In the 1970s a group of pioneering feminist entrepreneurs launched a movement that ultimately changed the way sex was talked about, had, and enjoyed. Boldly reimagining who sex shops were for and the kinds of spaces they could be, these entrepreneurs opened sex-toy stores like Eve’s Garden, Good Vibrations, and Babeland not just as commercial enterprises, but to provide educational and community resources as well. In Vibrator Nation Lynn Comella tells the fascinating history of how these stores raised sexual consciousness, redefined the adult industry, and changed women's lives. Comella describes a world where sex-positive retailers double as social activists, where products are framed as tools of liberation, and where consumers are willing to pay for the promise of better living—one conversation, vibrator, and orgasm at a time.

About The Author(s)

From the publisher:

Sex educator Carlyle Jansen has all of the tips and techniques to ease you into butt play and anal pleasure. Anal play is so much more than just intercourse. Learn all of the sexiest secrets of fingering, licking, and using toys. Even try some erotic fantasy and role play. Discover the pleasure of G-spot or P-spot stimulation and even more styles of sexy anal play.

So try something new with your lover. Anal Sex Basics covers everything a beginner to butt play will need, from choosing your lube to learning the best positions. But more than just technique, this guide also helps you to bring up anal sex with your partner and make your adventures as fun and safe as possible.

"Carlyle Jansen is simply one of the best sex educators in North America. Honest, funny, and engaging, she wins over clients and audiences with her inclusive style and thorough subject knowledge. Each time I hear her speak, I learn something new and leave feeling empowered and inspired." –Jessica O'Reilly, Ph.D. noted sexologist and author of The New Sex Bible

About the Author

This book is a must read for anyone who has ever wondered "why does my body behave this way?" or "why doesn't my arousal work the way I want it to?" We don't often declare favorites at Smitten Kitten, but Come As You Are is undeniably one of the best books available today about the science of arousal and pleasure. The tone of the book is wonderfully approachable and conversational, and makes it easy for even the least scientifically minded of us to understand the intricacies of the human nervous system. And although the book focuses on cisgender women's sexuality, there are acknowledgments and careful word choices throughout the text that make it accessible for queer and trans readers. With a firm grounding in scientific study and a friendly, truly down to earth voice, this book stands out in the genre of arousal and orgasm guides. 

Details

Author: Emily Nagoski

Publisher: Simon & Schuster (March 3, 2015)

Pages: 416

Author

Emily Nagoski is Wellness Education Director and Lecturer at Smith College. She has a PhD in Health Behavior with a doctoral concentration in human sexuality from Indiana University (IU), and a master’s degree (also from IU) in counseling, with a clinical internship at the Kinsey Institute Sexual Health Clinic. She has taught graduate and undergraduate classes in human sexuality, relationships and communication, stress management, and sex education. At Smitten Kitten, we can't speak highly enough of Emily Nagoski's intelligent, compassionate, and groundbreaking work.

From the publisher:

While plenty of other books explain how to give a spanking or tie a half-hitch, Playing Well With Others is the first book devoted to kink culture—the munches, parties, leather bars, conferences, workshops, fetish nights, exploratoriums and all the other gatherings of kinksters that turn BDSM and leather from a bedroom predilection to a lifestyle and a community. The team of Harrington and Williams offers 30-plus years of experience in diverse kink communities: top, bottom and switch; gay, bi and straight; female, male and trans; white and POC. Both former titleholders and international educators, they are an unbeatable pair of “sexual sherpas” with an inimitable voice and a great deal of wisdom. Playing Well With Others is an unprecedented and essential guidebook for anyone who wants to explore or understand the “community” aspect of the kink lifestyle.

Details

Authors: Lee Harrington, Mollena Williams

Publisher: Greenery Press (2012)

Pages: 312

This comprehensive and up-to-date guide is an excellent self care resource for people experiencing pelvic pain, and a thorough medical reference for lay people and professionals. Although the intended audience is cisgender, heterosexual women, people of all genders will find this book extremely useful for understanding pelvic health. In fact, the book's deeply compassionate and thorough approach to chronic pelvic pain makes it arguably the best book available on the subject. Our staff highly recommends this book for anyone who is struggling with a pelvic pain condition, or who needs help communicating with their health care provider about sexual pain.

Details

Authors: Deborah Coady MD, MSW, Nancy Fish MPH

Publisher: Seal Press (November 1st, 2011)

Pages: 400

From the publisher:

What Makes a Baby is a book for every kind of family and every kind of kid. It is a 21^st century children’s picture book about where babies come from that reflects the reality of our modern time by being inclusive of all kinds of kids, adults, and families, however they came to be.

Geared to readers from pre-school to 8 years old, it teaches curious kids about conception, gestation, and birth in a way that works regardless of whether or not the kid in question was adopted, conceived using reproductive technologies, at home or in a clinic, through surrogacy, or the old fashioned way, and regardless of how many people were involved, their orientation, gender and other identity, or family composition. Just as important, the story doesn’t gender people or body parts, so most parents and families will find that it leaves room for them to educate their child without having to erase their own experience.

Written by a sexuality educator, Cory Silverberg, and illustrated by award-winning Canadian artist Fiona Smyth, What Makes a Baby is as fun to look at as it is useful to read.

Details

Publisher: Seven Stories Press (2013)

Author: Cory Silverberg

Pages: 36 pages

Author

CORY SILVERBERG

Cory Silverberg is a sex educator, author, public speaker, and founder of the Come As You Are Cooperative. He received his Masters of Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. He served as the chair of sexuality educator certification for the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT), and teaches on topics including sex and disability, sex and technology, and pleasure, inclusion, and access across North America. What Makes a Baby is the first of an in-progress series of books by Silverberg written for children on subjects of sexuality. 

From the publisher:

Everything you need to understand women's orgasms—what works, what doesn't and why:

• How to ask for what you need and want
• Multiple orgasms, extended orgasms and energetic orgasms
• The "elusive" orgasm and why some women have difficulty climaxing
• How often we fake them and why
• How personal history shapes sexual experience
• Orgasm as an emotional release
• Masturbation
• The power of fantasy
• Penetration, the G-spot and ejaculation
• Defining the erotic
• The joy of sex toys

There are tons of books filled with advice about orgasms, but many women find their relentless cheerleading lacks an honest discussion of their real needs. Mikaya Heart changes all that. The Ultimate Guide to Orgasm for Women is a forthright and comprehensive exploration of female sexuality. Normalizing all women's experiences, Mikaya Heart provides the information, permission and support women need to enhance their own fulfillment.

Details

Publisher: Cleis Press (2011)

Author: Mikaya Heart

Pages: 267 pages

Publisher

CLEIS PRESS

Cleis Press, a mission-driven feminist book publisher, was founded in 1980 in Minneapolis, Minnesota by Felice Newman and Frédérique Delacoste. Winners of multiple Lambda Literary Awards, International Book Awards, Rainbow Book Awards, and Independent Publishers Book Awards, Cleis has a history of producing the best quality sexual education guides, sexual self help books, and diverse erotica collections. At the end of 2014 Cleis Press was purchased by Start Publishing, a New York-based company that primarily publishes and markets eBooks.

Finally, a book about open marriage that grapples with the problems surrounding monogamy and fidelity in an honest, heartfelt, and non-fringe manner. "Open" challenges our notions of what traditional marriage looks like, and presents one woman's journey down an uncertain path that ultimately proves open marriage is a viable option--even one that suits some couples better than conventional marriage.