Adolescent Sexuality: A Historical Handbook and Guide (Children and Youth: History and Culture Series) Book

Not particularly exciting reading but the information one gets from it is very important. We learn throughout this book via quotations and citations from academic research into the numerous involved disciplines which Martinson has surveyed. The Scope of this research is extensive both thematically and cronologically (in that it spans about a century of research). It looks, however as if Martinson has done a comprehensive survey, which would admittedly signify that the totality of studies into these areas is scant and obviously insufficient, a fact Martinson also points out. What we are left with, though, is a clear understanding of children as sexual beings, from the time in the womb and continuously through their upbringing. The book also documents how this aspect of their lives is woefully maltreated by all our societies as we collectively do our best (although in a very incoherent, non-principled way) attempt to repress or neglect the natural needs of children for understanding and guidance as it comes to learning about and getting to grips with the sexual aspect of their lives.

The book makes it blindingly obvious how and why our societies continue to churn out new sexually dysfunctional generations that in turn perpetuate the sins of neglect and repression that they have been subjected to. The religious and conservative right segment of the population are the powers driving this non-constructive perpetuated process further on with their simplistic solutions to complex issues, i.e. "don't talk about it!", "infuse every aspect of it with appeals to bad conscience and shaming", "institute and enforce social mechanisms to simply and bluntly repress anything sexual until the magical advent of attaining 'legal age'". If these groups at the very least had a reasoned ideology that they could argue, but the case seems that they act generally from a visceral aversion against sexuality in general or religious dogma that have no rationale beyond "God says so" (at least in their particular denomination's interpretation of the Word of God.

The book doesn't have, or claim to have, all the answers, but it elucidates an area of societal life sorely in need of more rationality as well as more attention, because important problems reside here which remain to be solved!

I read this book online for free.