broken behavior and as a driver of it. If we have the courage to study our sexual brokenness--to look beyond the shame of it to its roots--we will find that there's a deeper brokenness there waiting to be healed, and a God there waiting to be our healer.

    Jackie grew up fatherless, experienced gender confusion, and embraced both masculinity and homosexuality with every fiber of her being. She knew that Christians had a lot to say about all of the above. But was she supposed to change herself? How was she supposed to stop loving women, when homosexuality felt more natural to her than heterosexuality ever could?At age nineteen, Jackie came face-to-face with what it meant to be made new. And not in a church, or through contact with Christians. God broke in and turned her heart toward Him right in her own bedroom in light of His gospel.Read in order to understand. Read in order to hope. Or read in order, like Jackie, to be made new.

    Christopher Yuan explores the concept of holy sexuality--chastity in singleness or faithfulness in marriage--in a practical and relevant manner, equipping readers with an accessible yet robust theology of sexuality. Whether you want to share Christ with a loved one who identifies as gay or you're wrestling with questions of identity yourself, this book will help you better understand sexuality in light of God's grand story and realize that holy sexuality is actually good news for all.

    But when Jesus came into his life in a highly unexpected way, he was led down a path he never would have predicted or imagined.In A War of Loves, David recounts his dramatic story, from his early years exploring new age religions and French existentialism to his university experiences as an activist. Following supernatural encounters with God, he embarked on a journey not only of seeking to reconcile his faith and sexuality but also of discovering the higher call of Jesus Christ. A War of Loves investigates what the Bible teaches about sexuality and demonstrates the profligate, unqualified grace of God for all people. David describes the joy and intimacy he found in following Jesus Christ and how love has taken on a radically new and far richer meaning for him.

    Purity rings, purity pledges, and purity balls came with a dangerous message: girls are potential sexual “stumbling blocks” for boys and men, and any expression of a girl’s sexuality could reflect the corruption of her character. This message traumatized many girls—resulting in anxiety, fear, and experiences that mimicked the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder—and trapped them in a cycle of shame. This is the sex education Linda Kay Klein grew up with. Fearing being marked a Jezebel, Klein broke up with her high school boyfriend because she thought God told her to, and took pregnancy tests though she was a virgin, terrified that any sexual activity would be punished with an out-of-wedlock pregnancy. When the youth pastor of her church was convicted of sexual enticement of a twelve-year-old girl, Klein began to question the purity-based sexual ethic. She contacted young women she knew, asking if they were coping with the same shame-induced issues she was. These intimate conversations developed into a twelve-year quest that took her across the country and into the lives of women raised in similar religious communities—a journey that facilitated her own healing and led her to churches that are seeking a new way to reconcile sexuality and spirituality. Sexual shame is by no means confined to evangelical culture; Pure is a powerful wake-up call about our society’s subjugation of women.

    In a world overwhelmingly obsessed with it, why is the church so silent about it? While our secular culture twists, perverts, cheapens, and idolizes sex, there are gaping holes in the church's guidance of young people. The result is generations of sexually illiterate people drowning in the repercussions of overwhelming sin struggles.Enough is enough, says Mo Isom. With raw vulnerability and a bold spirit, she shares her own sexual testimony, opening up the conversation about misguided rule-following, virginity, temptation, porn, promiscuity, false sex-pectations, sex in marriage, and more and calling readers back to God's original design for sex--a way to worship and glorify him. This book is for the young person tangled up in an addiction to pornography, for the girlfriend feeling pressured to go further, for the "good girl" who followed the rules and saved herself for marriage and then was confused and disappointed, for the married couple who use sex as a bargaining tool, for every person who casually watches sex play out in TV and movies and wonders why they're dissatisfied with the real thing, and for every confused or hurting person in-between. Sex was God's idea. It's time we invited him back into the bedroom.

    Years later, many people—even many LGBTQ allies—still lack understanding of gender identity and the transgender experience. Into this void, Austen Hartke offers a biblically based, educational, and affirming resource to shed light and wisdom on this modern gender landscape.Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians provides access into an underrepresented and misunderstood community and will change the way readers think about transgender people, faith, and the future of Christianity. By introducing transgender issues and language and providing stories of both biblical characters and real-life narratives from transgender Christians living today, Hartke helps readers visualize a more inclusive Christianity, equipping them with the confidence and tools to change both the church and the world.

    By contesting long-held cultural paradigms, this book equips you to see how sexuality is rooted in the broader context of God's heart and His work for us on earth. It provides a framework from which to understand the big picture of sexual challenges and wholeness, and helps you recognize that every sexual question is ultimately a spiritual one. It shifts the paradigm from combating sexual problems to confidently proclaiming and modeling the road to sacred sexuality. Instead of arguing with the world about what's right and wrong about sexual choices, this practical resource equips you to share the love and grace of Jesus as you encounter the pain of sexual brokenness--your own or someone else's.

    In the space of a year, it's gone from something that most Americans had never heard of to a cause claiming the mantle of civil rights.But can a boy truly be "trapped" in a girl's body? Can modern medicine really "reassign" sex? Is sex something "assigned" in the first place? What's the loving response to a friend or child experiencing a gender-identity conflict? What should our law say on these issues?When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment provides thoughtful answers to all of these questions. Drawing on the best insights from biology, psychology, and philosophy, Ryan T. Anderson offers a balanced approach to the policy issues, a nuanced vision of human embodiment, and a sober and honest survey of the human costs of getting human nature wrong.He reveals a grim contrast between the media's sunny depiction and the often sad realities of gender-identity struggles. He introduces readers to people who tried to "transition" but found themselves no better off. Especially troubling is the suffering felt by adults who were encouraged to transition as children but later came to regret it.And there is a reason that many do regret it. As Anderson shows, the most helpful therapies focus not on achieving the impossible--changing bodies to conform to thoughts and feelings--but on helping people accept and even embrace the truth about their bodies and reality. This discussion will be of particular interest to parents who fear how an ideological school counselor might try to steer their child. The best evidence shows that the vast majority of children naturally grow out of any gender-conflicted phase. But no one knows how new school policies might affect children indoctrinated to believe that they really are trapped in the "wrong" body.Throughout the book, Anderson highlights the various contradictions at the heart of this moment: How it embraces the gnostic idea that the real self is something other than the body, while also embracing the idea that nothing but the physical exists. How it relies on rigid sex stereotypes--in which dolls are for girls and trucks are for boys--while also insisting that gender is purely a social construct, and that there are no meaningful differences between women and men. How it assumes that feelings of identity deserve absolute respect, while the facts of our embodiment do not. How it preaches that people should be free to do as they please and define their own truth--while enforcing a ruthless campaign to coerce anyone who dares to dissent.Everyone has something at stake in today's debates about gender identity. Analyzing education and employment policies, Obama-era bathroom and locker-room mandates, politically correct speech codes and religious-freedom violations, Anderson shows how the law is being used to coerce and penalize those who believe the truth about human nature. And he shows how Americans can begin to push back with principle and prudence, compassion and grace.

    Using comics, jokes, and frank communication, they're here to demystify the world of sex and answer your questions—including ones you might not even know you had!In this first book of the Drawn to Sex series, they explore the practical side of sex, from the basics of what defines sex, to barriers and testing, masturbation, and the ins-and-outs of having sex with other people.Pick up this fun book if you’re looking to learn something new, understand sexuality better, or know someone (maybe you!) who might benefit from some judgment-free education. Erika and Matthew are here to help you out

    Rough never expected to write a book about sex, but life handed her a revelation too vital to ignore. As an American parent grappling with concerns about raising children in a society steeped in stereotypes and sexual shame, she couldn’t quite picture how to teach the facts of life with a fearless, easygoing, positive attitude. Then a job change relocated her family to Amsterdam, where she soon witnessed the relaxed and egalitarian sexual attitudes of the Dutch. There, she discovered, children learn from babyhood that bodies are normal, the world’s best sex ed begins in kindergarten, cooties are a foreign concept, puberty is no big surprise, and questions about sex are welcome at the dinner table.In Beyond Birds and Bees, Rough reveals how although normalizing human sexuality may sound risky, doing so actually prevents unintended consequences, leads to better health and success for our children, and lays the foundation for a future of gender equality. Exploring how the Dutch example translates to American life, Rough highlights a growing wave of ambitious American parents, educators, and influencers poised to transform sex ed—and our society—for the better, and shows how families everywhere can give a modern lift to the birds and bees.Down to earth and up to the minute with our profound new cultural conversations about gender, sex, power, autonomy, diversity, and consent, Rough’s careful research and engaging storytelling illuminate a forward path for a groundbreaking generation of Americans who want clear examples and actionable steps for how to support children’s sexual development—and overall wellbeing—from birth onward at home, in schools, and across our evolving culture.

    To make polyamorous communities inclusive, we must all acknowledge our part in perpetuating racism and listen to people of color. Love's Not Color Blind puts forward the framework—through research, anecdotal testimony, and analogy—for understanding, identifying, and confronting racism within polyamorous communities.

    With a click of the mouse you can learn the names for sex acts your grandparents never knew existed. But are people any happier in bed? Probably not. Research from the Kinsey Institute suggests that 25% of American women in heterosexual relationships are markedly distressed about their sex lives.There’s no shortage of books these days on sex technique. But that’s not what most people are interested in. What they really want is to have great sex in a committed relationship, in which case all the technical expertise in the world won’t help you very much. For that, you need to understand sexual feelings—how they operate, what rules they follow, and how they connect to the rest of who you are.Dr. Stephen Snyder's unique approach has helped over 1,500 individuals and couples master the erotic challenges of long-term relationships. Integrating the latest research on human sexuality with compelling stories from his 30 years of experience working with over 1,500 individuals and couples, Love Worth Making will help people of all ages and backgrounds master the erotic challenges of long-term relationships, understand their sexual feelings, and enjoy them for life.

    With pastoral sensitivity and respect for biblical authority, Keen breaks through current stalemates in the debate surrounding faith and sexual identity.The fresh, evenhanded reevaluation of Scripture, Christian tradition, theology, and science in Keen’s Scripture, Ethics, and the Possibility of Same-Sex Relationships will appeal to both traditionalist and progressive church leaders and parishioners, students of ethics and biblical studies, and gay and lesbian people who often feel painfully torn between faith and sexuality.

    Wade identified abortion as a constitutional right over 40 years ago, it bears stigma--a proverbial scarlet A--in the United States. Millions participate in or benefit from an abortion, but few want to reveal that they have done so. Approximately one in five pregnancies in the US ends in abortion. Why is something so common, which has been legal so long, still a source of shame and secrecy? Why is it so regularly debated by politicians, and so seldom divulged from friend to friend, or loved one to loved one? This book explores the personal stigma that prevents many from sharing their abortion experiences with friends and family in private conversation, and the structural stigma that keeps it that way. It argues persuasively that America would benefit from working to reverse such stigma, providing readers with tools that may help them model ways of doing so.Our silence around private experience with abortion has distorted our public discourse. Both proponents and opponents of abortion's legality tend to focus on the extraordinary cases. This tendency keeps the public discourse polarized and contentious, and keeps the focus on the cases that occur the least. Katie Watson focuses instead on the remaining 95% of abortion cases. The book gives the reflective reader a more accurate impression of what the majority of American abortion practice really looks like. It explains why this public/private disjuncture exists, what it costs us, and what can be gained by including ordinary abortion in public debate.As Scarlet A explains, abortion has been a constitutional right for nearly 45 years, and it should remain one. What we need now are productive conversations about abortion ethics: how could or should people decide whether to exercise this right? Watson paints a rich, rarely seen picture of how patients and doctors currently think and act, and ultimately invites readers to draw their own conclusions.

    We search for The One but find ourselves staying single because nobody measures up. We long for a happily-ever-after but break-up after break-up leave us bruised and confused.Rewriting the Rules: An Anti Self-Help Guide to Love, Sex and Relationships is a friendly guide through the complicated - and often contradictory - advice that's given about sex and gender, monogamy and conflict, break-up and commitment. It asks questions about the rules of love, such as which to choose from all the rules on offer? Do we stick to the old rules we learnt growing up, or do we try something new and risk being out on our own? And what about the times when the rules we love by seem to make things worse, rather than better?This new edition, updated throughout, considers how the rules are being 'rewritten' in various ways - for example in monogamish and polyamorous relationships, different ways of understanding sex and gender, and new ideas for managing commitment and break-up where economics, communities, or child-care make complete separation impossible. This book considers how the rules are being 'rewritten' in various ways, giving you the power to find an approach that best fits your situation.

    The pressure to “have it all” wreaks havoc on our bodies and emotional well-being, and also creates unrealistic expectations. Toxic comparisons and the need to perform enforces damaging ideals of who and what we should be, making it harder for us to connect with who we really are. But what if there was a way to break free from these patterns and beliefs? What if you could free your body from stress and trauma, tap into your inherent creativity, and connect more authentically with the people who matter? 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: - Re-wild yourself by connecting to who you really are and integrating body, emotions, and mind for powerful expression in the world. - Switch effortlessly between “doing” and “being,” allowing you to access both empowered success and personal fulfillment. - Unlock creativity and intuition through understanding how body, heart, and mind can work together. - Engage in relaxed, body-specific exercises that help you connect with yourself and your chosen relationships.

    But it doesn’t have to be this way. In Your Money, Your Marriage, Brian and Cherie Lowe offer straight talk and power principles for getting your finances back on track so you can get back to your romance. Take it from them—the Lowes worked off $127,000 in debt in just four years, and emerged not only financially free but better together. Join Cherie, personal finance blogger at Queen of Free, and Brian, family law attorney who’s seen it all when it comes to marital money struggles, in this journey to help you and your spouse go from different books to the same page. Through candid and hilarious stories, fresh ideas and practices, and a few winks along the way, Brian and Cherie reveal the secrets to “financial foreplay” able to help every couple thrive together in finance and romance alike. You’ll learn how to:Develop “passionate patience” with each other toward a shared financial goalIdentify unhealthy financial habitsSave smart on date nightsSort through misaligned expectations as a coupleBeat the comparison gameCultivate a stronger relationship on a budget of zero dollars Couples share much more than a bank account or even a bedroom—they share a sacred union. Imagine what your marriage could be if you could put cash conflict behind you. Your Money, Your Marriage is an invitation to find out, and to thrive together.

    It's essential to our emotional and spiritual health, and without it we don't feel whole. Yet today our culture faces an intimacy crisis. Many of us, even when we're in a committed relationship, still feel painfully alone. For more than four decades, world-renowned author, counselor, and teacher Manis Friedman has empowered couples to successfully navigate their own intimacy issues and replace loneliness and unfulfilled expectations with a deeply soulful and satisfying relationship. In this refreshingly frank, sensible, and at times humorous guide, Rabbi Friedman and Ricardo Adler share the deeper truths at the heart of our longing for intimacy along with practical wisdom from Jewish tradition-insights anyone can use to recapture passion, save their relationship, and tap into the essence of the true intimate experience. One by one, The Joy of Intimacy exposes the myths about love, sex, and intimacy that separate rather than bring us together and shows how to overcome the greatest obstacles to a healthy intimate relationship. You'll explore secrets to preserving your natural spontaneity, setting the mood for intimacy, and making your bedroom a sacred space. You'll also learn how to increase your sensitivity to the sacred experience of oneness that has the power to transform every aspect of your marriage and nourish all those around you. Whether you are married or single, in a relationship or seeking to create one that is both meaningful and lasting, The Joy of Intimacy will give you the skills and confidence you need to keep your relationship alive, fresh, and fulfilling.

    It just sounds perfect-so sharp and clear and beautiful. It's one of those satisfying four letter words, like cunt and fuck. Slut also happens to be an anagram for lust, which is one of those divine coincidences that makes you wonder if God actually exists.We're lucky that slut is such a great word, because it's safe to say that almost every woman will be called a slut at least once in her lifetime. Despite a slowly shifting sexual double standard, it's still taboo to be a woman who's openly sexual-let alone one who sleeps around. Now Vogue columnist Karley Sciortino is on a mission to reclaim the word "slut" to represent a person who seeks out visceral experiences through sex, and who isn't ashamed about it. Sluts are special. Sluts are radical. And sluts are skilled at time management, because they can handle multiple partners on rotation, plus their jobs and their blogs and their beauty routines. Not everyone is qualified for this coveted position.SLUTEVER is a call-to-arms, a confessional memoir, a slut manifesto, as told by a sex-radical hedonist in a pink PVC mini dress. It's a thoughtful, first-person account of a modern woman, navigating sex, love, casual hookups, open relationships,, bisexuality, BDSM, breakups, sex work, sex parties, and the power of sexual agency, as told from the front lines.

    It's my hope that with this book, you can as well."--Stella HarrisSex is still a touchy subject despite recent sex-positive advances. We live in a culture that vilifies people who are sexually adventurous and frames our kinks as shame-inducing perversions. Many people have never been able to talk openly about sex with their partner(s). But, you can get what you want out of the bedroom--if you ask for it. Why should anyone settle for mediocre sex?!Whether addressing sexual frustration with your partner, trying out new fantasies, or negotiating the terms of a BDSM scene, Stella Harris believes that communication skills are vital to sexual fulfillment. Tongue Tied gives readers straightforward advice on how to conquer their fears, identify their needs, and feel positively empowered. Harris charmingly takes readers through all aspects of communication, from basic interpersonal skills to negotiation advice for expert-level kink play. Learn how to have fun, embrace silly moments, support your loved ones, and take personal responsibility for your desires.An incredible guide full of exercises, tools, and personal examples, Tongue Tied is a must-read for people of every experience level and relationship status.

    Ruth—has built a platform of millions of followers by answering sex-related questions frankly, nonjudgmentally, and hilariously.Now Laci brings her signature style and voice to a comprehensive book about the multitude of issues and concerns that go along with sexuality: anatomy, consent, LGBTQ issues, STI and pregnancy prevention, sexual empowerment, healthy relationships, myth-busting, and more.Sex Plus is the first book of its kind: empowering, sex-positive, and cool. Comprehensive, honest, and vetted by a range of medical experts, this book will help you take control of your sex life.After all, knowledge is pleasure.

    Summarizing the various apologetic arguments for the inclusion of queer people in Christianity, Tonstad moves beyond inclusion to argue for a queer theology that builds on the interconnection of theology with sex and money. Thoroughly grounded in queer theory as well as in Christian theology, Queer Theology grapples with the fundamental challenges of the body, sex, and death, as these are where queerness and Christianity find (and, maybe, lose) each other. "This pacey, accessible introduction steers a course adroitly through queer theology's choppy waters without flattening out its complexities. Tonstad orients readers to theological and cultural markers they will recognize, and lucidly outlines some emerging developments in the field." --Susannah Cornwall, Lecturer, University of Exeter, United Kingdom "Because we cannot all enroll in Linn Marie Tonstad's Queer Theology seminar, we owe it to ourselves, and to the vitality of queer theology itself, to read--and re-read--this book so we can learn from the one of its best practitioners the radical art of queer theological truth-telling." --Kent Brintnall, Associate Professor, University of North Carolina at Charlotte "Linn Tonstad is the best queer theologian of her generation, and she has written a superb introduction to the field. Tonstad lucidly explicates, and she judges, pointing to the limitations of queer theological projects that are insufficiently intersectional in their analysis as well as the possibilities being unleashed by a younger generation of queer theologians who adamantly refuse heteropatriarchy, racism, colonialism, and capitalism--all the while taking Christian traditions seriously." --Vincent Lloyd, Associate Professor, Villanova University "In this brilliant burst of theological becoming, Linn Tonstad leads us beyond liberal apologetics for sexual difference. Queer Theology reveals something indispensable and yet irreducible to theology itself: arching between desire and death, theology here faces its deformations and unleashes its transformations. Vibrantly engaging her students as well as her theorists, the text queers the deep questions of Christianity." --Catherine Keller, Professor, Drew University, The Theological School "At last, a truly helpful introduction to a hotly contested notion: 'queer theology.' Tonstad clarifies in graceful prose the limitations, stakes, and pleasures of what could be queer in Christian theology. Timely and long overdue, this book will help students, queer theologians, and other theological adventurers recognize the far deeper challenges and possibilities that queer theologies beyond apology may offer to Christian understanding and justice-making efforts." --Laurel C. Schneider, Professor, Vanderbilt University Linn Marie Tonstad is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Yale Divinity School. She is the author of God and Difference (2016).

    People who are transgender are often attacked by the Right. It’s human nature to align with those who share our world view, and dismiss those who don’t. There is a struggle going on in our culture that produces more victims than champions—we all seem to agree on that. The growing divide between the political, ideological Left vs Right and Religious vs Secularist is so sharp that even attempting to bridge the gap is a perilous endeavor. But what happens to the people who are scorned by both sides? Shut out by the Left for their conservative views. Rejected by Christians for being transgender. Meet Laurie Suzanne Scott. She is, indeed, both an evangelical Christian and transgender. Raised in a devoutly Christian home, she endured the unbelievably difficult and complicated odyssey of finding her identity as a woman …without losing her identity in Christ. A journey she barely survived. In "God Doesn't Make Mistakes: Confessions of a Transgender Christian" Laurie tells her story of growing up playing a role as unnatural to her as the body she was born with. She was a living, breathing dichotomy… and there was no one who could understand. She had no choice but to keep up the pretense and keep it a secret. She became a good son. A good Christian. And eventually even a good husband. She knew if her true identity became known, she would lose everything. E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. So, she kept her secret from everyone. But she knew there was no keeping it from God. Raised with a doctrine she believed condemned her, she decided the only way out of her constant misery was to end her life. “Who would even want to stop me?” “Wouldn’t it be easier for everyone this way?” It was at that desperate crossroad she heard the voice of God simply say, “You’re okay.” Since that day, God has led her on a path to heal her deep wounds of rejection by family as well as other Christians, and make peace with the way she was created. “I thought God would be the first to reject me. But, in fact, He was the first to accept me.” Now Laurie reaches out to Christians who are transgender, who are still struggling to believe God loves them for who they are… just as they are. It’s a difficult and often emotionally exhausting ministry. Equally important are the efforts to help the Church see their Christian brothers and sisters who are transgender as simply, their Christian brothers and sisters. Nothing more, and nothing less. And finally, she shares the much needed message that God doesn't make mistakes, and it IS possible to be a conservative, a Christian, and transgender.

    She's spent much of her adult life committed to making sure these curiosities are broadly addressed or, better yet, prevented. In a culture where female sexual empowerment is used to sell everything from sex toys to soap, most early sex ed bypasses pleasure, and women continue to be "slut" or "prude"-shamed. Because of that, determining our own paths and defining what such empowerment really means in our lives is vital. In Girl Boner: The Good Girl's Guide to Sexual Empowerment, August guide readers through just that. A spicy blend of personal narrative, in-depth reporting, and inspiration, Girl Boner is the go-to companion for "good girls" seeking the richer, more authentic, and pleasure-filled lives they deserve through embracing their bodies and sexuality.

    With a series of caring partners all the way from her high school sweetheart to her current fiancé, Sophie explores her sexuality and the very nature of love itself, questioning everything we’ve all been taught about relationships. She shares each of her revelations—sometimes painful, sometimes hilarious—and ultimately uncovers the incredible power of making room for all kinds of love in one’s life.Complete with informative charts (did you know there are five distinct types of jealousy?) and witty illustrations, Many Love is an empowering, heartwarming memoir offering a memorable glimpse into an unconventional life.

    So should our love for each other.Mihee Kim-Kort is a wife, a mom, and a Presbyterian minister. And she's queer. As she became aware of her queer sexuality, Mihee wondered what that meant for her spirituality. But instead of pushing her away from God, her queerness has brought her closer to Jesus and taught her how to love better.In Outside the Lines, Mihee shows us how God, in Jesus, is oriented toward us in a queer and radical way. Through the life, work, and witness of Jesus, we see a God who loves us with a queer love. And our faith in that God becomes a queer spirituality--a spirituality that crashes through definitions and moves us outside of the categories of our making. Whenever we love ourselves and our neighbors with the boundary-breaking love of God, we live out this queer spirituality in the world.With a captivating mix of personal story and biblical analysis, Outside the Lines shows us how each of our bodies fits into the body of Christ. Outside the lines and without exceptions.

     Christians, however, work to a different agenda—one set by the Bible's revelation of the true meaning of sex and relationships. This short book surveys the Christian worldview and applies it to the complex issues surrounding pornography, helping Christians know how to think about pornography with biblical conviction, and compassionate understanding for those influenced by it. Discover the liberating and satisfying view of sex found in the gospel.

    Aaron Spitz has that answer--and many more. Let Dr. Spitz--clinical professor at UC Irvine's Department of Urology and a regularly featured guest on The Doctors--become your best friend as he fearlessly guides you through the hairiest and the scariest questions in The Penis Book. An unflinching, comprehensive guide to everything from sexually transmitted infections to the science of blood flow, The Penis Book prominently features an easy-to-follow holistic five-step plan for optimum penis health, including plant-based eating recommendations, information on some penis-healthy foods, and suggested exercises for penis wellbeing. Useful to men and women alike, The Penis Book is a one-stop-shop for the care and maintenance of the penis in your life.

    Liz Powell, psychologist, speaker, and coach, as she draws from her education, research, and life experience to bring you Building Open Relationships. This new book is an all-inclusive guide to beginning and maintaining your non-monogamous life, no matter where you fall under the non-monogamous umbrella.Complete with worksheets, discussion starters, examples, and hard-won lessons (i.e. my mistakes), this book will give you all the tools you need to be more successful in non-monogamy.

    - Bitch MediaIn 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.

    Mind mapping underlies all aspects of daily life, from the best to the worst. You won't find an aspect of your life where mind mapping isn't involved--and you probably never heard about mind mapping before!Brain Talk offers what you need to know about mind mapping and the emerging brain science of interpersonal neurobiology (how interacting with other people affects your brain). Brain Talk is written for the general public in an easy-to-read style and establishes a personal relationship with you. It creates vivid pictures in your mind with attention-grabbling examples, and walks you into powerful new insights about yourself and the important people in your life. Reading Brain Talk can be a life-changing experience. * Part One explains mind mapping and increases your ability to "read" people and map their minds (and your own). It helps you know what they want, what they're feeling and thinking, and what they're likely to do. Part One also covers mind masking (shielding your mind from being mapped), lying and deception. Brain Talk revolutionizes your understandings of yourself, your spouse or romantic partner, and your children, parents, siblings, and coworkers.* Part Two explores the darker aspects of mind mapping, like traumatic mind mapping and antisocial empathy.Traumatic mind mapping occurs when mapping some else's mind leaves your brain/mind traumatized. Did you grow up in a troubled home with experiences that produced vivid "flashbulb memories" lingering in your mind? Do you have recurring thoughts about someone you're dealing with who does disturbing things? Brain Talk helps you understand subtle interpersonal trauma and reveals the short- and long-term negative impacts of traumatic mind mapping.* Part Three shows you how to repair the negative impacts of traumatic mind mapping and effectively handle the difficult people in your life. Brain Talk also details how to use mind mapping to create positive healthy interactions with those you love, and ends on an uplifting note. Brain Talk is based on Crucible® Neurobiological Therapy, developed through fifteen years of clinical research with highly troubled clients.Brain Talk is also a crossover book for therapists, educators, and avid readers of brain science.* Four Appendices contain the scientific research underlying the main text and offer in-depth discussions of important topics and treatment details (over 100 pages and 400 references).Brain Talk is available in three versions: paperback and TWO Kindle versions (Standard and Professional). Brain Talk Professional Edition offers the additional functionality of directly downloading FREE scientific brain research articles published online. Consider this electronic edition if you a mental health professional, academic, graduate student, or die-hard brain wonk.Brain Talk is written by the award-winning clinical psychologist, Dr. David Schnarch, renowned relationship expert and author of the international best-selling books, Passionate Marriage and Intimacy & Desire. He has a proven track record for creating innovative therapies, and making complex brain science understandable and useful to the general public. His ground-breaking professional contributions have received awards from the American Psychological Association, the American Assn.

    From bizarre trivia about courtly love, to techniques and prostitution, you ll encounter memorable nuggets of provocative information that you'll want to share. It's all here: ménage a trois, chastity belts, Tudor fallacies, royal love and infidelity, marriage contracts (which were more like business arrangements), brothels, kept women, and whorehouses. Take a peek at what really happened between the sheets. Each story provides you with shocking detail about what was at the heart of romance throughout British history. Sexuality and Its Impact on History: The British Stripped Bare chronicles the pleasures and perils of the flesh, sharing secrets from the days of the Anglo-Saxons, medieval courtly love traditions, diabolical Tudor escapades including those of Anne Boleyn and Mary Queen of Scots the Regency, and down to the prudish Victorian Era. This scholarly yet accessible study brings to light the myriad varieties of British sexual mores.

    Women lie about orgasms. Women lie about being virgins. Women lie about who got them pregnant, about whether they were raped, about how many people they've had sex with and what sort of experiences they've had - the list goes on and on. Over and over we're reminded that, on dates, in relationships, and especially in the bedroom, women just aren't telling the truth. But where does this assumption come from? Are women actually lying about sex, or does society just think we are? In Faking It, Lux Alptraum tackles the topic of seemingly dishonest women; investigating whether women actually lie, and what social situations might encourage deceptions both great and small. Using her experience as a sex educator and former CEO of Fleshbot (the foremost blog on sexuality), first-hand interviews with sexuality experts and everyday women, Alptraum raises important questions: are lying women all that common - or is the idea of the dishonest woman a symptom of male paranoia? Are women trying to please men, or just avoid their anger? And what affect does all this dishonesty - whether real or imagined - have on women's self-images, social status, and safety? Through it all, Alptraum posits that even if women are lying, we're doing it for very good reason -- to protect ourselves ("My boyfriend will be here any minute," to a creep who won't go away, for one), and in situations where society has given us no other choice.

    They have united under the banner of FIGHT EVIL WITH POETRY, overlooking their differences, that their socially charged verse would win hearts and minds to the side of truth, justice, and love.

    White is a work on the higher aspects of Sexuality and the spiritual connection to it. Cosmic Sexuality is potent, concise and written from direct mastery and experience of both authors Shalom & Victoria. Cosmic sexuality provides a framework for readers to explore sexuality in a greater way. Cosmic Sexuality is a great resource to guide individuals and couples to the finer levels of sexuality.

    Claiming the B in LGBT strives to give bisexuals a seat at the table. This guidebook to the history and future of the bisexual movement fuses a chronology of bisexual organizing with essays, poems, and articles detailing the lived experiences of bisexual activities struggling against a dominant culture driven by norms of monosexual attraction, compulsory monogamy, and inflexible notions of gender expression and identity. Kate Harrad’s anthology of a thriving identity yearning to realize itself provides a vision of bisexuality that is beyond gay and straight, rather than left to merely occupy the space between.

    Roughly one-third of US women will have an abortion by age forty-five, and fifty to sixty percent of the women who have abortions were using birth control during the month they got pregnant. Yet women who have abortions are routinely shamed and judged, and safe and affordable access to abortion is under relentless assault, with the most devastating impact on poor women and women of color.Rebecca Todd Peters, a Presbyterian minister and social ethicist, argues that this shaming and judging reflects deep, often unspoken patriarchal and racist assumptions about women and women's sexual activity. These assumptions are at the heart of what she calls the justification framework, which governs our public debate about abortion, and disrupts our ability to have authentic public discussions about the health and well-being of women and their families.Abortion, then, isn't the social problem we should be focusing on. The problem is our inability to trust women to act as rational, capable, responsible moral agents who must weigh the concrete moral question of what to do when they are pregnant or when there are problems during a pregnancy.Ambitious in method and scope, Trust Women skillfully interweaves political analysis, sociology, ancient and modern philosophy, Christian tradition, and medical history, and grounds its analysis in the material reality of women's lives and their decisions about sexuality, abortion, and child-bearing. It ends with a powerful re-imagining of the moral contours of pre-natal life and suggests we recognize pregnancy as a time when a woman must assent, again and again, to an ethical relationship with the prenate.

    White shares her hunger for both romantic and divine love, and how these desires transformed her life. In the late 1990s, she spent Saturday nights with her girlfriend and Sunday mornings in Catholic confirmation classes. But when the Church closed its doors to her, she was faced with a question: What does a lesbian believer do with her longing for God? Given Up for You explores these yearnings with bittersweet conviction, plumbing the depths of heart and soul.

    Whether you are a parent, mentor, pastor, or friend, the Building Foundation Series is meant to help you bring clarity in a world spinning in confusion. The Gender Conversation Guide seeks to help families teach the Bible’s view clearly and consistently throughout a child’s life. This book contains two major sections. Part one focuses on what is most critical during three major foundations, or stages, in a child's life. Part two is a toolbox of resources to help you better understand and articulate various topics surrounding gender.

    Once sex becomes synonymous with disappointment, avoidance sets in and creates pressure in the bedroom. In this straightforward and practical book, Zimmerman guides us to understand the cycle that develops when sex is difficult, to shift our mindset when it comes to sexual intimacy, and to transform our sexual experience with our partner using a nine-phase experiential process. "I wrote Sex Without Stress to bring hope and transformation to all of the couples who are in good relationships but are suffering in their sex lives and don’t see a way forward. It’s totally normal to struggle in your sex life, because at some point you are going to run into common obstacles like sexual dysfunction, lack of desire, or even just a busy life. By changing the way you think about intimacy and relationships, and by working through my 9-phase process, you can transform your sex life. And when your sex life is working, your whole relationship is going to work better," says Zimmerman. Advance Praise for Sex Without Stress: Whether being in a couple or working with couples, skill, perseverance and perspective are always important. Jessa Zimmerman, an expert in counseling couples, has written a much-needed book about couples. Her book is accessible and insightful. Her advice is never ‘formulaic’ but instead focuses on thoughtful and practical discussions about growing as a couple. I’ve wanted to refer to a book like this for a long time. So glad and not a moment too soon, Zimmerman has written it. I give it my highest recommendation! - Sallie Foley, Director, University of Michigan Sexual Health Certificate Program & Co-author, Sex Matters for Women Jessa Zimmerman takes the reader through a straightforward and no-nonsense journey, highlighting the most common struggles couples experience. This book identifies the top issues with which couples struggle: from defining what sex is or should be, desire discrepancies and differences in couples’ sexual styles. She clearly maintains that it is essential for each partner to be accountable for themselves—and to each other—to follow the useful action steps she walks them through necessary to bypass avoidance, disappointment and pressure. - Dr. Joe Kort, LMSW, Author & Speaker A definitive resource that helps couples face and identify the pain of lost sexual intimacy. Jessa bridges the gap between sexual desire and sexual despair as she offers concrete methods to stop avoiding sex. Her techniques clearly outline ways to have “sex without stress” that are accessible to all couples, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. As a sex therapist, I highly recommend this book as it pursues reducing the pressure and finding the pleasure of sex. - Edy Nathan MA, LCSWR, CST Over the last 40 years, I have met many good couples struggling to become great, trying to recapture the passion they had when they first met. Sexual problems are common over a long-term relationship. Many couples avoid sharing their personal feelings about their sexuality, failing to address the personal barriers to recapturing that loving lust. Jessa Zimmerman’s book addresses just that, helping couples who avoid sex to find transparency and willingness to share and explore oneself and each other’s sexual map. Sex Without Stress can help your love life become great again. - Dr. Kevin Seymour, Clinical Psychologist

    It discusses why some Christians are changing their view toward affirming same-sex relations, addresses some of the strongest affirming arguments, explores a biblical and theological view of transgender and intersex persons, and offers practical advice on how to embody the grace/truth way of Jesus in the context of ministry. Conversation 6: Us vs. Us Conversation 7: Shouldn’t Christians Just Love Everyone? And Other Questions... Conversation 8: Sex, Gender, and the Bible Conversation 9: A Grace/Truth Response to the Gender Conversation Conversation 10: LGBT+ Inclusion in the Church

    Sex work is “easy money?” Hardly. Erotic labor can be demanding, draining, and complex. There’s no such thing as an employee handbook; most of us struggle to figure out this crazy business on our own. Lola Davina, acclaimed author of "Thriving in Sex Work," drawing on her more than 25 years in and around the sex industry, has created a workbook for sex work success. Lola’s step-by-step practical action plans and creative exercises guide you to:• Identify, target, and achieve your ideal clientele• Keep your body healthy and your mind clear• Be your own very best boss (even when working for someone else)• Execute feasible business and financial plans• Become the sex work rock star you were born to be!Creative, informative, inspirational, and fun, the Thriving in Sex Work Workbook makes sex work work for you.

    That is until the date of their scheduled house inspection, which they are far from prepared for. Can gay magic help you pass a house inspection? What kind of secrets is he sitting on? What would you do to protect your boyfriend and your boyfriend’s pet chicken? All these questions beg an answer."The queer share house fairytale we've all been waiting for. Smoky, scratchy, bright, serious, poetic, and funny, Aaron Billings presents a mini grand unified theory of supernatural visitors, real estate inspections, overly perfect boyfriends, and the Russian space dog, Laika. It's really a story for the lovesick puppy in each of us, a book that charms you, freaks you out a bit, and gives you all the feelings."- Ronnie Scott"This book is funny and strange... I wish all the world was as gay as Mystical Boy Scout" - Tommi ParrishAaron Billings has been published in Meanjin, The Lifted Brow, Going Down Swinging, Canary Press, Firefly zine, Castles in the Sky anthology and many others for drawing, comic work and writing. He has exhibited quilts, embroidery and paintings with Blindside gallery, Tinning street gallery, Off the Kerb galleries, No Vacancy gallery and many more. He’s an around town kinda boy. His favourite movie is ‘Night of the Hunter’, his favourite colour is rose pink and he’s an emotional Capricorn.

    In Sacred, Not Secret, Christine delves into two systems of human development: Eastern (Chakra) and Western (psychological/developmental) theories. Discussing the non-linear, and cyclical, nature of development, as well as our potential systematic traumas during those phases, this book provides exercises and stories that open a dialogue to exploring our sexual, sensual, emotional and energetic health. Written from an authentic, integrated and human perspective this book is easy to read, yet encourages you to dive deeply into your own perceptions about sexual and developmental health.

    The flow of energy through our chakras (the energy centers of our bodies) is essential to our fundamental well-being and our ability to experience our lives fully. When chakras get blocked, the natural flow of energy is hindered, and we experience disconnection from our physical bodies. Crystal healing can release blockages and bring necessary attention to our whole being, while helping to heal physical or emotional trauma. Crystals have been used for centuries as a way to release and harmonize energy. Each crystal has its own unique qualities that are suited to specific kinds of blockages. When used properly, crystals can have a powerful and positive effect on our lives.  This book features:A clear introduction to the body’s chakra systemGuidance for determining if a chakra is blockedEssential information on crystals and how they workSpecific techniques and practices for using crystals to embrace self-love and achieve greater intimacy and pleasureA comprehensive chart linking crystals to their chakras; zodiac elements; color energies; and physical, emotional, and spiritual benefitsAn annotated reading list of books, blogs, and websites to support you as you continue on the path of crystal healing  Embrace the healing power of crystals and open yourself to greater well-being, intimacy, and sensual pleasure.

    Be your partner's best lover, ever!If you're in a committed, monogamous relationship, or you're single and want to be connected to your future partner in a very powerful way, this book is for you.Follow these effective steps and experience more love and satisfaction as you meet each other's needs and desires.If you're having challenges in your relationship and are wondering how to recapture what you once had, or you simply want to be a better partner and have a fantastic relationship, this book is worth reading.This book will enhance your relationship, whether you've been together for four weeks or forty years!You and your partner will learn more about:* Satisfying each other's needs and desires* Expressions of love* The art of listening* Healthfully expressing your emotions* Making and keeping agreements* Being kind to each other* Giving compliments* Sexual and nonsexual intimacy* Speaking your truth* Living with integrity* Accepting and appreciating each other* Ideas for keeping the flames burning brightly* How to create and sustain a great relationshipAnd much more!Since you already know a lot about love, you don't need all of what is recommended, but when you pick up even one idea, you'll be glad that you (or your partner) read this book!Get ready to hear your partner say to you, "Baby, you're the best!"

    With more than 400 rare images and interviews with Stanton's family and closest associates, this biography chronicles the infamous circle of patrons, publishers, and cult icons populating his subterranean world, including Irving Klaw, John Willie, Bettie Page, Steve Ditko, and Gene Bilbrew. It is the untold, secret history of a misunderstood culture, the abuses of government authority, social intolerance, and gangsters. But above all, it is a tale about survival against all odds and an artist who had the courage to stay true to himself.

    This change is not based on their guesswork, but on state-of-the-art science. The book you hold in your hands finally completes the old general systems theory of the 1960s, which metaphorically described processes but did not actually research them.A new general systems theory and therapy is presented here, one which will have profound implications for powerful clinical work with both couples and families. This new theory is based on 45 years of careful basic scientific research with thousands of couples and families, including synchronized observational, interview, physiological, and questionnaire data.The Gottmans have studied some families for as long as 20 consecutive years. Their work has led to their highly replicated ability to precisely predict the future of relationships, relationship happiness, and whether couples will divorce or not with as much as 94% accuracy. Their empirical work has also led them to develop and test a theory of specifically what makes relationships work. Each construct in this theory is precise and measurable and it is all written about and described here.This book presents an original new way of understanding relationships and families. Both theoretical and highly practical, and it will help clinicians become more effective in their everyday work.

    Perhaps most importantly, the book discusses covert cultural sexual abuse (the trauma suffered from having to suppress one's own sexual and gender identity) as well as the difficult process of coming out to family and friends. A therapist's job is to help clients and their identities through their own lens and not anyone else's—especially the therapist's. The gay affirmative principles put forward in this book will help you build a stronger relationship with your LGBTQ clients and become the go-to therapist in your area.

    In fact, it’s out of real-life experience with gay, bi, cisgender, trans, queer, or questioning teens in their own youth groups that these youth workers are able to offer up their approaches—approaches which are then not theoretical at all, but practical and born of relational, everyday ministry.Will you find all the answers in this book? No. Look elsewhere for theological debate; look elsewhere for pat, one-size-fits-all methodologies. Youth ministry is often messy and complex, but it’s a divine calling to connect every youth with Jesus: straight, gay, bi, cisgender, trans, queer, or questioning.Mark Oestreicher, General EditorContributors: Shelley Donaldson, Gemma Dunning, Nick Elio, and Eric Woods

    In Eros and Ethos, philosopher Jason Stotts presents a radical new alternative in which sex is an ethically important part of a rich human life. He shows how sex is a significant expression of our character, because sex arises out of the deepest and most fundamental parts of who we are. On his account, virtue lies in proudly bringing desire in line with our flourishing so that we can create rich and meaningful lives.

    

    Maybe it’s a positive emotion for you, or a hurtful, shameful, confusing one. It’s no wonder we humans struggle to understand its meaning and purpose. It can be difficult to talk about and even worse if we have experienced unwanted shame or grew up in a home where sex was a taboo topic.In Love & Sex, Nancy Houston provides a compassionate view of human sexuality. Through the lens of Scripture, she unpacks the good God intended when he created humans as sexual creatures and honestly shows how that plan hasn’t been the case for many. You won’t find a critical examination of dos and don’ts but stories of redemption, grace, and hope. You will understand how you were shaped and how you are more than your sexual behaviors.Many say, “What’s the big deal?” For others, sex is a huge deal, maybe too big of a deal. How do you find health, happiness, balance, and pleasure in this God-given gift? This book will be that road map for you. And if you have been one of the few unscathed by sexual shame or confusion, this book will help you develop a more compassionate lens for those who do struggle.In a world of sexual chaos and confusion, we all need a healthy dialogue on this topic—not a black-or-white, right-or-wrong lecture, but a safe forum for discovering, learning, processing, and growing into passionate intimacy within the freedom of communion with our Creator.

    In her 15 years as a journalist, she has reviewed sex toys, attended sex parties, researched sexual health, and even participated in "cuddle parties." There's only one small problem: her sex drive is in the gutter.A beautiful and hilarious mixture of cultural essays and poignant personal stories, A Dirty Word shines a light on what it's like to feel broken, only to realize that there is no right way to be sexual. From her earliest sexual experiences, Auteri felt there must be something wrong with her. As an adult, her career in sex writing was meant to be a type of shock therapy--a way to fix her "sexual dysfunction." But her career, exciting as it was, could not provide a roadmap through her struggles with a low libido, painful sex, fertility problems, negative self-image, marriage woes, and the aftermath of sexual assault.In A Dirty Word, Auteri boldly exposes her own stumbles and triumphs as she explores topics like consent, body image, sex-negativity, and the seeming impossibility of raising a daughter in a culture that is constantly twisting female sexuality to fit its own needs. In the end, Auteri has found peace through one startling realization: she doesn't need to be "fixed" after all.

    In this expanded revised edition of Sex Au Naturel: What It is and Why It's Good for Your Marriage, Coffin demonstrates how the rejection of Humanae Vitae impacts more than just our national birthrates. With relevant insight into the development and reception of Paul VI's landmark 1968 encyclical, Coffin explains why Humanae Vitae is more timely than ever. In The Contraception Deception, you'll learn where exactly the Bible teaches against birth control, the differences between contraception and natural family planning (hint: they're more profound than you think), why other reproductive technologies fall short of God's vision for marriage and family, andƒƒ‚ƒƒ‚‚‚ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚"ƒƒ‚ƒƒ‚‚‚ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚€ƒƒ‚ƒƒ‚‚‚ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚"most importantlyƒƒ‚ƒƒ‚‚‚ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚"ƒƒ‚ƒƒ‚‚‚ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚€ƒƒ‚ƒƒ‚‚‚ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚"how to rely on the ever-present grace of God rather than your own strength in faithfully following this challenging, life-giving aspect of Christian discipleship.

    Clinicians are on the front line in providing support for the estimated millions pioneering these modern relationships. This first available guide for therapists provides answers to prevalent questions: What is the difference between expanded monogamy and polyamory? Is CNM healthy and safe? Why would someone choose the complexities of multiple partners? What about the welfare of children? Through illustrative case studies from research and clinical practice, therapists will learn to assist clients with CNM agreements, jealousy, sex, time, family issues, and much more. A Therapist's Guide to Consensual Nonmonogamy serves as a step forward toward expanding standard clinical training and helps inform therapists who wish to serve the CNM population.

    Bearing in mind the subjective nature of sex, the book explores cultural concerns around sexualisation, pornography, and sex addiction, as well as drawing on research from sexual communities and the applied area of sex therapy.When so much of our relationship to sex happens in the mind, The Psychology of Sex shows us how important it is to understand where our ideas about sex come from.

    This means that countless millions in our societies, both children and adults, carry this complex, often hidden pain. What does the path to healing look like for survivors? And how can ministry leaders, pastors, and counselors best help them as they walk this difficult road? Drawing on both his own experience and his wife's experience as survivors of childhood sexual abuse, minister and lecturer Tim Hein offers his expertise, practical guidance, and empathy—for both ministry leaders and survivors themselves. How can we best respond when a survivor shares their secret with us? Where can survivors turn for encouragement when the road to recovery seems so long and lonely? Hein presents clinical data and resources alongside pastoral wisdom and care, addressing both psychological and spiritual aspects of sexual abuse. Both for those who have suffered sexual abuse and those in a position to help them, this book is a rich resource. Filled with both sober truths and the hope of Christ, it calls survivors to take courage and walk unafraid down the road of healing.

    110 Pages • Gold Foil Stamped Flexi-bound Cover • 8.25 inches X 10.25 inches/ 21cmX26cmPage after page of full color reproductions, from primal and carnal to spiritual and divine, dirty and lustful and full of love and light. Alphachanneling's work has appeal both high and low and has been featured in articles and interviews by Huffington Post, Modern Painters, Cultured Magazine, W Magazine, Vulture and more. Order the book and find out what makes Alphachanneling's artwork equally at home in international gallery exhibitions and on social media. Whether you're one of the half million fans tripping on Alphachanneling's daily dose of sexual medicine on Instagram @alphachanneling or you're discovering the world of the Utopian Erotic for the first time, this book of the artist's work is an invitation to indulge in Alphachanneling's erotic exaltation of the sublime.

    That figure has not changed since the 1980s, when people first began collecting data on sexual violence. What has changed is thelevel of attention that the American public is paying to these statistics. Reports of sexual abuse repeatedly make headlines, and universities are scrambling to address the crisis.Their current strategy, Donna Freitas argues, is wholly inadequate. Universities must take a radically different approach to educating their campus communities about sexual assault and consent. Consent education is often a one-time affair, devised by overburdened student affairs officers.Universities seem more focused on insulating themselves from lawsuits and scandals than on bringing about real change. What is needed, Freitas shows, is an effort by the entire university community to deal with the deeper questions about sex, ethics, values, and how we treat one another, includingfacing up to the perils of hookup culture-and to do so in the university's most important space: the classroom. We need to offer more than a section in the student handbook about sexual assault, and expand our education around consent far beyond Yes Means Yes. We need to transform our campusesinto places where consent is genuinely valued.Freitas advocates for teaching not just how to consent, but why it's important to care about consent and to treat one's sexual partners with dignity and respect. Consent on Campus is a call to action for university administrators, faculty, parents, and students themselves, urging them to createcultures of consent on their campuses, and offering a blueprint for how to do it.

    Featuring Boodawe, Jacqueline-Elizabeth Cottrell, Sabrina Dropkick, Tara Dublin, Amber Fallon, Devora Gray, MP Johnson, Rhonda Jackson Joseph, Diana Kirk, Jacqueline Kirkpatrick, Kathryn Louise, Jessie Lynn McMains, Cervante Pope, Julie Rea, Jennifer Robin, Rocket, Eleanor Rose, Missy Suicide, Kim Vodicka . . .100% of the profits from the sale of this book will be donated to Planned Parenthood, a provider of affordable healthcare, sex education and family planning in the United States and worldwide.

    From Tolerance to Equality explores how this seismic shift of social perspective occurred and why it was led by the country’s educational and financial elite. Rejecting claims of a commitment to toleration or a heightened capacity for moral sympathy, author Darel E. Paul argues that American elites use opinion on homosexuality as a mark of social distinction and thus as a tool for accumulating cultural authority and political power. Paul traces this process through its cultural pathways as first professionals and, later, corporate managers took up the cause. He marshals original data analysis and chapters on social class and the family, the ideology of diversity, and the waning status of religious belief and authority to explore the factors behind the cultural changes he charts. Paul demonstrates the high stakes for same-sex marriage’s mostly secular proponents and mostly religious opponents—and explains how so many came to fight so vigorously on an issue that directly affects so few. In the end, From Tolerance to Equality is far more than an explanation of gay equality and same-sex marriage. It is a road map to the emerging American political and cultural landscape.

    Now more than ever, this is a practice that everyone can benefit from.Shashi is a world-renowned Tantra instructor who has trained with the world's top experts. In Tantra Made Easy, she brings the traditions of Tantra to new readers curious to learn how these can be applied in their lives. Through this book, readers will gain an understanding of Tantra as a spiritual path. This will help them understand the role of relationships, love and intimacy in modern Tantric traditions, the importance of having an open heart and how Tantric techniques can give them a spiritual experience in their physical relationships. This title was previously published within the Hay House Basics series.

    Through an examination of Scripture, cultural analysis, and personal accounts, he reflects on how our narratives have limited our understanding of marriage and obscured our view of the life-giving and kingdom-serving roles of single people in the church. In doing so, Callaway helps the church craft a new story that transforms the way we look at marriage and affirms the contributions of all to the body of Christ.

    Hardy, formerly known as Lady Green, has distilled the best of her 35 years' experience as a dominant into this beginner-friendly guidebook: everything from bondage to control to sensation to fetish, all with entertaining drawings, intro-level information, and plenty of reassurance for the nervous or apprehensive novice. The perfect purchase or gift for any woman who would like to spice up her bedroom play with a bit of kink.

    Harris investigates the relationship between obscenity, gender, and pedagogy in Middle English and Middle Scots literary texts from 1300 to 1580 to show how sexually explicit and defiantly vulgar speech taught readers and listeners about sexual behavior and consent.Through innovative close readings of literary texts including erotic lyrics, single-woman's songs, debate poems between men and women, Scottish insult poetry battles, and The Canterbury Tales, Harris demonstrates how through its transgressive charge and galvanizing shock value, obscenity taught audiences about gender, sex, pleasure, and power in ways both positive and harmful. Harris's own voice, proudly witty and sharply polemical, inspires the reader to address these medieval texts with an eye on contemporary issues of gender, violence, and misogyny.

    In a notable contrast to Western writings on the subject, early Chinese writings oppose pleasure not with pain but with insecurity. All assume that it is right and proper to seek and take pleasure, as well as short-term delight, and all are equally certain that long-term relational pleasures are more easily sustained -- as well as potentially more satisfying and less damaging. The pleasures that become deeper and more satisfying over the long term, as one invests time and effort into their cultivation, include friendship and music, sharing with others, developing integrity and greater clarity, reading and classical learning, and going home. Nylan explores each of these fields of activity through the early sources (mainly fourth century BC to the eleventh century AD), providing new translations for both well-known and seldom-cited texts.

    The readings, 50 percent of which are new to the Fifth Edition, cover a diverse range of sexual experiences, including new pieces on asexuality, online porn, and PrEP for HIV prevention. The editors mix qualitative and quantitative empirical pieces, sexual narratives, and articles from the popular press.

    It can also mean the transformation of the psyche that comes about through engaging in religious ritual. However, the best kind of inner work also has an effect outside the individual and outside the circle. When rituals are focused only on self-development, they tend to be a bit too introspective. Ritual is about creating and maintaining relationships and connections - between body, mind, and spirit; with the Earth, Nature, the land, the spirit world, the community, and friends. It is about making meaning, weaving a web of symbolism, story, mythology, meaning, community, and love. Creating a community that welcomes and celebrates diversity. Creating strong and authentic identity to resist the pressures of consumerism and commercialism and capitalism. Weaving relationship with other beings: humans, animals, birds, spirits, deities.

    A FLR can turn the sparks in your relationship into flames that burn with intimacy and passion.  A series of lessons that highlight why a FLR can transform your relationship in a practical way for both men and women!  Explore the different kinds of loving female led relationships while becoming closer and more connected to your partner. Practical FLR offers 35 lessons that introduce total beginners to the lifestyle, to help them understand why a FLR should be considered and explored.The lessons help break down the taboo, to help you see FLR's in a new light. Lessons to help you understand both the dominant and submissive side. Give this book to your partner, whether you're married, or starting fresh, the lessons apply to everyone!If you are a woman that wants to understand submissive men, and be more assertive, this book is for you.  If you are a submissive man that can't figure out how to tell your partner about your submissive desires, this book is for you too! Practical FLR thrives on bringing clarity and understanding to those seeking a female led relationship.

    From femdom dynamics to BDSM, boardrooms, and benchwarmers, Corrupted comprises a startling cross-section of stories defining what it means to be a woman in the modern world.Edited by, and featuring, Charlie Powell, Corrupted contains ten powerful stories by Vanessa de Sade, Rebecca Chase, Annabeth Leong, Sonni de Soto, Robin Juliet, Kiki DeLovely, Byron Cane, Erin Horáková and Zak Jane Keir.

    The book examines the latest research into these conditions and outlines the new integrative C.H.O.I.C.E. Recovery Model, a practical, sex-positive model which incorporates CBT, ACT and psychodynamic theories to help people enjoy lifetime recovery.This new edition has been updated throughout, with new material covering pornography addiction, ChemSex, internet offending and female sex and love addiction. Written in a clear and informative manner, this book contains support and advice for both the clinician and for those who suffer from sex addiction, and provides tools for securing confident and rewarding recovery.Understanding and Treating Sex and Pornography Addiction is essential reading for anyone looking to make an enduring recovery from these conditions, as well as for clinicians new to the field and those wanting to update their skills and knowledge.

    Harris place sexuality at the center of slavery studies in the Americas (the United States, the Caribbean, and South America). While scholars have marginalized or simply overlooked the importance of sexual practices in most mainstream studies of slavery, Berry and Harris argue here that sexual intimacy constituted a core terrain of struggle between slaveholders and the enslaved. These essays explore consensual sexual intimacy and expression within slave communities, as well as sexual relationships across lines of race, status, and power. Contributors explore sexuality as a tool of control, exploitation, and repression and as an expression of autonomy, resistance, and defiance.

    A Lover's Pinch tells the story of consensual sadomasochism, from a controversial religious practice to a secretive sexuality branded a perversion. The origins of kink and fetish culture have been shrouded in secrecy and myths, until now. Here, Peter Tupper reveals the true story of sadism and masochism, dominance and submission. From the ancient Christian flagellants to the Fifty Shades trilogy, the history of consensual sadomasochism is a story of fascinating individuals, unlikely connections and strange twists and turns. Meet Arthur Munby, the Victorian gentleman who secretly married Hannah Cullwick, his maid of all work, and called her his slave; and Jack McGeorge, the UN weapons inspector who was outed as a BDSM club leader just before the Iraq war. Explore the links between Robinson Crusoe, Uncle Tom's Cabin and modern BDSM pornography, and between fetish fashion and anti-Catholic propaganda. Learn how the 19th century middle-class household nurtured dominant-submissive sexuality. Discover the secret history of a hidden world. Winner, 2019 Geoff Mains Non-Fiction Book Award, NLA-International

    This should be on the bookshelf and nightstand of every household." --Pat Paluzzi, DrPH, CNM, President and CEO Healthy Teen NetworkMaybe you learned about sex in school--anatomy, pregnancy, and STIs, right? You might think you've learned all there is to know, but there's so much more to sex than just "doing it." What about masturbation, is that OK? Are you dirty for having sexual fantasies? What about kissing, giving a blowjob, or taking the pill--are they safe? What if you touch someone's penis, can you get pregnant? If you douche after sex, you won't get pregnant . . . right?Making Sense of "It" goes beyond the basics of the birds and the bees to give teens a realistic, no-holds barred, nonjudgmental guide on everything to do with sex and sexuality. With this book, teens can learn about it all, from the best contraception methods to what to expect at a clinic and the signs of an unhealthy relationship. Alison Macklin draws on her years of experience at Planned Parenthood to address everything teens want to and should know in a straightforward, open-minded, and sex-positive manner. Even better, "Conversation Starters" in each chapter give teens and parents a chance to test their knowledge and useful tips to help talk about sex in a way that works for them.In a world where teens are bombarded with bad information on social media and are made to feel ashamed of something so natural, Making Sense of "It" offers trustworthy, gender-neutral advice on how to be safe, informed, and honest about "it".

    

    Co-edited by Rosanna Deerchild, Ariel Gordon, and Tanis MacDonald, GUSH offers menstrual manifestos for our time that question the cultural value and social language of monthly blood loss, with rage, humour, ferocity, and grief, and propose that the ‘menstrual moment’ is as individualized, subjective, personal, political, and vital as the ‘feminist click’. With work from emerging and established writers in poetry, cartoons, flash fiction, personal essays, lyric confessions, and experimental forms, this anthology features the voices of Indigenous writers, writers of colour, writers with disabilities, rural writers and urban writers, representing four generations of menstruators: writers who call down their bloodiest muses. Including work by Yvette Nolan, Mini Aodla Freeman, Sheri-D Wilson, Sonnet L’Abbe, Pamela Mordecai, Susan Holbrook, and many more.

    By exploring how intimacy is constructed through different media texts, the authors consider which ideas and practices these changing forms of 'sexpertise' open up, and which they close down.The book reveals the intimate operation of power in mediated advice, how words and images, stories and sound can work to shore up social injustice. It critically engages with the ideas of choice and responsibility in sex self-help, arguing that these can obscure and/or justify oppression, even if they're sometimes experienced as empowering and/or pleasurable.This bold and incisive book provides a radical challenge to the assumptions underlying the sex advice industry, and presents a critical, collaborative and consensual vision for sex advice of the future.

    In a world filled with all kinds of relationships, some of them can heal while others can hurt. Blaine and friends must find their way around their relationships, new and old, if they are to make sense of the world around them. Sometimes love pulls people together, even when life is trying to push them apart. All is fair in love and war...but sometimes, life gets in the way. “It was like Season 2 of my favourite series got released and I had to binge-watch it.” Cait Gordon, Author of Life in the ’Cosm "You will laugh and cry and curse and cheer along with them. And I promise, you will fall in love - as I have." Dava Gamble, Author of Jade Ascent and Jade Bestowed “A frothy, big-hearted, romantic delight, with grit and steel at its core, and told in every colour of love in the rainbow.” Stephen Graham King, Author of Soul’s Blood "Jamieson takes the big—and little—moments of life and infuses them with such a wonderfully queer reality. The older aren't necessarily wiser, the younger aren't necessarily the go-getters, and the end result is a sense of living, breathing chosen family that charms." 'Nathan Burgoine, Author of Triad Blood and Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks

    It explores modes and types of ritual; how rituals work; the uses of sound and silence in ritual; the witch's journey through life; the stages and pitfalls of the inner work. It shows how Queer Witchcraft is an inherent aspect of the archetype of the witch; how witchcraft relates to the land; witchcraft as resistance to oppression; working with ancestors; the witch's pact with spiritual powers; the relationship between madness, shamanism, and witchcraft; and the concept of the night journey, another very old image from the history of witchcraft; how to use insights gained from the practice of witchcraft in everyday life; group dynamics; being a coven leader; teaching and learning in a coven; egregore, lineage, upline, and downline; power and authority; the process of challenging oppression; how to evaluate your Craft; the meaning and purpose of 'spirituality', religion, and magic; the archetype of the witch and what it means.

    The books in the series make the wealth of early Christian thought available to new generations of students of theology and provide a valuable resource for the church. Developed in light of recent patristic scholarship, the volumes provide a representative sampling of theological contributions from both East and West.The series provides volumes that are relevant for a variety of courses: from introduction to theology to classes on doctrine and the development of Christian thought. The goal of each volume is not to be exhaustive but rather to be representative enough to denote for a nonspecialist audience the multivalent character of early Christian thought, allowing readers to see how and why early Christian doctrine and practice developed the way it did.

    The word conjures forth a million images - including sex, transgressive practices, and the occult. But how accurate are these portrayals, and how do they compare to actual Tantric practices in India? To the casual observer, Tantra appears to partake of an oppositional role in regard to Vedic teachings, but this conceals a much more conservative core, for the Tantric traditions actually strive to reinforce their Vedic heritage. The Tantras are believed to be the appropriate teaching in the Kali Yuga, and understanding the role that the Kali Yuga plays in Tantric traditions is absolutely vital to interpreting the nature of Tantra itself. Contrary to being opposed to Vedic teachings, Tantra is actually an extension of them - it is a reinterpretation of the Vedas for the modern era.In addition to explaining the complex role Tantra plays within the larger corpus of Hinduism, Tantric Traditions also examines the way in which Tantra is linked to sacred geographical locations, and provides explanations on the nature of Siva, the Devi, the role of the Traditionalist School in the export of Tantric traditions to the West, and reveals secret mantra techniques.Furthermore, Tantric Traditions provides details on magical and esoteric practices from authentic Tantric occult texts such as the Mantramahodadhi of Mahidara (c.1588 CE) and the Vinasikhatantra, both of which make even the most infamous European Grimoires look totally harmless by comparison.CONTENTSIntroductionPART I Gods, Sacred Sites, & the Kali YugaShiva: Naṭarāja, Śankara, & Higher ConsciousnessNataraja Shankara Yoga ShamanismThe Devi: From Satī to KālīSati Parvati Durga Kali DraupadiTopographical ReligiosityKashi Tirtha-Yatra Shakta PithasTantra, the Kali Yuga, and the Occidental TraditionalistKali Yuga Yuga Sastra Traditionalism PART II Origins, Rituals, & Esoteric TeachingsThe Point of OriginDefinition History Rta Dharma Kali YugaSacred TransgressionPower Impurity Left Hand Path Right Hand Path Lexicographical GnoseologyBhaskararaya Abhinavagupta Mantra Encryption Formulas Rasa Philosophy of SoundMagico-Religious PracticesCharms Siddhi Mantramahodadhi of Mahidhara Vinasikhatantra Alchemy Magical PracticesAppendix IOccult FormulaAppendix IITables of Correspondences