SEX AND BIRTH CONTROL: A Guide for the Young

by ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 1973

While recognizing that a majority (though nowadays a scant majority) of teenagers are virgins, Lieberman and Peek also realize that ""unplanned sex"" is most likely to lead to unplanned pregnancies and have prepared this detailed manual on birth control, abortion and venereal disease for young people of all degrees of sexual experience. Emotional preparedness is stressed equally with practical sophistication, and though virtually nothing (except careless contraception) is absolutely ruled out on moral grounds, the many polls and case studies go deeper than comparable advice books into the bad reasons for early sexual activity -- trying to hold on to a boy or girl friend, proving one's attractiveness or maturity (even the fantasies of parenthood nurtured by both girls and boys). The practical chapters cannot be faulted (except perhaps that the authors seem to underestimate the reluctance of many gynecologists to prescribe IUD's for very young women). And the liberal reassurances that sexual activity is all right if you really know what you're doing are balanced by a keen awareness of social pressures -- recognizing that it's necessary to defend abstinence and remind young people that ""It's never wrong to say No to sex if you have doubts."" Refreshingly frank and responsibly thorough, Lieberman and Peck are the first such counselors to really take the contemporary social climate in stride. Some poorer readers may be discouraged by the demanding vocabulary, but this is one long book that it shouldn't be hard to get young people to read -- and it can be unhesitatingly recommended to them and their parents alike.

Pub Date: July 1, 1973

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: T. Y. Crowell

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1973

Categories: NONFICTION