The Little Black Book for Guys: Guys Talk about Sex

by St. Stephen's Community House, Michael Martchenko (Illustrator)

Overview

Lots of guys talk the big talk, but what’s really going on with sex? That’s what a group of young men sat down to figure out for The Little Black Book for Guys. To get behind the hype, they talked to other teens and collected stories, poems, essays, and art about personal experiences. They also interviewed health professionals to get the facts they need to make healthy choices. The result is a revealing collection of personal thoughts and need-to-know information. Topics include: • Puberty • Wet dreams • Masturbation • Penis size • Dating • Safer sex and birth control • Sexually Transmitted Infections / AIDS. Written, illustrated, and designed by youth, and carefully vetted by doctors, The Little Black Book for Guys is more than a book about sex. It’s a snapshot of being a guy at the beginning of the 21st century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781550379624
Publisher:	Annick Press, Limited
Publication date:	09/26/2008
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	8.24(w) x 5.76(h) x 0.63(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

St. Stephen's Community House is a community-based social service agency in Toronto that assists more than 23,000 people each year, and has a similar book for girls, The Little Black Book for Girlz: A Book on Healthy Sexuality.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction

Chapter 1
LOVE MACHINE: THE PENIS

Chapter 2
MAKING THE CONNECTION: RELATIONSHIPS

Chapter 3
LET'S GET IT ON: SEX

Chapter 4
THE THIN RED LINE: HIV/AIDS AND OTHER SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS

Chapter 5
TAKING CONTROL: BIRTH CONTROL

Resources
Glossary
About St. Stephen's
Acknowledgments
Index

Preface

Preface

I had to become a man at a really young age. Being an immigrant and not living with my parents had a huge impact on how I grew up, my opinions of men around me, and what I believed manhood to be. I had to look to other men in the community to help me learn and grow -- some of the attitudes I absorbed were healthy and some were certainly not. When you are in search of something, sometimes you can end up with the incorrect information or fall in with an unhealthy mentor.

I ended up piecing together ideas of what it meant to be a man from lots of places: music, TV, men on the block, and most importantly, my women friends. I wish that, when I was a teenager, I could have been around more men who talked honestly about manhood, sex, and relationships. I wish I had had a book like the one you're holding in your hands.

This book came into being thanks to the St. Stephen's Community House
Youth Arcade. The Arcade is a youth drop-in center in downtown Toronto. It's a place where you can be yourself -- with all the good, the bad, and the ugly that is you -- and nobody is going to judge you. It is also a place that encourages you to challenge your assumptions, to think critically about the world around you, and to contribute what you can to the community. It was through the Arcade that, a few years ago, a group of young women put together The Little Black Book for Girlz: A Book on Healthy Sexuality. The book was a hit.

Thanks to the girls' success, the Arcade became a place where young men also started to talk about sex in a non-judgmental, honest way. We began to meet weekly as a group and shared our experiences, a lot of laughs, and the particular problems we faced as young men. Eventually, the group became such a supportive network that we decided to collect material for our own book: The Little Black Book for
Guys. We wanted a book that, like our group, could help guys bridge the gap between the world's expectations of us and what we were actually experiencing.

When we first started writing, all our machismo came out. We wanted to sound like (and be thought of as) people with answers, people with solutions, and yet not like the other "guys" -- you know, the loudmouth dogs of the bunch. It took some time for us to admit that we didn't have all the answers, we weren't experts, and we weren't perfect. What we did have was our experiences, and we've tried to write about them honestly. You will see that this is a book of many voices, cultures, and perspectives. We tried not to focus on "right or wrong" but just what's real. When information required an expert, we talked to one; in fact, health professionals have read through everything to make sure we didn't mess up any facts. We hope you find answers to your questions about sex and relationships, but no book can cover everything. That's why we've included a list of resources at the back. There you'll find a bunch of websites and phone numbers that can help you get the answers you need.

This book is an example of what can happen when young men are honest, free to be themselves, and given the opportunity to share their experiences and ideas. Our hope is that you will use this book to help you make informed decisions, to think about your own experiences, and to share more honestly with other guys so they can also become healthy men, balanced boyfriends, and excellent fathers. No book can tell you who you are, but we hope this book helps you find your own comfortable definition of what it means to be a man.

Happy reading!

Marlon Merraro, Manager, Youth Services
St. Stephen's Community House

Editorial Reviews

The Little Black Book for Guys is a light-hearted and down-to-earth guide to a topic of vital importance to most male teens, written in language they can relate to. The potentially dry medical terms are related with concise with.. Best of all, the advice offered never fails to emphasize the importance of communication and respect. Purchasing this book would be a smart decision.

ForeWord - Julie Faulkner

This is an informative title that takes on a delicate subject from the perspective of guys. St. Stephen's also published a book for girls and the boys wanted their turn. The result is a frank discussion about sex and relationships. There is practical information that boys will appreciate as well as a balance of info on safe sex.

INFOLINK - Audra Osorio

A good concept which boys can easily relate to.

INFOLINK - Christie Peterson

In this collective effort young men from St. Stephen's Community House in Toronto have written responsible one or two page short essays on a wide range of sex-related topics, from wet dreams to masturbation, HIV and condom use. This effective guy-to-guy approach makes words-of-wisdom pieces like "Five ways to ruin a relationship", "First time", "What to do when your friend comes out", or "The day I became a father" especially effective. Original artwork and drawings enhance the presentation. Also find an excellent glossary and an extensive list of helpful, related web links organized by chapter. Middle school and high school boys will find this accessible, reader-friendly book; buy several copies for it will surely walk.

INFOLINK - MaryBeth DiPrima

Following in the footsteps of The Little Black Book for Girlz (also available from Annick Press) this book was written by guys for guys about that most unmentionable topic: their own sexuality. This book delivers straight information in today's language in short, browsable pieces written by young men, covering all aspects of sex and relationships including the physical, emotional and practical. There is nothing cute or embarrassed about this book--it's like a trusted friend or mentor is sitting down and explaining everything a guy needs to know in order to make informed decisions about a healthy sex life. The result is an honest, forthright discussion about topics that young people need to know about but for which they may have a difficult time accessing up-to-date and complete information. Both Little Black Books have come out of St. Stephen's Community House, a community-based social service agency in Toronto, and have been vetted by health professionals for accuracy.

Canadian Teacher

A down-to-earth guide to a topic of vital importance... Purchasing this book would indeed be a smart decision.

Foreword Reviews

This frank, explicit book was created by a young men's group at St. Stephen's Community House Youth Arcade in Toronto, Canada. There are five chapters covering the penis, relationships, sex, STIs, and birth control. Each topic is covered thoroughly, illustrated with rough sketches, and introduced by an installment of The Garage, a crudely drawn, rather muddled comics serial. Straight facts alternate with personal experiences and poetry written by individual members of the group. It ends with recommended resources (lists of Web sites) and a glossary. The information was vetted by health professionals. The authors address both gay and straight sex and cover all the bases. Bad puns abound, part of an attempt to sound hip and young and to address readers in their own language. Profanity and crude slang for body parts are par for the course. For all that, the focus is clearly on the importance of being informed, the value of communicating with and respecting your partner, and staying healthy. There are two instances where the book's Canadian origins will make a difference for American readers. The first occurs in the pages addressing the legal aspects of having sex with a minor. The list of recommended Web site resources is largely Canadian, although some U.S. sources are included. This title is less successful than The Little Black Book for Girls (Annick Press, 2006/VOYA December 2006), but if it gets through to teenage boys, it has served its purpose. Public libraries, especially those serving urban or open-minded communities, will want this title. Reviewer: Angela Carstensen

VOYA - Angela Carstensen